The relationship between the quality of cooperative learning, students' goal preferences, and perceptions of contextual factors in the classroom

This study examined relationships between the quality of cooperative learning (CL) and students' goal preferences and perceptions of contextual factors in the classroom. Subjects were 1,920 students in secondary vocational schools. The study focused on four different types of goals: social support, belongingness, mastery, and superiority goals. It was found that social support goals had the strongest relation with the quality of CL. Further we found that the quality of CL was best predicted by a combination of social support goals, evaluations of the extent that students were taught cooperation skills, perception of teacher monitoring behavior, and the availability of academic and emotional peer support. Female students' preferences for mastery and social goals were stronger than those of male students, whereas male students had a stronger preference for superiority goals. Program type functioned as a moderator variable within the relation of students' superiority/ individuality goals and the quality of CL.     

High school students' perceptions of EFL teacher control orientations and their English academic achievement

Background. Theories distinguish between student‐initiated and teacher‐initiated regulation of students' learning activities, or between strong, shared, or loose teacher control during the completion of learning tasks. Empirical validations for such distinctions are scarce, however. Aim. The present study aimed at (a) investigating students' perceptions of control behaviours exhibited by their English teachers; and (b) exploring the contribution of different types of teacher control behaviours to students' cognitive outcomes (English Achievement). Sample. The sample comprised 732 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students studying in three major fields of high school (Mathematics, Natural Science, and Humanities). The participants (16–17 years of age) were selected from third‐grade classes of 27 EFL teachers working in 25 high schools of 6 main different geographical regions in the Isfahan province, Iran. Method. To obtain a comprehensive picture of different control types exhibited by Iranian EFL teachers, the control subscales of the two existing questionnaires, i.e., the Questionnaire on Instructional Behaviours (QIB), adapted by Den Brok et al. (2004) and the Questionnaire on Lesson Activities (QLA) used by Den Brok (2001) were merged to form the Questionnaire of Teacher Control (QTC). The development of this Persian instrument involved several steps: translation and back translation by the researchers, one expert translator, and two EFL teachers; piloting; and a final administration of the questionnaire to the student sample. With respect to the second aim of the study, data regarding students' performances on the Standardized National English Achievement Tests were gathered from local educational offices and schools. Results and conclusion. Statistical analyses supported acceptable reliability and validity of the instrument. A main factor structure with three types of teacher control (strong/high, shared/mid, and loose/low) was found to underlie students' perceptions. The results of multi‐level analyses indicated that a relatively large amount of variance was explained by the control variables and student variables, and teacher control had a statistically significant effect on student outcomes. Students' English achievement was lowest when they felt control was their teachers' prerogative, higher when they themselves exerted their own control (low teacher control), and highest under shared (mid) control behaviours.     

Shaping achievement goal orientations in a mastery-structured environment and concomitant changes in related contingencies of self-worth

Across three time-points spanning 9 months, changes in achievement goal orientations and contingencies of self-worth were assessed as a function of participating in a mastery-structured academic program for high-ability adolescents (N = 126). Endorsement of mastery goal orientations increased during the program and remained high even after students returned to their home learning environments. In contrast, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal orientations decreased during the summer program, but returned to previous levels when assessed 6 months later. Latent growth curve models assessed the covariation of performance goal orientations and two contingencies of self-worth (outperforming others and others’ approval) hypothesized to represent elements of performance goal orientations. Changes in the contingency of self-worth based on outperforming others positively covaried with observed changes in both performance goal orientations; however, changes in self-worth contingent on others’ approval did not. Results are discussed in terms of mastery-structured environments’ potential to alter achievement goal orientations via their underlying psychological processes. Implications for achievement goal theory and the design of achievement-oriented environments are discussed.     

A model for achievement motives, goal orientations, intrinsic interest, and academic achievement

This study investigated the effects of approach and avoidance achievement motives (the motive to achieve success and the motive to avoid failure) on three goal orientations (mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance goals) and the effects of goal orientations on intrinsic interest in learning and academic achievement for 157 tenth and 135 eleventh grade students of a Japanese girls' high school. Structural equation modeling indicated that mastery goals arose mainly from the motive to achieve success; however, the positive relation between the motive to avoid failure and mastery goals was also found. Performance-approach goals were related both the motive to achieve success and the motive to avoid failure. Performance-avoidance goals arouse mainly from the motive to avoid failure; however, the positive relation between the motive to achieve success and these goals was found. Mastery goals positively correlated with intrinsic interest and academic achievement, and scores on both performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals had no significant effects on either intrinsic or academic achievement.     

