The relationships between adult students’ achievement goal orientations, self-defined course goals, course evaluations, and performance

Peer reviewe

Predictive effects of temperament on motivation

Although temperament and motivation both reflect individual differences in what is perceived as rewarding or threatening, and what is to be approached and what avoided, respectively, we know rather little about how they are connected in educational settings. In this study, we examined how different aspects of temperament (reward and punishment sensitivities) predict the goals students seek to achieve in relation to learning and performance. In Study 1, four dimensions describing students’ temperament (sensitivity to punishment, intraindividual reward sensitivity, interindividual reward sensitivity, and positive expressiveness) were uncovered, and in Study 2, these were used to predict students’ achievement goal orientations (mastery-intrinsic, mastery-extrinsic, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and avoidance). The results of exploratory structural equation modeling revealed significant predictions on all achievement goal orientations. In line with theoretical assumptions, sensitivity to punishment was predictive of performance orientations, intraindividual reward sensitivity of mastery orientations, and interindividual reward sensitivity of performance- and avoidance orientations. Positive expressiveness only had weak negative effects on performance orientations. The findings suggest that the goals and outcomes students seek to attain in an educational context are partly dictated by their sensitivity to different environmental cues and the kinds of affective and behavioral responses these typically incite.Peer reviewe

Predictive effects of temperament on motivation

Although temperament and motivation both reflect individual differences in what is perceived as rewarding or threatening, and what is to be approached and what avoided, respectively, we know rather little about how they are connected in educational settings. In this study, we examined how different aspects of temperament (reward and punishment sensitivities) predict the goals students seek to achieve in relation to learning and performance. In Study 1, four dimensions describing students’ temperament (sensitivity to punishment, intraindividual reward sensitivity, interindividual reward sensitivity, and positive expressiveness) were uncovered, and in Study 2, these were used to predict students’ achievement goal orientations (mastery-intrinsic, mastery-extrinsic, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and avoidance). The results of exploratory structural equation modeling revealed significant predictions on all achievement goal orientations. In line with theoretical assumptions, sensitivity to punishment was predictive of performance orientations, intraindividual reward sensitivity of mastery orientations, and interindividual reward sensitivity of performance- and avoidance orientations. Positive expressiveness only had weak negative effects on performance orientations. The findings suggest that the goals and outcomes students seek to attain in an educational context are partly dictated by their sensitivity to different environmental cues and the kinds of affective and behavioral responses these typically incite

Identification of students' multiple achievement and social goal profiles and analysis of their stability and adaptability

The present study moves to a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of student's goal orientation by jointly analyzing a variety of students' achievement goals together with students' social goals, and their combined effects. Using a person-centered approach (latent cluster analysis) the study identified students' (N = 386) goal profiles, analysed in what ways achievement and social goals are combined, and tested whether profile groups differed on their motivational and academic adaptability. Moreover, this study analysed stability and change in students' multiple goal profiles across the transition into secondary school (from 9th to 10th grade). Six distinct profiles of achievement and social goals emerged showing construct stability over time. Across profiles findings showed that prosocial and social responsibility goals are connected with mastery goals, but seem more difficult to reconcile with performance-competitive goals. In general, findings highlighted the positive role of both mastery and social goals in students' academic outcomes (differences between profiles ranging from ? 2 0.03 to 0.18), but also showed that distinct goal combinations may be compatible with students' motivation and academic success.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins Gon?alvesN/

Motivation across a transition : Changes in achievement goal orientations and academic well-being from elementary to secondary school

The aim of this study was to examine i) the prevalence of achievement goal orientation profiles among Finnish sixth- and seventh-graders (N = 419), ii) the stability and change in these profiles across the transition from elementary to lower secondary school, and iii) the profile differences in academic achievement (grades) and academic well-being (school engagement and school burnout). Using latent profile analysis, four goal orientation profiles were extracted: indifferent, success-oriented, mastery-oriented, and avoidance-oriented. Latent transition analysis confirmed that these profiles were stably identified over time. There was substantial stability in profiles: being assigned to the same group yielded the highest transition probabilities (0.63–0.75). Likely transitions were from success-oriented to indifferent and from indifferent to avoidance-oriented. Of those who transitioned, the majority moved from more to less favorable profiles. Students who stayed in the mastery-oriented group across the transition displayed the most adaptive pattern of motivation, academic achievement, and well-being.Peer reviewe

