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.     

How Future Goals Enhance Motivation and Learning in Multicultural Classrooms

This review examines the impact of future goals on motivation and learning in multicultural classrooms. Across cultures, schooling is a future-oriented investment. Studies of minority students' school achievement have advanced future goals as a crucial protective factor in the face of frequent school failure. At the same time, cultural discontinuities and limited opportunities in minority students' school careers may weaken the motivational force of the future. Our review of the seemingly contradictory evidence on the role of the future in minority students' school achievement calls for a more fine-grained motivational theory of the future. Specifically, converging findings support conceptual distinctions (a) between positive and negative perceptions of the instrumentality of school tasks for future goals, and (b) between internal and external regulation of classroom behaviour by future goals. Thus, positive instrumentality and internal regulation enhance intrinsic motivation and adaptive learning in multicultural classrooms. We conclude that the motivational force of future goals can be generalized to minority students and that it depends crucially on perceived instrumentality and internal regulation.     

Self-regulation advantage for high-IQ children: Findings from a research study

Current approaches in intelligence research indicate the need for a more extensive determination of characteristics of children with possible giftedness, not only at an intellectual level, but also at the level of self-regulation and motivation. The present study compares self-regulation efficiency between high-IQ and average-ability children aged 6 to 11 years using a computerized task: The ‘Self-regulation and concentration test for children’ [SRTC, Kuhl, J. & Kraska, K. (1993). Self-regulation: Psychometric properties of a computer-aided instrument. The German Journal of Psychology, 17, 11–24]. Results show that high-IQ children have better self-regulatory abilities than a comparable group of average-ability children. In addition, self-regulation efficiency is related to working memory and action orientation (i.e., self-motivation). It is concluded that the assessment of self-regulation is important both for the research and practice related to children with high intellectual ability.     

Perceiving school performance as instrumental to future goal attainment: Effects on graded performance

Three studies examined the perception among college students that school performance is instrumental to future goal attainment. Study 1, an exploratory study involving free report goal assessments, indicated that perceived instrumentality (PI) is a subjectively salient aspect of college students’ achievement motivation. Study 2 provided evidence for the structural distinctiveness of PI from self-efficacy, task value, and the achievement goals, and also demonstrated that PI prospectively predicts unique variance in graded performance beyond that accounted for by these motivational variables. Study 3 demonstrated that PI prospectively predicts unique variance in graded performance independently of future time orientation. We argue that a comprehensive understanding of the purposes underlying classroom achievement behavior requires consideration of how school performance may be perceived as instrumental to the attainment of valued life goals.     

Effective self-regulation of goal attainment

Self-regulatory strategies of goal setting and goal striving are analyzed in three experiments. Experiment 1 uses fantasy realization theory (Oettingen, in: J. Brandstätter, R.M. Lerner (Eds.), Action and Self Development: Theory and Research through the Life Span, Sage Publications Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA, 1999, pp. 315–342) to analyze the self-regulatory processes of turning free fantasies about a desired future into binding goals. School children 8–12 years of age who had to mentally elaborate a desired academic future as well as present reality standing in its way, formed stronger goal commitments than participants solely indulging in the desired future or merely dwelling on present reality (Experiment 1). Effective implementation of set goals is addressed in the second and third experiments (Gollwitzer, Am. Psychol. 54 (1999) 493–503). Adolescents who had to furnish a set educational goal with relevant implementation intentions (specifying where, when, and how they would start goal pursuit) were comparatively more successful in meeting the goal (Experiment 2). Linking anticipated situations with goal-directed behaviors (i.e., if–then plans) rather than the mere thinking about good opportunities to act makes implementation intentions facilitate action initiation (Experiment 3).     

The role of pre-service teachers’ perceived instrumentality,goal commitment,and motivation in their self-regulation strategies for learning in teacher education courses

This study investigated the influence of pre-service teachers’ (n = 142) perceived endogenous/exogenous instrumentality, goal commitment, and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation on their use of self-regulation strategies (effort regulation, management of time and study environment) for their teacher-education courses. Data were drawn from a customised survey and were statistically analysed using hierarchical multiple regressions. Results demonstrated that pre-service teachers’ endogenous instrumentality was a significant contributor for explaining their use of self-regulation strategies. To facilitate pre-service teachers’ use of self-regulation strategies for learning, our findings suggest that, in addition to having intrinsic motivation for learning in their teacher-education courses, they need to have appropriate understandings of how their current course content connects to their future goals to be teachers in order to promote their use of strategies for self-regulation and learning.     