Achievement goal orientations and motivational outcomes in youth sport: The role of social orientations

ObjectivesSocial goal orientations, which reflect ways of conceptualizing competence in terms of social relationships with others, have been researched minimally in the physical domain. While the relationship between task and ego orientations and motivational outcomes has been well-studied, the link of friendship, group acceptance, and coach praise orientations with enjoyment, perceived physical competence, and intrinsic motivation warrants further study.MethodMale and female middle-school students (N = 303) completed questionnaires assessing task, ego, coach praise, friendship, and group acceptance orientations; enjoyment; perceived physical competence; and motivation. Two approaches to data analysis (variable-centered, person-centered) examined whether social orientations were significantly related to motivational outcomes among adolescents.ResultsVariable-centered analysis (i.e., canonical correlation) showed that social orientations were related to enjoyment, perceived physical competence, and intrinsic motivation. Person-centered analyses (i.e., cluster analysis, MANOVA) classified participants with similar patterns of goal orientations and then compared the emergent groups on motivational outcomes. Participants who defined success using either higher task, ego, and social goal orientations or higher friendship and lower ego orientations reported the most adaptive responses (higher perceived competence, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation).ConclusionsSocial orientations in sport are important to consider alongside task and ego orientations in research stemming from achievement goal theory. Defining success or competence in terms of social relationships can have positive motivational benefits in sport.     

The role of working memory in achievement goal pursuit

The present research examined the role of working memory in the pursuit of qualitatively different achievement goals. Pursuit of a mastery-approach goal entails a focus on developing self-referential competence while a performance-approach goal entails a focus on demonstrating normative competence. Across two experiments it was found that, when working memory is loaded, individuals pursuing a mastery-approach goal experienced larger performance decrements than individuals pursuing a performance-approach goal or those in a no-goal control. It was also found that reliance upon working memory intensive strategies (explicit strategies) was more evident for those in a mastery-approach condition, whereas reliance upon less working memory intensive strategies (implicit strategies) was more evident for those in the performance-approach condition. Results suggest that a motivated focus on developing self-referential skill relies heavily on working memory, facilitated by the use of deliberative, ‘step-by-step’ strategies during goal pursuit. Conversely, a focus on demonstrating normative skill depends less on working memory, facilitated by the use of more heuristic ‘short-cut’ strategies during goal pursuit. These findings show, for the first time, that working memory plays an important, but selective, role in achievement goal pursuit.     

Challenging tasks: The role of employees' and supervisors' goal orientations

Research shows that challenging jobs stimulate employee learning and retention. Nevertheless, empirical knowledge on what influences the amount of challenging tasks employees perform in their job is lacking. In this study, we examined the extent to which the performance of challenging tasks is related to employees' and supervisors' goal orientations. We found a positive relationship between employees' mastery-approach orientation and the performance of challenging tasks. Furthermore, if supervisors had authority over the tasks of their employees, supervisors' goal orientations were related to employees' task challenge. Performing challenging tasks was negatively related to supervisors' performance-approach orientation and positively related to supervisors' performance-avoidance orientation.     

Classroom climate and students' goal preferences: a cross-cultural comparison

Goal preferences indicate intentions to achieve or avoid particular states. We examined whether Curacaoan and Dutch students differ in goal preferences related to school and whether goal preferences are associated with students' evaluation of the classroom climate. Measurement invariance of the instruments was also tested between samples. Participants attended vocational high schools in Curacao ( N = 276) or in the Netherlands ( N = 283). Both the classroom climate and goal preferences differed between the samples. In the Netherlands the preference for individuality, belongingness, and recognition was stronger, whereas in Curacao mastery, satisfaction, self-determination, and material gain were more frequently endorsed. The two variables were modestly correlated. Schools do have a globalizing effect on students' school experiences and hardly adapt to goal preferences. The latter seem to be affected by non-school related cultural factors.     

Goal orientations and social comparison: The role of different motivations in affiliation preferences

In light of previous findings that both task and ego orientations are related to engagement in social comparison, the present research aimed to investigate this association in depth by examining why and with whom task- and ego-oriented individuals engage in comparisons. In Study 1, we found that task-oriented individuals tended to prefer working with a high performer because they wanted to improve themselves. In Study 2, we provided participants with success or failure feedback before asking them to indicate partner preferences. In the face of failure, task-oriented individuals showed a preference for a high performer due to self-improvement motivation. On the contrary, ego-oriented individuals were more motivated to feel superior to others and/or less motivated to improve themselves, which in turn led them to prefer a less competent partner. The present research demonstrated that the seemingly identical relation between the two goal orientations and the tendency to engage in social comparison might be substantially different in nature.     

