Assessing the psychometric properties of the achievement goals questionnaire across task contexts

A program of research is necessary to examine the psychometric properties of instruments designed to measure individuals’ achievement goal orientations. Recently, research on achievement goal orientation has examined the stability of achievement goals to assess how context might influence individuals’ achievement goals. Accordingly, studies are necessary to establish factorial invariance across contexts. We examined the psychometric properties of the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ; Elliot & McGregor, 2001) across task contexts within a single classroom environment. We tested the factor structure by comparing five competing models and evaluated the invariance of the factor structure across four task contexts. Results revealed that the hypothesized four-factor structure was replicated, construct- and discriminantrelated evidence of validity were supported, and both internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates were satisfactory. Moreover, invariance held at all levels across the various contexts.Keywords: Achievement goal orientation, measurement, factorial invariance, psychometrics, reliability.Un programme de recherche est nécessaire afin d'examiner les propriétés psychométriques d'instruments conçus pour mesurer les orientations des individus envers des objectifs de réussite. Récemment, la recherche sur l'orientation envers des objectifs de réussite s'est intéressée à la stabilité de ces objectifs afin d'évaluer comment le contexte pouvait influer les orientations envers des objectifs de réussite chez divers individus. C'est d'ailleurs ceci qui justifie les études permettant d'établir l'invariance factorielle quels que soient les contextes examinés. À cet effet, nous avons examiné les propriétés psychométriques du questionnaire sur les objectifs de réussite (AGQ ; Elliot et McGregor, 2001) dans différents contextes d'activité au sein d'un seul même environnement en salle de classe. Nous avons étudié la structure factorielle en comparant cinq modèles différents et avons évalué l'invariance de cette structure selon quatre contextes d'activités. Les résultats indiquent que la structure à quatre facteurs proposée a été reproduite, que la validité discriminante et des constructs ont été soutenues, et que les coefficients estimés de l'uniformité interne et de la fiabilité test-rest sont satisfaisants. D'ailleurs, l'invariance a été soutenue à tous les niveaux quels que soient les contextes examinés.Mots-clés: Les orientations envers des objectifs de réussite, la mesure, les propriétés psychométriques, l'invariance factorielle, la fiabilité

Mastery, Maladaptive Learning Behaviour, and Academic Achievement: An Intervention Approach

The effects of three interventions designed to boost academic achievement among mastery-oriented students were evaluated on interest-based studying, social desirability, and perceived goal difficulty. Undergraduate students (N = 177) completed relevant self-report measures at the beginning and the end of the semester and were randomly assigned to one of three brief, web-based intervention conditions or a control condition. Multiple regression analyses showed the intervention conditions to consistently predict lower levels of interest-based studying, with these effects moderated by students’ prior achievement and mastery-approach goals. Qualitative analyses provide insight into the motivationally relevant processes elicited by the interventions

Epistemic perspective and online epistemic processing of evidence: Developmental and domain differences

Relations between epistemic perspective and online epistemic processing of evidence when reading a text were examined. Thirty-seven young adolescents and 24 graduate university students were asked to read and think-aloud with two texts, one in the history domain and the other in the science domain. Participants also completed a prior-knowledge test and an instrument assessing their epistemic perspective. Results showed that participants who exhibited an evaluativist epistemic perspective and high prior-knowledge used the epistemic standard of scientific research more than participants who held non-evaluativist epistemic perspective. Furthermore, an age-related developmental difference was observed, with adults using the epistemic standard of scientific research more than young adolescents. Domain differences were observed in both participants’ epistemic perspective and online epistemic processing. Participants overall engaged in online epistemic processing of evidence more in the history topic than in the science topic

Exploring Relations between Teachers’ Beliefs, Instructional Practices, and Students’ Beliefs in Statistics

We examined the epistemic climate of statistics classrooms across two different classrooms by measuring teachers’ espoused beliefs about teaching statistics and observing their teaching practices. We then explored whether students’ beliefs became more aligned with the epistemic climate of the classroom over time. Post-secondary students’ beliefs were measured at the beginning and end of the semester. To measure the epistemic climate, teachers completed self-reports of their beliefs about teaching and learning, and participated in two semi-structured interviews at the beginning and end of the semester. Moreover, several classroom observations were conducted over the course of the semester. Analyses of the data revealed that for one group of students in one class, their beliefs were well aligned with the classroom climate and remained stable over time whereas for the other group of students, their beliefs shifted over time to align with the classroom climate

The Role of Calibration Bias and Performance Feedback in Achievement Goal Regulation

Do achievement goals change across time in response to performance feedback? Does goal orientation relate to calibration of estimated to actual achievement? We studied these issues over three tasks spanning a semester-long course where ninety-nine undergraduates received feedback about performance on each task. Learners were consistently and quite substantially biased in estimating performance with bias inversely related to actual performance. Goal orientation was not stable across time as a function of task, and it varied in some tasks in relation to calibration accuracy. These findings demonstrate goal orientations are sensitive to task and feedback. Moreover, goal orientation had varying and sometimes no relation to achievement, with calibration bias mediating most of the relations. In an authentic setting where learners experience multiple tasks over time, it is important to consider individuals’ calibration bias for performance on specific tasks. Calibration bias may be a key factor in learners’ regulation of achievement goals

