Learning behavior and attitudes of aboriginal students in elementary school and junior high school in Taiwan

Educational research tends to focus on the low educational achievements of aboriginal students. This trend strengthens negative stereotypes and neglects to examine what factors enable aboriginal students to further their educational development. Therefore, we investigated learning behavior and attitude of academically successful aboriginal students to identify these enabling factors. The subjects of this study comprised aboriginal and Han Chinese students in elementary school and junior high school. Using a questionnaire survey, we measured elements of learning behavior and attitude as well as various demographic variables. From the results, we arrived at the following conclusions: 1. Aboriginal students and Han Chinese students only presented significant differences in terms of classroom learning strategies. 2. In terms of gender differences among aboriginal students, the two genders exhibited significant differences in classroom learning strategies, self-study, and learning habits, with male students presenting better performance than female students. The two genders also displayed significant differences in terms of expectations for academic achievement and educational attainment. 3. The students' motivation to study came from their aboriginal identity, family factors, and the support of their teachers. 4. The educational attainment and social-economic background of a student's parents are not necessarily determinants of whether he or she will achieve academic success. 5. The cost of educational success may be one’s own cultural identity.