Motivation and Self-regulation in Community College Transfer Students at a Four-year Online University

ABSTRACT

Motivation and self-regulation were examined in a sample of community college transfer students enrolled in a 4-year, online university. The relation between motivation and self-regulation and students’ performance was examined, as was the association between these learner characteristics (i.e., motivation and self-regulation) and sociodemographic factors (e.g., marital status, employment status). Motivation was found to be significantly correlated with both semester and cumulative grade point average (GPA), while associations between self-regulation and performance were more limited. Further, motivation was found to be a significant predictor of semester GPA in a model controlling for sociodemographic factors and prior achievement. Motivation and self-regulation were also found to differ according to students’ sociodemographic status. For instance, transfer students with children under 18 were found to have significantly higher levels of motivation than nonparents. Those employed full-time had lower levels of self-regulation than did their nonemployed peers. Implications for further research on community college transfer students and online learning are discussed.     

Engagement in Academic Work: The Role of Learning Goals, Future Consequences, Pleasing Others, and Perceived Ability

Engagement in academic work was viewed from a multiple goals perspective. Two studies were conducted in which high school math students completed an instrument measuring five goals students might have for doing academic work (learning goals, performance goals, obtaining future consequences, pleasing the teacher, and pleasing the family), perceived math ability, self-regulatory activities, strategies (deep or shallow) used when studying for math, and the amount of effort and persistence expended on the class. Factor analysis indicated that the five goals scales and the perceived ability scale represented unique factors. The correlations among the variables revealed theoretically consistent interrelationships. Multiple regression analyses indicated that various goals (e.g., learning goals, obtaining future consequences, and pleasing the teacher), perceived ability, and some interactions accounted for significant amounts of variance in the task engagement measures (self-regulation, strategy use, effort, and persistence) and achievement. Results are discussed in relation to current theory and their practical implications.     

Goal Setting and Feedback in the Reduction of Heavy Drinking in Female College Students

Abstract

The present study examines self-regulation variables (goals, feedback, goal commitment, efficacy, discrepancy) within the context of a brief intervention designed to decrease heavy drinking amongst college females. Participants (N= 76) were randomly assigned to one of six between subjects conditions created by crossing goal conditions (no goal, proximal goal, distal goal) with feedback conditions (feedback, no feedback), and were assessed across time on drinking behavior and self-regulation variables. Neither goal setting, feedback, nor the combination of goal setting and feedback were superior to assessment and information in the reduction of heavy drinking. The interaction of efficacy, commitment and discrepancy failed to add to the prediction of future drinking beyond that accounted for by current drinking behavior and the main effects of self-regulation variables in hierarchical regression analyses. Correlational analyses revealed a negative relationship between efficacy and commitment and future drinking behavior. Results are discussed in relation to theory, the college student environment, and the potential limited efficacy of individual level interventions within this environment.     

How elementary school students' motivation is connected to self-regulation

Empirical research reveals that students face difficulties engaging in learning and achieving their goals in a variety of learning contexts. To study effectively, students need to regulate their learning process. In spite of increased understanding of cognitive aspects of self-regulation, motivational aspects of regulation have not yet been thoroughly probed. This study investigates how motivation is connected to self-regulated learning when elementary school students (N = 32) study science in real classroom contexts using gStudy software. This was done by: (1) identifying students' situated motivation during the learning process, (2) analyzing how the students with different motivational approaches activated cognitive self-regulation in authentic learning situations across multiple learning episodes, and (3) complementing the understanding with the students' individual accounts of their motivation regulation during the learning process. The results show that there are qualitative differences in the self-regulation tactics used by the high- and low-motivation students as they study. Motivation is linked closely to active self-regulation.     

A causality analysis of the link between higher education and economic development

The aim of this article is to shed light on the relationship between higher education and economic development by means of econometric tools designed to evaluate the existence and direction of causality: cointegration and Granger-causality tests. The results show a significant causality from national higher educational effort (proxied by the number of students per capita, i.e. not engaged in productive activities) to economic development for four countries: Sweden (1910–1986), United Kingdom (1919–1987), Japan (1885–1975) and France (1899–1986). However, such a causality link has not been found for Italy (1885–1986) or Australia (1906–1986). This suggests that this relationship is indeed not mechanistic as already pointed out by some social scientists.     