Flattening the COVID-19 curve: Emotions mediate the effects of a persuasive message on preventive action

Introduction: Across four countries (Canada, USA, UK, and Italy), we explored the effects of persuasive messages on intended and actual preventive actions related to COVID-19, and the role of emotions as a potential mechanism for explaining these effects. Methods: One thousand seventy-eight participants first reported their level of concern and emotions about COVID-19 and then received a positive persuasive text, negative persuasive text, or no text. After reading, participants reported their emotions about the pandemic and their willingness to take preventive action. One week following, the same participants reported the frequency with which they engaged in preventive action and behaviors that increased the risk of contracting COVID-19. Results: Results revealed that the positive persuasive text significantly increased individuals’ willingness to and actual engagement in preventive action and reduced risky behaviors 1 week following the intervention compared to the control condition. Moreover, significant differences were found between the positive persuasive text condition and negative persuasive text condition whereby individuals who read the positive text were more willing and actually engaged in more preventive action compared to those who read the negative text. No differences were found, however, at the 1-week follow-up for social distancing and isolation behaviors. Results also revealed that specific discrete emotions mediated relations between the effects of the texts and preventive action (both willing and actual). Discussion: This research highlights the power of educational interventions to prompt behavioral change and has implications for pandemic-related interventions, government policy on health promotion messages, and future research

Teachers\u27 Epistemic Cognition in the Context of Dialogic Practice: A Question of Calibration?

In this article, we argue that teachers\u27 epistemic cognition, in particular their thinking about epistemic aims and reliable processes for achieving those aims, may impact students\u27 understanding of complex, controversial issues. This is because teachers\u27 epistemic cognition may facilitate or constrain their implementation of instruction aiming to engage students in reasoned argumentation through classroom dialogue. We also suggest that teachers may need to reflect on their own epistemic cognition in the context of dialogue-based instruction in order to calibrate it with the aim of deep understanding and the reliable process of reasoned argumentation, which underlie such instruction. Based on our discussion of relevant theoretical frameworks and related empirical evidence, we identify several promising directions for future theoretical and empirical work in this area. In a unique way, this article brings together theoretical frameworks and bodies of empirical work that hitherto have been discussed separately to provide new insights into the potential relationship between teachers\u27 epistemic cognition and students\u27 understanding

Teachers' Epistemic Cognition in the Context of Dialogic Practice: A Question of Calibration?

In this article, we argue that teachers' epistemic cognition, in particular their thinking about epistemic aims and reliable processes for achieving those aims, may impact students' understanding of complex, controversial issues. This is because teachers' epistemic cognition may facilitate or constrain their implementation of instruction aiming to engage students in reasoned argumentation through classroom dialogue. We also suggest that teachers may need to reflect on their own epistemic cognition in the context of dialogue-based instruction in order to calibrate it with the aim of deep understanding and the reliable process of reasoned argumentation, which underlie such instruction. Based on our discussion of relevant theoretical frameworks and related empirical evidence, we identify several promising directions for future theoretical and empirical work in this area. In a unique way, this article brings together theoretical frameworks and bodies of empirical work that hitherto have been discussed separately to provide new insights into the potential relationship between teachers' epistemic cognition and students' understanding. The final version of this research has been published in Educational Psychologist. © 2017 Taylor & Franci

Classroom Emotions in Civic Education: A Multilevel Approach to Antecedents and Effects

Classroom emotions are major predictors of student learning and academic outcomes. Emotions might be of particular significance in civic education, where oftentimes highly controversial and heated debates take place. We examined antecedents and effects of classroom emotions in civic education through the lens of the control-value theory, where emotions are categorized in terms of valence (positive/negative) and arousal (activating/deactivating). Specifically, we investigated the classroom climate during discussions of political and social issues as an antecedent of students’ enjoyment, shame, anxiety, and boredom, in addition to a possible mediation effect of these emotions on political knowledge and participation as core outcomes in this domain. We tested our assumptions based on data from 1,117 students at vocational schools (grades 10–13). Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed different results based on the valence of emotions, showing a positive relation between an open classroom climate and enjoyment and negative relations with anxiety and boredom. No support was provided for the relation to shame. Enjoyment related positively, and all negative emotions (shame, anxiety, boredom) negatively to achievement on the knowledge test. In terms of arousal, all activating emotions (enjoyment, shame, anxiety) related positively to intended political participation. Furthermore, enjoyment mediated the association between classroom climate and intended political participation at the student level. Thus, this study strongly supports the theoretical assumptions of the control-value theory. Pedagogically, the results imply that fostering a classroom context that is open to diverse opinions can prevent the experience of negative emotions and increase students’ experience of enjoyment