Why do students strive to outperform classmates? Unpacking their reasons for pursuing performance goals

Achievement goal theory has evolved since introduced about 40 years ago. One of its newer variants is the goal complex model. It assumes that each achievement goal (i.e., performance or mastery) can be pursued for many reasons and, more provocatively, that the goal’s effects depend partly on why it is pursued. Clearly, the first task for this area is to identify likely goal pursuit reasons, develop and validate a measure of reasons, and chart the influence of those reasons. Progress remains limited, however. Nearly all studies have considered only a small set of reasons suggested predominantly by self-determination theory, overlooking several other plausible reasons. Nor is there an established measure of goal pursuit reasons. To overcome those limitations, the current study validated and tested a new goal complex measure that includes several additional goal pursuit reasons, both personal (e.g., pride) and social (e.g., to make close others proud, or to help or serve others) in nature. Two culturally distinct samples of university students – one from the USA (n = 400), the other from Thailand (n = 404) – completed the measure with performance goals in mind and then reported a diverse array of educational outcomes. Their results converge for the most part. In each sample, the new measure proved to have good structural validity and psychometric properties. Several goal complexes, including the new social ones, showed unique and often desirable relationships with outcomes, too. The findings raise several research directions and implications for achievement goal theory.     

医学专科生教育应把着力点放在“三基”上

健康教育是医学专家的职业领域,同时旨在培养大学生医疗实践基层卫生专业人员。医学院在培养大学生时应该注重医学的基础知识、基本理论和基本技能。     

Peer relationships in adolescent competitive soccer: Associations to perceived motivational climate,achievement goals and perfectionism

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the perceived motivational climate, achievement goals, perfectionism and indices of peer relationships in a sample of young male and female Norwegian soccer players. The sample consisted of 1719 experienced soccer players (1231 males, 488 females) aged 12?–?19 years (mean = 14.9 years) participating in the Norway Cup international youth soccer competition. The players responded to a questionnaire measuring perceived peer acceptance and quality of friendship in soccer, perceived motivational climate, achievement goals and perfectionism in soccer. Canonical correlation analyses revealed that young female players who perceived the motivational climate as predominantly mastery oriented, and who were moderately task oriented and scored negatively on maladaptive perfectionism, reported better relations with their peers in soccer. Constructive peer relations were evident in that they scored positively on companionship with their best friend in soccer; they perceived this friend as being loyal and of allowing free discussion, and they reported being socially accepted by their peers in soccer. Mirroring these findings, young male players who perceived the motivational climate as predominantly performance oriented, who had a moderately negative score on task orientation but a quite strong positive score on maladaptive perfectionism, reported negative relationships with peers in terms of these aspects. They also reported being in conflict with their best soccer friend. The findings suggest that the qualities of motivation have a systematic relationship with peer acceptance and the quality of friendship in male and female youth soccer.     

Autonomous and controlling reasons underlying achievement goals during task engagement: their relation to intrinsic motivation and cheating

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation of autonomous and controlling reasons underlying an endorsed achievement goal to intrinsic motivation and cheating. The endorsement of the achievement goal was ensured by involving 212 (M_age = 19.24, SD = .97) freshman students in a spatial task and asking them to report their most important achievement goal, as well as the reasons for adopting the goal, during the task. Results from a hierarchical regression analysis revealed that independent of the achievement goal the students adopted, the autonomous reasons for the endorsed goal were positively related to the indices of intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, the autonomous reasons underlying either performance or mastery-avoidance goals were negatively related to cheating. Alternatively, the controlling reasons for the endorsed goal were positively related to pressure and tension. The importance of considering both the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ aspect of achievement motivation are discussed.     

