Goal Importance and Students at Risk of Having Language Difficulties

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the motivational determinants of students at risk of language difficulties (in reading and spelling) and students with high language skills. Teachers' evaluations in language and mathematics at the end of the academic year constituted the dependent variable. Motivational orientations were examined using the constructs that reflect the theory of planned behavior and goal importance. Participants were 202 elementary school students-22 at risk of language difficulties and 180 with high language skills-drawn from 30 elementary schools in northern Greece. The results indicated that the two groups differed significantly, with the at-risk students exhibiting significantly lower perceptions of goal importance, intention to achieve, belief strength, outcome evaluation, and normative beliefs, and eventually scoring lower in language and mathematics at the end of the academic year. A finer analysis of students' motivational orientations was conducted using covariance structural modeling (CSM) and EQS 5.7b. The planned behavior model with goal importance produced a comparative fit index (CFI) of 1.00 in language and mathematics for the at-risk group. The respective CFIs for the high language skills group were .97 and 1.00 in language and mathematics, respectively. Although model fit was excellent across samples, different weights and signs linking motivational orientations to achievement partly explained the observed differences in language and mathematics manifested in the two groups.