Students’ achievement values,goal orientations,and interest: Definitions,development, and relations to achievement outcomes

Students’ achievement task values, goal orientations, and interest are motivation-related constructs which concern students’ purposes and reasons for doing achievement activities. The authors review the extant research on these constructs and describe and compare many of the most frequently used measures of these constructs. They also discuss their development during childhood and adolescence. They review the research on the relations of these constructs to achievement outcomes, and their relations to each other both contiguously and over time. Suggestions for future research include testing theoretically derived predictions about how students’ achievement values, goal orientations, and interest together predict various achievement outcomes; and examining how their relations with one another become established and change over time.     

Student perceptions of classroom achievement goals as predictors of belonging and content instrumentality

The goal of the current study was to examine the predictive relationships among a set of cognitive-motivational variables that have been found in previous studies to support academic achievement. Student perception of a classroom’s achievement goal structure (classroom mastery, classroom performance-approach, classroom performance-avoidance) was used as the primary set of predictor variables, while student perceptions of belonging and subject matter instrumentality were used as dependent variables. There were 227 participants in the current study each of whom were enrolled in a rural high school in the Midwestern United States. Results indicated that the classroom level goal orientation was, in fact, predictive of belonging and perceived instrumentality. Specifically, classroom mastery goals and classroom performance-approach goals were found to positively relate to both belonging and perceived instrumentality. Implications of the aforementioned relationships are discussed.     

College students' role models, learning style preferences, and academic achievement in collaborative teaching: absolute versus relativistic thinking

Based on the perspective of postformal operations, this study investigated whether college students' role models (technical teachers vs. lecturing teachers) and preferred learning styles (experience-driven mode vs. theory-driven mode) in collaborative teaching courses would be moderated by their cognitive development (absolute thinking vs. relativistic thinking) and examine whether academic achievement of students would be contingent upon their preferred learning styles. Two hundred forty-four college students who have taken the technical courses with collaborative teaching participated in this study. The results showed that those participants with absolute thinking perceived the modeling advantage of technical teachers was greater than that of lecturing teachers, preferred the experience-driven mode over the theory-driven mode, and displayed differential academic achievement between technical courses and general courses. On the other hand, the students with relativistic thinking revealed no difference in perceived modeling advantage of role models, learning styles preferences, and academic achievement between two categories of courses. In addition, this research indicates that college students' preferred learning styles would interact with course category (technical courses vs. general courses) to display differential academic achievement. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Sex role orientations,attributions for achievement,and personal goals of Chinese youth

The role of women in the People's Republic of China has changed dramatically in the last 40 years. This study assesses what impact these changes have had on the attitudes of Chinese youth. The sample consisted of 164 subjects (77 men and 87 women) who completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Objective Fear of Success Measure, a locus of control scale, and a personal goals questionnaire. They also evaluated a painting attributed to artists of different gender and status. The results indicate that the sex role orientations of Chinese students were similar to those of American students. On the Bem inventory, the direction of the sex differences on the sex role scales was the same for U.S. and Chinese students, but the latter had a sex role orientation that, in our culture, is regarded as more “traditional.” Chinese women were significantly more likely to endorse statements expressing fear of success than were Chinese men. On the locus of control measures, Chinese women were more likely than men to attribute their achievement successes to luck and failures to a lack of ability. The women students also attributed affiliation outcomes more to luck than did the men. The most important personal goal cited by both men and women was that of career success. Chinese men placed greater importance than women on achieving wealth, and their expectancy of actually becoming wealthy was higher. Finally, in an evaluation of a painting, Chinese men, but not the women, devalued a painting when it was supposedly the work of a female student artist.     

An explanatory model of academic achievement based on aptitudes, goal orientations, self-concept and learning strategies

As a result of studies examining factors involved in the learning process, various structural models have been developed to explain the direct and indirect effects that occur between the variables in these models. The objective was to evaluate a structural model of cognitive and motivational variables predicting academic achievement, including general intelligence, academic self-concept, goal orientations, effort and learning strategies. The sample comprised of 341 Spanish students in the first year of compulsory secondary education. Different tests and questionnaires were used to evaluate each variable, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was applied to contrast the relationships of the initial model. The model proposed had a satisfactory fit, and all the hypothesised relationships were significant. General intelligence was the variable most able to explain academic achievement. Also important was the direct influence of academic self-concept on achievement, goal orientations and effort, as well as the mediating ability of effort and learning strategies between academic goals and final achievement.     

