Motivation to Learn: Achievement Goals, Self-Efficacy and Classroom Social Climate in Secondary School

Pedditzi Ml

doi:10.4172/2469-9837.1000114

Abstract

Several studies on school motivation emphasize that motivation to learn is not a unitary process, but it can be considered like a set of strategies that involve metacognitive processes at different levels. In Educational Psychology, the Achievement Goal Theory is an approach used to discuss research into motivation to learn and for this reason achievement goals are thought to be a key factor influencing the level of a student's intrinsic motivation. This study analyzes, in secondary school students, the relationship between achievement goals, self-efficacy and social climate in classroom. We assume that task goals and task goal structure predict the academic self-efficacy and the classroom social climate with particular reference to perceived teacher-student relationships and sense of school belonging. This research highlights the importance of the achievement goals in the development of motivational processes and self-efficacy in school.

Highlights

Several studies on student motivation emphasize that being motivated to learn is not a unitary process but can be considered as a set of strategies that involve different levels of metacognitive processes
In Educational Psychology, the Achievement Goal Theory [1,2] is an approach used to discuss research into motivation and for this reason achievement goals are thought to be a key factor in influencing the level of a student's inherent motivation
Ames [2] makes a distinction between target goals and achievement goals

Summary

Introduction

Several studies on student motivation emphasize that being motivated to learn is not a unitary process but can be considered as a set of strategies that involve different levels of metacognitive processes. In Educational Psychology, the Achievement Goal Theory [1,2] is an approach used to discuss research into motivation and for this reason achievement goals are thought to be a key factor in influencing the level of a student's inherent motivation. The cognitive approach stresses the importance of perceptions, thoughts and reflections in influencing the level of motivation to perform a task. The Theory of Achievement Goals [1,2,3,4] stresses the importance of achievement goals inherent in school assignments. Ames [2] considers an achievement goal as an individual’s desire for self-realization, which is reflected in a coherent combination of conduct and attitudes in specific situations related to achievement. In the same theoretical field, Carol Dweck [4] noted that elementary school students responded differently to failure: some tended to become discouraged, others showed persistence

Methods

Results

Conclusion