Support,belonging, motivation,and engagement in the college classroom: a mixed method study

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examined how belonging perceptions, academic motivation, and engagement might mediate the relationship between academic contextual characteristics and achievement using structural equation modeling and qualitative follow-up interviews with college students from a large, Midwestern university. In the first, quantitative phase, two hypothesized models of student belonging and motivation were tested. In line with the Self-System Model of Classroom Support for Motivation (Connell and Wellborn, in: Gunnar and Sroufe (eds.) Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology: Self-processes and Development, 1991), Model 1 hypothesized student belonging and motivation to be directly predicted by supportive classroom environment perceptions, and to directly predict engagement, which was hypothesized to predict achievement. Model 2 elaborated on the traditional self-system model and hypothesized student belonging to mediate the relationship between supportive classroom environment perceptions and student motivation. Quantitative findings revealed support for Model 2. Supportive classroom environment perceptions predicted students’ belonging beliefs, which in turn predicted students’ motivation, engagement, and achievement in the course. The second, follow-up qualitative phase suggested ways in which contextual characteristics might influence student belonging beliefs in the classroom. Taken together, the quantitative and qualitative data illustrate the influential role of classroom contextual characteristics on student outcomes, as well as the role student belonging plays in college student motivation and success.     

Socioeconomic advantage and achievement motivation: Important mediators of academic performance in minority children in urban schools

A correlational study examined relationships between socioeconomic advantage, achievement motivation, and academic performance in an urban elementary school population of 130 minority students (African-American, Hispanic). Level of socioeconomic advantage (more/less) was determined by school records and eligibility for participation in a compensatory school-lunch program for low-income children. A self-report measure of students' self-efficacy, intrinsic value, and self-regulatory learning orientation was used to determine level of achievement motivation (high/low). Performance data in reading and mathematics were obtained from an individually administered achievement test. Multivariate analyses revealed that socioeconomic advantage and achievement motivation are significant mediators of academic performance in minority children, independent of intellectual ability. The classroom implications of socioeconomic advantage and achievement motivation on individual differences in academic performance of minority children in urban elementary schools are discussed.     

Is the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) a good predictor of academic achievement? Examining the mediating role of achievement-related classroom behaviours

Studies have shown that the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ)—which provides a measure of student approaches to learning—is a relatively weak predictor of academic achievement. The present study sought to explore whether students’ achievement-related classroom behaviours, as observed by teachers, can be used as a mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement. The SPQ was administered to 1,608 students enrolled in six different diploma programmes offered by a polytechnic in Singapore. Data were analysed by means of correlation and path analysis. In line with existing studies, the results revealed that student approaches to learning was a weak predictor of academic achievement. However, achievement-related classroom behaviours turned out to be a significant mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement, effectively doubling the explained variance in academic achievement. Implications of these findings for using the SPQ are discussed.     

Judging students' achievement goal orientations: Are teacher ratings accurate?

Using the theoretical framework of achievement goal theory, this study investigated the accuracy of teachers' judgments of their students' motivation. Self-report data were gathered on the mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals of 1140 German secondary school students (mean age = 14.24) in five academic subjects (English, Mathematics, German, second foreign language, and Biology). Their teachers in each of the five subjects (N = 176) were asked to judge students' achievement goals. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that teacher ratings of students' motivation statistically significantly predicted student ratings in all five subjects for mastery and performance-approach motivation, but not for performance-avoidance motivation. Assessment of differences in teachers' judgment accuracy across classrooms revealed some variability in teachers' ability to judge their students' mastery and performance-approach goals. Exploratory analyses showed that teaching experience, teacher gender, student age, and student gender did not systematically explain variation in judgment accuracy. Future research should examine other characteristics potentially influencing teachers' judgment accuracy and investigate the effect of teachers' judgment accuracy on students' motivation.     

Achievement Motivation Goals in Relation to Academic Performance in Traditional and Nontraditional College Students

This study extended Dweck's model of achievement motivation to the collegiate level, and it is the first to apply this model to nontraditional students. We examined the relationship between goal orientations and academic performance in 262 undergraduate students grouped by nontraditional vs. traditional status. Although both groups rated themselves higher on learning goals than on performance goals, non-traditional students endorsed learning goals even more strongly than their traditional peers. Goal orientations were a better predictor of academic success than student status. Consistent with Dweck's model, a learning goal orientation was positively related to successful academic performance for both groups. The relationship between performance goals and academic success was less straightforward, but students who rated both goal orientations as relatively weak had the lowest cumulative GPAs. Traditional and nontraditional students differed on variables that were inversely related to academic performance. Less successful traditional students endorsed irrational beliefs (a possible index of learned helplessness), while less successful nontraditional students worked more hours at a paid job.     