Striving for Success but at What Cost? Subject-Specific Achievement Goal Orientation Profiles, Perceived Cost, and Academic Well-Being

Most studies utilizing a person-oriented approach to investigating students’ achievement goal orientation profiles have been domain-general or focused on a single domain (usually mathematics), thus excluding the possibility of identifying distinct subject-specific motivational profiles. In this study, we looked into this by examining upper secondary school students’ subject-specific achievement goal orientation profiles simultaneously in mathematics and English. As distinct profiles might contribute to how students invest time and effort in studying, we also examined differences in perceived subject-specific cost (i.e., effort required, emotional cost, opportunity cost) among students with different profiles, and how this was linked with students’ more general academic well-being (i.e., school engagement, burnout). The 434 Finnish general upper secondary school students participating in the study were classified based on their achievement goal orientations in the two subjects using latent profile analysis, and the predictions of the latent profile on distal outcomes (i.e., measures of cost and academic well-being) were examined within the mixture model. Five divergent achievement goal orientation profiles were identified: indifferent (29%), success-oriented (26%), mastery-oriented (25%), English-oriented, math-avoidant (14%), and avoidance-oriented (6%). The English-oriented, math-avoidant students showed the most distinct domain-specificity in their profile but, in general, profiles indicated more cross-domain generality than specificity. Overall, mastery-oriented students showed the most adaptive academic well-being, while avoidance-oriented students were the least engaged. Success-oriented students were characterised by high multiple goals in both subjects, elevated costs, and high scores on both positive (engagement) and negative (burnout) well-being indicators. The English-oriented, math-avoidant students perceived studying math as costly. The findings suggest that addressing students’ achievement motivation in different subjects may be useful for recognising factors endangering or fostering student learning and well-being.Peer reviewe

Mutual relationships between the levels of and changes in interest, self-efficacy, and perceived difficulty during task engagement

This study examined how students' interest, self-efficacy, and perceived difficulty change during a task, how those changes relate to each other, and how they predict performance. Sixth-graders (N = 1024) rated their interest, self-efficacy, and perceived difficulty repeatedly during a dynamic problem-solving task. Results from the estimated non-linear and piecewise latent growth curve models showed interest and self-efficacy to decrease, and perceived difficulty first to increase, and then to decrease, over time. The levels of and changes in interest and self-efficacy correlated positively with each other, but negatively with perceived difficulty. Task performance was positively predicted by initial interest and less negative change in self-efficacy, and negatively by initial perceived difficulty and steeper increase in it. The results suggest perceived difficulty to have a distinctive role in the dynamics of task-specific motivation, and on-task changes to be relatively independent of more general motivation and competence.</p

Maintaining the self? : Exploring the connections between students' perfectionistic profiles, self-worth contingency, and achievement goal orientations

Two studies utilising a group-based approach examined the relationships between perfectionism and achievement goal orientations, and the role academic self-worth contingency plays in this, among university (N = 506, Study I) and general upper-secondary school students (N = 154, Study II). In both studies, four groups of students were identified based on their patterns of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns (i.e., perfectionistic profiles) using Two-Step cluster analysis, and group differences in achievement goal orientations were examined while controlling for the effect of academic self-worth contingency. High perfectionistic concerns, with or without high perfectionistic strivings, were connected with goals reflecting relative performance and avoidance, whereas high strivings with low concerns were linked with a stronger emphasis on mastery. Students with low strivings and low concerns were, instead, inclined towards work avoidance. Academic self-worth contingency was highest among students with high concerns, and it contributed significantly to group differences on achievement- and performance-related achievement goal orientations. This suggests that self-worth maintenance might be one of the mechanisms linking perfectionism and motivation.Peer reviewe