Structure and relationships of university instructors' achievement goals

The present study examines the achievement goals of university instructors, particularly the structure of such goals, and their relationship to biographic characteristics, other aspects of instructors’ motivation, and teaching quality. Two hundred and fifty-one university instructors (184 without PhD, 97 with PhD, thereof 51 full professors; 146 males, 92 females) answered a questionnaire measuring achievement goals, self-efficacy, and enthusiasm in altogether 392 courses. Teaching quality was assessed using reports from 9,241 students who were attending these courses. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed mastery, performance approach, performance avoidance, work avoidance, and relational goals as being distinguishable from each other. Distinct relationships were found between different instructors’ achievement goals, and gender, age, and career status as well as self-efficacy and enthusiasm. Hierarchical linear models suggested positive associations of instructors’ mastery goals with teaching quality, while negative associations were indicated for performance avoidance goals and work avoidance goals in relation to teaching quality. Exploratory analyses conducted due to a quite large correlation between performance approach and performance avoidance goals indicated that for university instructors, differentiating performance goals into appearance and normative components might also be adequate. All in all, the study highlights the auspiciousness of the theoretical concept of university instructors’ achievement goals and contributes to making it comprehensively accessible

Fostering learning goals at work: the interplay of dispositional and workplace learning goal orientation and supervisor appraisal behavior

A workplace that emphasizes personal learning and task mastery fosters employee development and performance. However, it is yet unclear which specific factors support such a learning goal-oriented workplace. Based on research in the educational domain, we investigated the reciprocal effects of dispositional learning goal orientation, supervisor’s appraisal behavior, and a learning goal-oriented workplace. In a study with a repeated measurement design (N = 144 employees), we did not find support for an effect of supervisor’s appraisal behavior (operationalized by the perceived use of self-reference norms and constructive handling of errors by employees) on workplace learning goal orientation over time. However, we found that a dispositional learning goal orientation of employees supports a learning goal-oriented work environment. Furthermore, workplace learning goal orientation had a cross-lagged effect on dispositional learning goal orientation and supervisor’s appraisal behavior. By comparing our results from work to findings from the educational context, our results convey important theoretical implications about the construct of workplace goal orientation and suggest practical applications to foster a learning goal-oriented workplace in terms of personnel development and performance management

How Did COVID-19 Affect Education and What Can Be Learned Moving Forward?

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted the educational sector on a global front. A plethora of research has been conducted to better understand the effects that the pandemic had on education as a whole, including investigations into different topics (e.g., school closures, e-teaching and learning, mental and physical health), populations (e.g., students, teachers), and levels of education (e.g., school, higher education). To summarize the available literature on education during the pandemic both qualitatively and quantitatively, many systematic reviews and meta-analyses have begun to emerge. With the present systematic meta-review, we aimed to synthesize and combine this existing database to derive broader and more comprehensive insights that can aid educational stakeholders. We summarize and evaluate 43 systematic reviews, four meta-analyses, and eight combined systematic reviews and meta-analyses published until November 2022 to provide a comprehensive narrative of how this crisis affected education and what can be learned moving forward

Off-state breakdown characteristics of AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs for switching power applications

A consistent description of breakdown characteristics in ohmic-to-ohmic, ohmic-to-substrate and HEMT structures has been achieved by means of device simulations for a depletion-mode AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMT technology on Si substrate suited for power switching applications. For relatively short gate-drain distances or ohmic-to-ohmic spacings, source-drain punch-through is suggested to be the limiting breakdown mechanism in either HEMTs under off-state conditions or ohmic-to-ohmic isolation test structures, respectively. The mechanism ultimately limiting the HEMT off-state voltage blocking capability is instead the vertical drain-to-substrate breakdown for long gate-drain spacings. The latter phenomenon is induced, in HEMTs on a low-resistivity p-type substrate like those considered here, by the triggering of a high-field carrier generation mechanism rather than by carrier injection

Elucidating the associations between achievement goals and academic dishonesty: a meta-analysis