Self-Regulation and Task Engagement as Predictors of Emergent Language and Literacy Skills

Research Findings: A growing emphasis in the literature on children’s self-regulation signals the need for increased understanding of the ways in which young children become active players in the acquisition of knowledge. In particular, self-regulation may be linked to subsequent academic achievement through greater engagement with the learning tasks and activities made available in the preschool classroom. This study tested preschoolers’ (N = 603) observed task engagement in the classroom as mediating the relations between directly assessed self-regulation and changes in their language and literacy outcomes during the preschool year. Findings indicate that self-regulation is directly related to observed task engagement as well as changes in a host of language and literacy skills. Engagement with tasks and activities in the classroom also partially mediates the association between self-regulation and changes in expressive vocabulary. Mediation through task engagement was not found for receptive language or early literacy skills. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest that the development and evaluation of clearly articulated preschool curricula designed to promote academic achievement by fostering self-regulation is an important direction for future research.     

Letter name knowledge and the ability to learn to read by processing letter–phoneme relations in words: Evidence from Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children

Previous studies [Scott & Ehri (1990) Journal of Reading Behavior22: 149–166; de Abreu & Cardoso-Martins (1998) Reading and Writing:An Interdisciplinary Journal 10: 85–104] have shown thatprereaders who know the names of the lettersuse a visual–phonological strategy to learn toread words in which the names of one or moreletters can be clearly detected in thepronunciation of the words. The present resultsextend these findings by showing that BrazilianPortuguese-speaking prereaders who know thenames of the letters can process letter–soundrelations to learn to read spellings in whichthe letters correspond to phonemes, not toletter names. Following Ehri & Wilce'sprocedure [(1985) Reading Research Quarterly 20:163–179], Brazilian preschool childrenlearned to read two types of simplifiedspellings: phonetic spellings, that is,spellings in which the letters corresponded tophonemes in the pronunciation of the words(e.g., SPT for sapato), and visualspellings, that is, spellings in which theletters did not correspond to sounds in thepronunciation of the words, but which werevisually more salient (e.g., VST for pijama). The children learned to read thephonetic spellings more easily than the visualspellings, suggesting that they recognized theletter–phoneme relations in learning to readthe phonetic spellings. This interpretation isbolstered by the results of correlationalanalyses between knowledge of letter sounds andperformance on the two word-learning tasks.While knowledge of letter–phonemecorrespondences did not correlate withperformance on the word-learning task with thevisual spellings, it correlated significantlyand positively with the children's ability tolearn to read the phonetic spellings.     

Epistemic beliefs: Setting the standards for self-regulated learning

Relations were examined between epistemic beliefs, achievement goals, learning strategies, and achievement. We sought to empirically test Muis’ [Muis, K. R. (2007). The role of epistemic beliefs in self-regulated learning. Educational Psychologist, 42, 173–190] hypothesis that epistemic beliefs influence processes of self-regulated learning via the standards students set for learning once goals are produced. Two hundred one undergraduate students from an educational psychology course completed questionnaires designed to measure the various constructs. Students’ final grades were also collected at the end of the semester. Students’ recollections of course tasks revealed that their epistemic beliefs are activated during learning. Results from structural equation modeling revealed epistemic beliefs influenced the types of achievement goals students adopted, which subsequently influenced the types of learning strategies they used in their education course, and their achievement. Moreover, achievement goals mediated relations between epistemic beliefs and learning strategies, and learning strategies mediated relations between achievement goals and achievement.     

Using possible-selves theory to understand the identity development of new teachers

Questions about identity and future success often occupy the thinking of individuals during life transitions. Possible-selves theory describes how future-oriented thought provides identity-relevant information and motivation to pursue self-relevant goals. Expected and feared possible selves of beginning teachers (n = 221) were analyzed revealing four main categories (i.e., interpersonal relationships, classroom management, instruction, and professionalism). Differences between student and beginning inservice teachers suggest a transitional trajectory that could have implications for understanding the “how” of teacher identity development. Possible-selves theory may help bring a degree of unity across divergent frameworks and help link identity to broader issues of teacher development.     

