The role of goal orientations for adolescent mathematics achievement

This study examines the association between personal goal orientations and mathematics achievement within the trichotomous goal framework. Participants comprised approximately 2000 seventh and eighth grade White, Hispanic, and Vietnamese students in a low-income urban school district in California. Regression analysis with classroom fixed effects minimized biases arising from non-random assignment of teachers and students to schools and classrooms. While all three achievement goal orientations were correlated with mathematics achievement, only a mastery goal orientation consistently predicted achievement when a full set of prior achievement and demographic controls were included. Performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal orientations did not predict achievement in the full model.     

The origins,evolution, and future directions of achievement goal theory

Quickly after its introduction in the early 1980′s, achievement goal theory blossomed into one of the most popular frameworks in motivation research. Over three plus decades, the theory evolved in a number of ways. Some of these developments brought about much-needed conceptual and methodological clarity; but, they also involved a shift away from questions of complexity and contextualism that marked the earlier research on achievement goals. In this paper, we consider the original focus of achievement goal theory, several ways in which the theory has changed, and what we have learned from intervention research and examinations of achievement goals among diverse populations. The paper concludes with suggestions for future directions in achievement goal research to increase focus on complexity, educational contexts, and issues of ethnic, cultural, and gender diversity.     

Epistemic beliefs and achievement goal orientations: Relations between constructs versus personal profiles

Research has found students' epistemic beliefs to predict their achievement goal orientations. Much of this research emerged from the dimensional approach of epistemic beliefs, which hypothesized a relationship between particular independent dimensions of epistemic beliefs with different achievement goals. Research in this approach has primarily applied a variable-centered approach to investigating these relations. The authors adopt an alternative conceptualization of epistemic beliefs, which considers epistemic beliefs and achievement goals as orthogonal to each other, and which favors a profile-centered approach to researching their relations. They hypothesized that while a variable-centered analysis would identify relations between epistemic beliefs and achievement goal orientations, a profile-centered analysis would demonstrate the independence of these psychological constructs. In three studies with high school students (ns = 256, 149, 250) the authors demonstrate that epistemic beliefs and achievement goals form different personal profiles that are differentially related to learning strategies.     

Elementary school students' motivational profiles across Finnish language,mathematics and science: Longitudinal trajectories,gender differences and STEM aspirations

The present study employed a person-oriented approach to (1) identify elementary school students’ self-concept and intrinsic value profiles across the subjects Finnish language, mathematics and science and to examine (2) the stability and change of these motivational profiles from 2nd to 3rd grade, (3) gender differences in profile membership as well as (4) the relation to students’ STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) occupational aspirations. Based on data from 383 Finnish students (56.7% girls) three profiles were identified: High motivation across all three subjects, low motivation across all subjects, and a math-motivated profile with low motivation in the other two subjects. Latent transition analyses revealed moderate stability, particularly in the high motivation profile. Girls were less likely to be and to remain in the math-motivated profile, but they were more likely than boys to remain in the high motivation profile. The math-motivated profile transition pattern was associated with students’ STEM occupational aspirations.     

Prevalence,stability, and functionality of achievement goal profiles in mathematics from third to seventh grade

This study examined the longitudinal trajectories of achievement goal profiles in mathematics from third to seventh grade in a sample of 302 German students. Latent profile analyses were conducted separately for each school year and revealed three subgroups of students with distinct goal profiles labeled high multiple goals, moderate multiple goals, and primarily mastery-oriented. Only about one third of the students held the same goal profile across all school years. The amount of students pursuing moderate multiple goals increased over time, which supplements previous findings and theorizing about an ongoing differentiation of achievement goals during early adolescence. There were remarkably few differences in educational outcomes (interest, effort, achievement) between students from distinct goal profile groups. However, high multiple goal students showed the lowest test scores in sixth and seventh grade. Moreover, if students showed low performance during one school year, they were more likely to adopt a high multiple goals profile in the following year. Results are discussed in relation to individual cognitive developments, changes in school environments, and special characteristics of educational systems.     

Student-teacher relationship and classroom goal structure profiles: Promoting achievement and preventing externalizing and internalizing behaviors

This study investigates which profiles, defined based on students reports of student-teacher relationships (closeness; conflict) and classroom goal structures (mastery; performance), were optimal to support adjustment (externalizing and internalizing behaviors) and achievement in Math and Language. Elementary students (Grades 3–6, N = 703) and their teachers (N = 33) completed questionnaires in November 2011 and April 2012. Latent profile analysis identified four profiles, replicated across boys and girls: Average (44.46%), Mastery-Closeness (39.13%), Conflict (6.49%), and Approach-Closeness (9.92%). Students from the Conflict profile displayed more externalizing and internalizing behaviors than other students, whereas those from the Mastery-Closeness and Approach-Closeness profiles displayed the least difficulties. Students from the Approach-Closeness profile displayed the lowest achievement at the beginning of the year but the steepest increase over time.     