Academic identification as a mediator of the relationship between parental socialization and academic achievement

This study examines whether academic identification, or one’s psychological and emotional investment in academics, mediates the association between child-reported parental educational socialization and standardized achievement test scores among a predominantly ethnic minority sample of 367 urban middle school students. We predicted that academic identification would mediate the relationship between five forms of perceived parental academic socialization (future-oriented, teaching-oriented, effort-oriented, shame-oriented, and guilt-oriented) and achievement when controlling for prior achievement. We found confirmation for this effect among analyses involving teaching, future, and guilt forms of socialization. For teaching, this effect was not present for Black boys. Direct effects indicated that teaching and future socialization was inversely related to student achievement, but when mediated by academic identification it was positive. Guilt was only related to achievement through academic identification. Results suggest the importance of the manner in which parental educational socialization is engaged.     

Implicit theories of ability of Grade 6 science students: Relation to epistemological beliefs and academic motivation and achievement in science

We investigated: (a) the associations of implicit theories and epistemological beliefs and their effects on the academic motivation and achievement of students in Grade 6 science and (b) the mean differences of implicit theories, epistemological beliefs, and academic motivation and achievement as a function of gender and race/ethnicity (N = 508). Path analysis revealed that an incremental view of ability had direct and indirect effects on adaptive motivational factors, whereas fixed entity views had direct and indirect effects on maladaptive factors. Epistemological beliefs mediated the influence of implicit theories of ability on achievement goal orientations, self-efficacy, and science achievement. Results are discussed in relation to Dweck and Leggett’s (1988) social-cognitive theory with a focus on middle school science.     

Correlates of achievement goal orientations in physical education

Achievement goal theory suggests that the motivational processes operating in achievement settings such as PE are dependent on the achievement goals manifested in that setting. In this paper, research is reviewed examining the motivation-related correlates of task and ego (approach) goal orientations in physical education, namely (a) achievement-related beliefs (i.e., beliefs about the causes of success in and the purposes of PE, beliefs about the nature of physical ability), (b) affective responses (e.g., enjoyment), (c) self-determination (i.e., PE students’ level of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation), (d) behavioral strategies and skill development, and (e) level of physical activity engagement.     

The relationships between the motivational beliefs,course experiences and achievement among postgraduate students in Pakistan

While there is considerable literature concerning the relationship between student motivation and achievement, few studies have examined the relationship between student motivation, course experiences and academic achievement at the postgraduate level. This paper is based on the findings of the initial correlation analysis of the relationship between motivational beliefs and course experiences of 368 postgraduate students in five different subject areas enrolled in day and afternoon classes at a highly-ranked public university in Pakistan. A questionnaire was developed using scales from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and the Course Experiences Questionnaire to measure the motivational beliefs and course experiences of students. Academic achievement was measured using the achievement score in the courses in which the data were collected. The results of the study indicated that students' achievement scores were positively correlated with their self-efficacy for learning and negatively correlated with test anxiety, whereas the course-experience factor learning community was significantly correlated with achievement scores. Significant correlations were also found among almost all motivational beliefs and course experience factors.     

Academic and Social Motivational Influences on Students' Academic Performance

We discuss ways in which aspects of academic and social motivation interact to influence student's academic performance. Research on academic and social motivational constructs is reviewed, focusing on students' ability and efficacy beliefs, control beliefs, achievement values, and achievement goal orientations. Relations between academic and social motivational processes are discussed, as well as how motivational processes from both domains might interact to influence academic outcomes. We also discuss motivation from the perspective of contextual factors and school socialization processes that have the potential to influence student motivation and subsequent performance. In this regard, teachers' instructional practices and interpersonal relationships with students are highlighted as potentially powerful factors influencing student motivation and performance.     