Examining classroom influences on student perceptions of school climate: The role of classroom management and exclusionary discipline strategies

There is growing emphasis on the use of positive behavior supports rather than exclusionary discipline strategies to promote a positive classroom environment. Yet, there has been limited research examining the association between these two different approaches to classroom management and students' perceptions of school climate. Data from 1902 students within 93 classrooms that were nested within 37 elementary schools were examined using multilevel structural equation modeling procedures to investigate the association between two different classroom management strategies (i.e., exclusionary discipline strategies and the use of positive behavior supports) and student ratings of school climate (i.e., fairness, order and discipline, student–teacher relationship, and academic motivation). The analyses indicated that greater use of exclusionary discipline strategies was associated with lower order and discipline scores, whereas greater use of classroom-based positive behavior supports was associated with higher scores on order and discipline, fairness, and student–teacher relationship. These findings suggest that pre-service training and professional development activities should promote teachers' use of positive behavior support strategies and encourage reduced reliance on exclusionary discipline strategies in order to enhance the school climate and conditions for learning.     

Understanding students' motivation in project work: A 2×2 achievement goal approach

Background The project work (PW) initiative was launched in 2000 by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, to encourage application of knowledge across disciplines, and to develop thinking, communication, collaboration, and metacognitive skills. Although PW has been introduced for a few years, few studies have examined the motivation of students in PW, especially with the use of the recently proposed 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. Aim To use a cluster analytic approach to identify students' achievement goal profiles at an intra‐individual level, and to examine their links to various psychological characteristics and perceived outcomes in PW. Sample Participants were 491 Secondary 2 students (mean age=13.78, SD = 0.77) from two government coeducational schools. Method Cluster analysis was performed to identify distinct subgroups of students with similar achievement goal profiles. One‐way MANOVAs, followed by post hoc Tukey HSD tests for pairwise comparisons were used to determine whether there was any significant difference amongst clusters in terms of the psychological characteristics and perceived outcomes in PW. Results Four distinct clusters of students were identified. The cluster with high achievement goals and the cluster with moderately high goals had the most positive psychological characteristics and perceived outcomes. In contrast, the cluster with very low scores for all four achievement goals had the most maladaptive profile. Conclusio The study provides support for the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework, and demonstrates that multiple goals can operate simultaneously. However, it highlights the need for cross‐cultural studies to look into the approach–avoidance dimension in the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework.     

Gender differences in autonomous and social achievement orientations

This research examined gender differences in orientations toward autonomous and social achievement. Three independent samples of subjects (total N= 359 males and 574 females) completed measures of achievement orientation (including Strumpfer's [1975] Autonomous Achievement Values and Social Achievement Values scales) and relevant cognitive, affective, and behavioral variables. Correlational and factor analyses clearly identified distinct autonomous and social achievement factors for both men and women in each of the samples. Examination of the correlates of achievement orientation indicated that whereas an autonomous achievement orientation is similarly expressed in males and females, there are considerable sex differences in the expression of an orientation toward social achievement. In particular, a social achievement orientation was associated with concerns over social approval and responsiveness to social influence among males, but was generally unrelated to these factors among females. Findings are discussed in terms of several recent hypotheses concerning the effects of sex role norms on the development and expression of achievement needs in men and women.     

The social-cognitive model of achievement motivation and the 2 x 2 achievement goal framework

Two studies examined hypotheses drawn from a proposed modification of the social-cognitive model of achievement motivation that centered on the 2 x 2 achievement goal framework. Implicit theories of ability were shown to be direct predictors of performance attainment and intrinsic motivation, and the goals of the 2 x 2 framework were shown to account for these direct relations. Perceived competence was shown to be a direct predictor of achievement goals, not a moderator of relations implicit theory or achievement goal effects. The results highlight the utility of attending to the approach-avoidance distinction in conceptual models of achievement motivation and are fully in line with the hierarchical model of achievement motivation.     

The role of goal pursuit in the interaction between psychosocial work environment and occupational well-being

The relation of the core components of the Effort–Reward Imbalance model (ERI; Siegrist, 1996) to goal pursuit was investigated. Goal pursuit was studied through categories of goal contents – competency, progression, well-being, job change, job security, organization, finance, or no work goal – based on the personal work goals of managers (Hyvönen, Feldt, Salmela-Aro, Kinnunen, & Mäkikangas, 2009). The study focused on the contribution of the ERI components (effort, reward, effort–reward imbalance, OVC) to goal contents, as well as on the mediating and moderating effects of goal contents between the ERI components and occupational well-being (burnout, work engagement) among young Finnish managers (N = 747, age range 23–35 years). First, multinomial regressions showed that effort, reward, and effort–reward imbalance contributed to the membership of the goal categories. Secondly, hierarchical GLM (General Linear Model) indicated that the goal categories mediated the relationship between the ERI components and occupational well-being. Effort, reward, and effort–reward imbalance had an indirect effect through goal categories on burnout and work engagement, but overcommitment only on burnout. In addition, the goal categories moderated the relationship between reward and work engagement. Taken together, psychosocial work environment contributes to the contents of personal work goals, which also function as mediators, particularly between the work environment and occupational well-being.