The impact of group design projects in engineering on achievement goal orientations and academic outcomes

This study examined the impact of incorporating group design projects into a second-year engineering class on achievement goal orientations and two academic outcomes: concept inventory and final exam scores. In this study, two sections were taught using lecture format, but one section also completed three group design projects as part of their curriculum. The intervention of incorporating group design projects had a positive effect on mastery goals and a negative effect on performance-approach goals. The effect of the intervention on academic outcomes was mediated by mastery goals but not performance-approach or performance-avoidance goals. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Peer and teacher influences on the motivational climate in physical education: A longitudinal perspective on achievement goal adoption

This study examined the temporal patterns and concurrent effects of teachers and peers on the motivational climate to student’s achievement goal adoption in the physical education (PE) classroom. On three occasions, over the course of one school year, 655 students in Years 7, 8, and 9 of a secondary school completed measures of approach-avoidance goal adoption, perceptions of the teacher-created motivational climate and perceptions of the peer-created motivational climate in PE. Measures were taken towards the end of each school term. Perceptions of a teacher mastery climate were found to decrease over the course of the school year, while perceptions of a peer performance climate increased. Multilevel analyses considered the intraindividual, interindividual and interclass levels and revealed that perceptions of both the teacher and peer climate influenced student achievement goal adoption over the course of the school year. The findings indicate that future research would benefit from incorporating peer as well as teacher influences on the motivational climate in order to understand the dynamics of student motivation in the PE classroom.     

Exploring the relationships among mirror neurons, theory of mind, and achievement goals: Towards a model of achievement goal contagion in educational settings

This article aimed to examine the relationship between mirror neuron and theory of mind functions and to explore their possible roles in the emergence of an achievement goal contagion in educational settings such as classrooms. Based on the evidence from different lines of research such as neurobiology, neuropsychology, social psychology, and educational psychology, a multilevel model of achievement goal contagion was suggested in order to clarify the role of the goal contagion effect in achievement-related settings such as classrooms. In the model, it was assumed that the well-known effects of perceived classroom goal structures on students’ achievement goals were mediated by students’ theory of mind and mirroring abilities while the interaction between them was examined. Finally, it was concluded that the hypothesized model of achievement goal contagion may provide a solid neurobiological and psychological basis for the effects of perceived classroom goal structures on students’ achievement goals. Educational implications and directions for future research were also discussed.     

Achievement goal orientations,learning strategies,and mathematics achievement: A comparison of Chinese Miao and Han students

This study compared the relationships between the goal orientations, learning strategies, and mathematics achievement of Chinese Miao and Han students. A total of 211 Han and 321 Miao fifth‐ and sixth‐grade students from Qiandongnan participated in the study. The results suggest that, in both samples, mastery orientation positively predicted the use of surface/deep learning strategies and mathematics achievement, and that performance‐approach orientation significantly predicted the use of surface strategies. Ethnic differences were also detected. The positive relationship of the performance‐approach orientation to deep strategies was stronger among the Han than the Miao students. Overall, our findings confirm that goal orientations have an important influence on Chinese students’ strategy use and achievement and that ethnic differences affect the patterns of these relationships. Possible explanations for the results and the practical implications for school practitioners are discussed.     

Job Values in Professional Education: The role of achievement goals

What kind of jobs students prefer after having completed their professional education may have important personal and organisational consequences. It is therefore essential to gain a better understanding of the job values they pursue, as well as of the antecedents of such values. In this longitudinal study, we first showed that the job values of the 152 participating Norwegian student nurses and student teachers could be divided into extrinsic job values, such as high salary and good opportunities for advancement, and intrinsic job values, such as good social relations and interesting work. Moreover, we found that an important aspect of academic motivation, that is, students' achievement goals, predicted their job values. Specifically, students adopting performance‐approach goals were more likely to pursue extrinsic job values and students adopting mastery goals were more likely to pursue intrinsic job values. Ways in which the findings address current controversies in the literature on achievement goals are discussed.     

Comparing variation theory with Piaget’s theory of cognitive development: more similarities than differences?

ABSTRACT

Lo’s variation theory is a learning and teaching theory based on Marton’s phenomenographic approach and is one of the most important backbones of learning studies. The proponents of variation theory demarcate their approach from constructivist learning approaches, stressing constructivism as philosophical framework, but not as learning theory. At the same time, the phenomenographic approach emphasizes the importance of Piaget’s work about the cognitive development, which should be considered when talking about learning and teaching. We argue that – from a theoretical point of view – Piaget’s theory of how cognitive schemata are developed and how variation theory proposes that learning can be fostered entails many similarities which are not apparent at first glance. We demonstrate the similarities and differences using a teaching example from an English as second language classroom and show the implications for practical instructional work. Finally, we discuss concrete suggestions how variation theory could benefit even more from Piaget’s theory.     

Motivating students of mixed efficacy profiles in technology skills classes: A case study

Students usually enter technology skills courses with varying experience and self-efficacy with technology. Teaching classes with mixed-efficacy at the same pace and level of contents may not ensure that all students would be equally motivated. This qualitative study explored strategies for motivating mixed profile classes by comparing learning behaviors of high and low efficacy students in an undergraduate technology skills course. It was found that low-efficacy students could be motivated by providing them with opportunities to acclimatize to the use of technical vocabulary and a technical environment. On the other hand, high-efficacy students could be motivated with opportunities to learn new technical contents. The study identified three critical stages of motivation and the strategies that could be adopted by instructors.