Approach–avoidance motivation and metacognitive self-regulation: The role of need for achievement and fear of failure

Previous research has indicated that approach–avoidance motivation at the achievement goal level influences the quality of self-regulated learning. Additionally, research indicates that approach–avoidance motivation at the dispositional level is associated with cognitive self-regulated learning strategy use. The present investigation sought to extend this research by examining the relationship between approach–avoidance motivation at the dispositional level and metacognitive self-regulation, as well as the mediational potential of approach–avoidance achievement goals among a sample of undergraduate students (N = 145). Results indicated that need for achievement was significantly related to metacognitive self-regulation and mastery-approach goals partially mediated this relationship. Fear of failure was negatively associated with metacognitive self-regulation; however, performance-avoidance goals did not mediate this relationship. The significance of such individual differences in metacognitive self-regulation is discussed.     

Same mindset,different goals and motivational frameworks: Profiles of mindset-based meaning systems

Growth and fixed mindsets have been linked to distinct effort beliefs, goals, and behaviours, creating a seemingly dichotomous pattern of motivation. Yet, students holding the same mindset are unlikely a homogenous group and may further differ in their motivational patterns. The current study employed a person-centred approach to investigate how mindsets and associated constructs naturally cohered and functioned together to influence student achievement. Data were collected from 535 English students (aged 14–16 years) on mindsets, effort beliefs, achievement goals, perseverance, and self-handicapping, along with their English and maths performance at the end of secondary school. Latent profile analyses revealed four distinct profiles. Across the profiles, students’ mindset co-varied with effort beliefs, mastery goals, perseverance, and self-handicapping, but the relationship between mindsets and performance goals was less straightforward. Two profiles supported the classic growth mindset–mastery goal (Growth-Focused) and fixed mindset–performance goal pairings (Ability-Focused). The other two profiles, however, displayed alternative combinations of mindsets and goals that had not been acknowledged in the past. Specifically, some growth mindset students embraced performance goals alongside mastery goals (Growth-Competitive), and some fixed mindset students did not endorse performance goals (Disengaged). The two growth-oriented profiles consistently performed well, and Growth-Competitive students even outperformed Growth-Focused students in maths. Compared to girls, boys were more often found in Ability-Focused and Disengaged profiles. The results indicate a nuanced set of relations between mindsets and achievement goals, highlighting the dynamic integration of motivational beliefs and goals within individuals.     

The Effect of Subconscious Performance Goals on Academic Performance

We investigated the impact of subconscious goals on academic performance in two field experiments. We show that unobtrusive priming of goals with regard to achievement motivation by means of a photograph improves performance in different educational contexts. High-school students who were exposed to an achievement-related photograph achieved higher grades than students in two control conditions. This effect was not affected by students’ prior performance. University students exposed to a photograph representing a specific, difficult goal reached even higher performance than students taking the exam with a general achievement photograph. For practice, subconscious goals may form a powerful, cost-effective tool to enhance academic performance. However, varying results across the experiments also prompt the need for further investigations of such effects.     

Students’ motivational beliefs in science learning,school motivational contexts,and science achievement in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Taiwanese students are featured as having high academic achievement but low motivational beliefs according to the serial results of the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Moreover, given that the role of context has become more important in the development of academic motivation theory, this study aimed to examine the relationship between motivational beliefs and science achievement at both the student and school levels. Based on the Expectancy-Value Theory, the three motivational beliefs, namely self-concept, intrinsic value, and utility value, were the focuses of this study. The two-level hierarchical linear model was used to analyse the Taiwanese TIMSS 2011 eighth-grade student data. The results indicated that each motivational belief had a positive predictive effect on science achievement. Additionally, a positive school contextual effect of self-concept on science achievement was identified. Furthermore, school-mean utility value had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between utility value and science achievement. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the functioning of motivational beliefs in science learning among Taiwanese adolescents with consideration of the school motivational contexts.     

Riding the bumps in mathematics learning: Relations between academic buoyancy,engagement, and achievement

Academic buoyancy is conceptualised as the capacity to successfully navigate the typical adversities experienced during the course of schooling. Studies have shown positive relations between academic buoyancy and beneficial achievement-related beliefs, emotions, and behaviours. Relations with achievement are often small and studies of reciprocal relations are lacking. In a sample of 1,242 primary school students, we examined reciprocal relations between academic buoyancy, engagement, and achievement. Baseline levels of academic buoyancy and engagement positively predicted subsequent achievement. Achievement predicted gain in academic buoyancy but not engagement. Engagement, but not academic buoyancy, predicted gain in achievement. However, academic buoyancy predicted achievement gain indirectly, mediated through concurrent engagement. Building engagement, academic buoyancy, and foundational mathematics skills, could work synergistically to show downstream benefits for students’ achievement.     

