Chapter 7: Toward a Universalist Approach to the Study of Culture and Motivation: A Tribute to Dennis M. McInerney

Research in the area of educational psychology in general, and achievement motivation in particular, has been, to date, relatively culture bound. A notable exception to this trend is the scholarly work of Dennis McInerney, who is considered to be a pioneer in the area of cross-cultural educational psychology. Accordingly, the overarching purpose of this conceptual chapter will be to provide a critical analysis of McInerney’s important contributions (e.g., McInerney, Hinkley, Downson, & van Etten, 1998; McInerney, Roche, McInerney, & Marsh, 1997; McInerney, Yeung, & McInerney, 2001), and how his work has served to advance the cultural research on achievement motivation by adopting a universalist approach to culture (Berry, Poortinga, Segall, & Dasen, 2002; Zusho & Clayton, 2011).