Understanding the Relationships Among Students\u27 Goal Orientations, Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, and Accelerated Academic Success in the Redesign of Developmental Mathematics
The low success rates of increasing numbers of underprepared students taking developmental mathematics classes \u27often minority and economically disadvantaged\u27 are challenging community colleges across the United States. These students, who must start in the lowest levels of precollege mathematics courses, are unlikely to pass the first course and earn a credential. Using a mastery goal orientation theoretical framework, a quantitative, survey research design was used to ascertain any correlations between students\u27 goal orientations, self-efficacy, test anxiety, and success in a new model of learning. Survey data were used to answer 3 research questions: (a) the relationship between success and students\u27 perceptions of self-efficacy, goal orientation, and beliefs about test anxiety; (b) the relationship between demographics and students\u27 perceptions of self-efficacy, goal orientation, and beliefs about test anxiety; and (c) the degree to which students\u27 perceptions and experience predict success. Approximately 500 new students in the course were invited; 36 participated. Spearman\u27s rho, chi-square, and ANOVA were used to answer the research questions. Based on Spearman\u27s rho correlations, there were statistically significant relationships between self-efficacy and success as well as between intrinsic goal orientation and success. However, the sample size limited the generalizability of the findings. Further, there were no significant predictors of success. The white paper developed from this project study is intended to guide the development and expansion of accelerated developmental mathematics to increase academic success, broaden career choices, and improve the long-term economic futures of disadvantaged students enrolling in college