Academic dishonesty is a pervasive problem undermining the effectiveness of educational institutions. From a motivational perspective, researchers have proposed achievement goals as antecedents of academic dishonesty. Empirical findings corroborate the notion that mastery goals (focus on learning and competence development) are negatively linked to academic dishonesty. However, even though theoretical considerations suggest positive links between performance goals (focus on competence demonstration) and academic dishonesty, empirical findings are mixed. To provide a better understanding of how goals matter for academic dishonesty, we conducted three-level meta-analyses encompassing 163 effect sizes from 33 studies and a total of 19,787 participants. We found a disproportional use of correlational designs (using self-report measures of academic dishonesty) and personal goal measures (opposed to surrounding goal structures). Evidence of publication bias was not found. Our results confirmed the expected negative associations between mastery goals and academic dishonesty and revealed heterogenous findings for performance goals, with indications of positive associations within behavioral and intentional dishonesty measures, but not within self-reports. To further clarify the associations between achievement goals and academic dishonesty, we call for more methodological rigor in the measurement of goals and dishonesty as well as multi-methods approaches when investigating their interplay

Selbstbezogene Ziele im Zusammenhang mit dem Leisten und Lernen Hochschuldozierender

Motivation von Hochschuldozierenden kann durch selbstbezogene Ziele beschrieben werden und erscheint wichtig für die Gestaltung guter Lehre (Leisten) und die Weiterentwicklung von Lehrkompetenzen (Lernen). Bislang ist kaum bekannt, wie die verschiedenen Zielklassen mit dem Leisten und Lernen Dozierender zusammenhängen. Daher wurden 231 Dozierende befragt. Strukturgleichungsmodelle legten nahe, dass Lernziele und Annäherungsperformanzziele positiv und Vermeidungsperformanzziele negativ mit der Lehrqualität und der Anzahl besuchter Fortbildungen assoziiert waren. Aufbauend auf dieser Studie können wechselseitige Effekte selbstbezogener Ziele mit Leisten und Lernen Hochschuldozierender untersucht werden

'When They Struggle, I Cannot Sleep Well Either':Perceptions and Interactions Surrounding University Student and Teacher Well-Being

A wealth of evidence has indicated that both students and teachers experience high levels of stress, burnout, and ultimately compromised well-being in the university context. Although numerous studies have investigated well-being among university students, and other studies have addressed well-being among university teachers, these lines of research are often conducted in isolation from one another. This is surprising, as the importance of considering reciprocal links between students and teachers has been suggested in several empirical studies. Additionally, when researching well-being in academia, the conceptualizations tend to differ from study-to-study. The present research therefore investigated how students and teachers conceptualize well-being at the university based on their personal experiences, as well as how student and teacher well-being interact. To examine this, six university students (50% female), and ten teachers (50% female) from Germany and the Netherlands participated in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative analysis using a multistage coding process revealed detailed insights concerning students' and teachers' perceptions of well-being that coincided with positive psychology, resilience, multifaceted, and basic psychological need fulfillment approaches. Moreover, an interaction between students' and teachers' well-being became apparent, including several factors such as the student-teacher relationship that in turn, contributed to both population's well-being. The present findings lend evidence toward a more coherent conceptualization of well-being and are discussed in terms of suggestions for initiatives that simultaneously support both populations, for example, through the student-teacher relationship.</p

„Evidenz“, was meinen Sie damit? – Eine Interviewstudie zum Verständnis von Hochschullehrenden vom Evidenzbegriff

In den letzten Jahren hat sich „Evidenz“ als Leitbegriff und „Evidenzbasierung“ als Ziel sowohl in der Hochschuldidaktik und -lehre etabliert, als auch zu einer Debatte über das Verständnis vom Evidenzbegriff der Hochschuldidaktik geführt. Weitestgehend unberücksichtigt blieb bisher, was die einzelnen Lehrenden unter „Evidenz“ verstehen. Die vorliegende Interviewstudie mit Hochschullehrenden exploriert daher, inwieweit sich fachkulturelle Evidenzverständnisse identifizieren lassen und wie diese Verständnisse der Lehrenden als Rezipient*innen einer evidenzbasierten hochschuldidaktischen Forschung im Diskurs berücksichtigt werden können. Die Ergebnisse verweisen auf fachkulturelle Unterschiede, die sich an den jeweils vorherrschenden Forschungstraditionen orientieren