Relationship Between Career Aspirations and Measures of Motivation Toward Biology and Physics, and the Influence of Gender

A student’s motivational orientation is considered to be a predictor of a range of related education decisions, from attending classes to choosing a particular course or a profession. This survey study conducted with student volunteers (males = 519; females = 904) enrolled in secondary school science-math academic stream in Thailand investigated the relationship between measures of motivation (achievement goal orientation and physics and biology classroom anxiety) and aspirations for high earning science and math related careers. Results of multiple discriminant analyses showed gender differences in the motivational factors that influence career aspirations. Our interpretation of the findings highlights the significance of cultural beliefs about gender in decision making for careers.     

Intelligence beliefs,goal orientations and children’s academic achievement: does the children’s gender matter?

This study evaluated how gender is related to children’s intelligence beliefs, goal orientations and academic achievement and whether there are gender differences in how intelligence beliefs and goal orientations are related to academic achievement. The participants, 362 seventh grade students (55.8% girls; Mage = 13.20, SD = .57 years), completed measures regarding their intelligence beliefs and goal orientations at the beginning of the second semester and the grades were collected at the end of the semester. Girls reported higher scores on incremental belief, mastery goal and higher achievement but lower levels of performance avoidance compared to boys. The relations between intelligence beliefs and academic achievement were fully mediated by both performance goals. Further, there were no gender differences in the associations among intelligence beliefs, goal orientations and achievement. The findings reveal that goal orientations are a mechanism that might explain why intelligence beliefs are linked with academic achievement in early adolescence.     

Perceived parent goals and student goal orientations as predictors of seeking or not seeking help: Does age matter?

To study the contribution of perceived parent achievement goals to students' attitudes towards academic help seeking, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th grade students in Greece (n = 712) reported perceptions of their parents' achievement goals, personal achievement goal orientations, and help-seeking beliefs and intentions. Students' mastery goal orientation positively predicted their help-seeking attitudes (perceived benefits and intentions to seek help) and negatively predicted their help-seeking avoidance attitudes (perceived costs and intentions to avoid seeking help), whereas performance-avoidance orientation directly predicted their help-seeking avoidance attitudes. Multiple-group path analysis indicated that perceived parent goals predicted student help seeking and help avoidance attitudes through students' own achievement goal orientations. Further, the pattern of relations varied by grade level. Results are discussed in light of current theory and research on the developmental phases of parental influence on student motivation and self-regulated learning.     

Children’s academic achievement and goal orientations: does the ethnic membership matter? / Rendimiento académico y orientación a las metas: el papel de la etnicidad

This study explored how ethnic membership relates to children’s academic achievement and goal orientations and whether there are ethnic differences in how goal orientations are linked to academic achievement. Further, we investigated whether these relations vary based on the geographical region where ethnic groups live. The sample included 361 children (179 girls), age 12–15 years, from two regions in Romania, Banat (n = 237) and Moldavia (n = 124). Ethnic differences in academic achievement were found only between majority and Hungarian minority ethnic groups who live in different areas, whereas ethnic differences in goal orientations were found between minority and both groups of majority children (living in the same and in different geographical regions). The strengths of the associations between goals and academic achievement were not significantly different based on ethnic and regional background. The findings highlight the importance of cultural (i.e., ethnicity) and contextual (i.e., regional area) factors in relation to children’s achievement and motivation (i.e., goal orientations). Additionally, our findings show that the relations between academic achievement and goal orientations are similar across the analysed ethnic and regional groups.     

The Relationships Among School Types,Teacher Efficacy Beliefs,and Academic Climate: Perspective from Asian Middle Schools

ABSTRACT

The authors explored how prior student achievement, through school types, predicted teacher self- and collective efficacy and perceived academic climate of 222 middle school teachers in Singapore. Teachers assigned to high-track and regular middle schools differed in their perception of self- and collective efficacy to promote organizational changes and student achievement, and of the academic climate of the school. Prior achievement was shown to be best predicted by perceived teacher collective efficacy and academic climate, but not self-efficacy. Further analyses revealed that the teacher collective efficacy partially mediated the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and academic climate. These findings were discussed with respect to the sociocognitive perspective.