Task and ego orientation: The role of goal orientations in anticipated affective reactions to achievement outcomes

When approaching achievement tasks, people can focus on different types of goals, for example, task mastery (task orientation) and/or demonstrating one's superior ability (ego orientation). We investigated the extent to which dispositional task and ego orientations towards a personally valued activity predict anticipated affective reactions to a hypothetical situation involving the activity. College students were asked to think of a career-related activity or a competitive sport that was personally important to them. Half of the students were further told that the activity should be one that they enjoyed for its own sake, and the other half were told that the activity should be one at which they wanted to be outstanding. In the hypothetical situation, students imagined that they succeeded at the activity with much effort, but others succeeded with less effort. Task orientation predicted anticipated positive affect in the outstanding performance context, but was not significant in the enjoyment context. Ego orientation predicted anticipated negative affect in the enjoyment context, but was not significant in the outstanding performance context. The ego orientation effects only held for students with low perceived ability. Women scored higher than men on task orientation and anticipated more positive affect. Differences in the task value of competitive sports and career-related activities were also explored.     

Children’s private speech during algorithmic and heuristic drawing tasks

This cross-sectional study examined the private speech and task-related activity of 108 school-aged children while they drew pictures of real objects (i.e., a house, a person, and an animal) and make-believe objects (i.e., a house, a person, and an animal) to investigate developmental and task-related changes in self-regulation. Composite scores for each first-grade (N=36), third-grade (N=36), and fifth-grade (N=36) participant were calculated from the repeated raw frequencies of overall private speech and private speech in conjunction with task-related behavior during the two types of drawing activities (i.e., real and make-believe). Scores were then analyzed using regression analysis and 3×2 (Grade×Task Type) ANOVA’s to explore study hypotheses. This study found that: (1) there was a concave curvilinear developmental trend in overall private speech production, (2) participants utilized more private speech during heuristic (i.e., make-believe) drawing tasks than algorithmic (i.e., real) drawing tasks, and (3) school-aged children used private speech in conjunction with task-related behavior in a different manner during the two types of drawing activities. These findings contribute to the Vygotskian perspective regarding the development and function of private speech.     

Selecting learning tasks: Effects of adaptation and shared control on learning efficiency and task involvement

Complex skill acquisition by performing authentic learning tasks is constrained by limited working memory capacity [Baddeley, A. D. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255, 556–559]. To prevent cognitive overload, task difficulty and support of each newly selected learning task can be adapted to the learner’s competence level and perceived task load, either by some external agent, the learner herself, or both. Health sciences students (N = 55) participated in a study using a 2 × 2 factorial design with the factors adaptation (present or absent) and control over task-selection (program control or shared control). As hypothesized, adaptation led to more efficient learning; that is, higher learning outcomes combined with less effort invested in performing the learning tasks. Shared control over task-selection led to higher task involvement, that is, higher learning outcomes combined with more effort directly invested in learning. Adaptation also produced greater task involvement.     

Understanding Interference and Inhibition Processes from a Motivational and Self-Regulated Learning Perspective: Comments on Dempster and Corkill

Interference and inhibition processes as discussed by Dempster and Corkill (1999) are useful on two levels: first, metaphorically in terms of general themes for educational psychology, and, second, in terms of psychological mechanisms for understanding learning. At the same time, there are a number of issues that must be addressed in future theory and research before interference and inhibition processes can be accorded a primary explanatory role in models of learning, including the operation and sequencing of interference and inhibition processes in relation to other cognitive, motivational, and self-regulation processes; the definition and construction of the relevant–irrelevant information dimension; the role of interference and inhibition in the active selection of goals, strategies, and behavior; the stability and trait-like nature of interference and inhibition; the range of generality and applicability of interference and inhibition in relation to all other aspects of learning and behavior; and the utility and power of interference and inhibition as explanatory constructs.     

Theories of motivation: Integration and ways forward

Motivation is fundamental to human agency and volitional behavior, and several influential theories have been proposed to explain why individuals choose or persist in a course of action (over others). New terms and concepts have proliferated as the theoretical models aim to be comprehensive, at the expense of parsimony. The theoretical models covered in this special issue each have their unique aspects and contributions, but four major dimensions cut across them: person factors comprising self (expectations, self-efficacy), social (modeling, comparisons), and cognitive aspects (self-regulation); task values; goals; and perceived costs and benefits. Motivation is determined by a complex interplay of internal and external factors, and we suggest that a greater focus on individuals’ motivation profiles, construal of situations, and metacognitive monitoring and control of goal pursuit might shed more light on the moment-by-moment decisions people make in daily life. Future research could be targeted at evaluating competing models (or perhaps more parsimonious ones) and enhancing interventions to address students who are unmotivated to excel in school.