基于核心素养的高中数学课程目标与学业评价

基于数学核心素养的课程目标制订,应当以"知识作为核心素养的生成本源"为逻辑线索,以"数学核心素养贯穿课程体系的整体支配模式"为框架,用体现目标水平的层次结构方式,兼顾学业评价的可操作性。对于数学核心素养,宜采用知识理解、知识迁移、知识创新三级水平刻画。知识理解指学生掌握基础知识、形成基本技能;知识迁移指学生将知识应用到新的情境中去解决问题的能力;知识创新指学生提出问题、推广问题的能力。这样划分数学核心素养水平,能反映数学课程目标的内核,具备学业质量测评的操作性特征。     

在线健康社区用户个人健康信息管理行为特征研究

[目的/意义]旨在对在线健康社区用户的个人健康信息管理行为特征进行分析,并在此基础上,对"平台-PHIM-健康目标"这一模式中的元素之间的关系进行探讨。[方法/过程]选择患有红斑狼疮的在线健康社区用户作为调查对象。采用聚类方法对个人健康信息管理行为的总体测度水平不同的群体进行识别;利用单因素方差分析(One-way ANOVA)对不同群组进行比较研究。[结果/结论]将依托在线健康社区进行的个人健康信息管理行为界定为健康信息发现、健康信息互动和健康信息分享。从数据分析结果来看,首先,在线健康社区的红斑狼疮患者在个人健康信息管理行为水平上存在显著的高低差异。第二,用户所感知到的社会支持与其个人健康信息管理水平存在正相关关系。第三,个人健康信息管理与用户健康目标之间存在正相关关系。本研究为在线健康社区完善其服务方式,促进慢性病人个人健康信息管理水平提高提供合理建议。     

师范生美育的双重目标及其改革路径

针对师范生培养的特殊性,可提出师范生美育的育己和育人双重目标。育己目标指向提高师范生的艺术素养以及引导师范生走向生活的审美化和趣味化。育人目标定位于帮助师范生树立"教育需按照美的规律来实施"的教育美学观,培养他们学科美育观以及对学科美的感知能力。为了实现双重目标,师范生美育改革路径为:美育博雅课程的定位要从艺术知识型转向审美文化型;课程的设置需加大毕业学分要求,精选公共必修课,拓展选修课程门数;课程的形态应增加课程的体验性,开发多样的活动性课程。此外,教师教育类课程需凸显美育知识的普及和能力的培养;学校要创设具有艺术性、审美性的校园环境,发挥环境的美育价值。     

日本新修订高中学习指导要领与理科课程的新变化

2009年3月日本文部科学省公布新修订《高中学习指导要领》,高中阶段的理科课程设置结构、课程类型、修业方式均出现了新的变化,不仅新设了科学与人类生活和理科课题研究两门综合性的课程,而且物理、化学、生物、地学各科课程的目标、内容构成以及学习方式也在新课程理念的影响下发生了新的变化。     

科学谋划未来发展 彰显学校办学特色

办学特色是高校在长期办学过程中形成的适应经济社会发展需要,符合高等教育发展规律,有利于自身生存与发展的优良办学风格和办学特征。我校的＂十二五＂发展规划,紧紧围绕教师教育和高原地域两大特色,在创建办学特色方面提出了明确目标。     

Self‐determined motivation and social achievement goals in children’s emotions

In this cross‐sectional study we investigated to what extent autonomous and controlled motivation and social achievement goals are associated with students’ emotional experiences at school. We found in a sample of 426 elementary school students, aged from 10 to 12 years, autonomous motivation (i.e. students’ engagement in class activities because they find such activities enjoying or personally important) and social development goals (i.e. students’ focus on developing meaningful social relationships) to be positively associated with positive emotions. In contrast, controlled motivation (i.e. students’ engagement in class activities because they feel coerced to do so) and social demonstration‐approach goals (i.e. students’ focus on demonstrating popularity) were positively associated with negative emotions. These associations remained significant even after controlling for perceived competence. Cluster analysis further showed that students high in autonomous motivation and social development goals and low in controlled motivation and social demonstration‐approach goals exhibited a better motivational profile compared to students high or low in all the above motivational variables. Results are discussed within the self‐determination theory and the social achievement goal perspective.