Approach Achievement Goals Research Articles

Achievement of Goal Orientation and Academic Engagement among Adolescents in Southwestern Uganda

Enhancing academic engagement is essential for improving the educational experiences of adolescents. Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, this study explored the relationship between achievement goal orientation and academic engagement among 510 secondary school students in Southwestern Uganda. The study focused on two forms of goal orientation—mastery-approach and performance-approach goals—and examined the mediating and moderating role of academic self-efficacy. The results, derived from self-reported data, indicate that approach achievement goals (mastery and performance) positively predict academic engagement, independently. Moreover, academic self-efficacy plays a dual role: while it mediates the relationship between approach achievement goals (mastery and performance) and academic engagement, self-efficacy also moderates the relationship between performance-approach achievement goals and academic engagement. These findings underscore the importance of academic self-efficacy and achievement goal orientation in enhancing academic engagement among adolescent students, especially in low socioeconomic status communities. This research contributes to the understanding of factors like teacher-student relationship, external support offered by Compassion International program, goal setting skills training and predetermined external rewards can enrich the educational experiences of students in low resource education contexts

The Relationship between Academic Coping, Approach Achievement Goals and the Fear of Shame and Embarrassment in Science Class

This study aims to examine the relationship between approach achievement goals, the fear of shame embarrassment failure, and coping strategies in secondary school science courses. Academic coping was handled in four dimensions: positive, projective, denial, and non-coping. The sample of the study included 249 sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students studying at one of the largest cities in the eastern part of Turkey. Descriptive statistics of variables were determined with the SPSS program. The relationship between the variables of the study was examined with the path analysis using the Amos program. According to the results of the analysis, a positive correlation was found between performance-approach goals and positive coping strategies. Fear of shame and embarrassment was positively correlated with positive coping and non-coping from the coping strategies and with mastery-approach goals from the approach achievement goals.

Approach-achievement goals and motivational context on psycho-physiological functioning and performance among novice basketball players

ObjectivesDrawing from an integrated motivational model (Vansteenkiste, Lens, Elliot, Soenens, & Mouratidis, 2014), this study tested the impact of induced approach-based achievement goal states under different motivational contexts on the psycho-physiological functioning and motor task performance of novice basketball players. DesignA 3 × 2 (Goal [task-/self-/other-approach] x Context [autonomy-supportive/controlling]) repeated measures experimental design was employed. Method114 novice participants (Mage = 23.53; SD = 4.56) performed a basketball shooting task. They were subsequently randomly assigned to one of six experimental conditions before repeating this task. Physiological (heart rate [HR] and blood pressure [BP]) and psychological (stress appraisals, state anxiety, task enjoyment, perceived competence, and goal attainment) data were captured at different intervals throughout the experiment. ResultsFactorial ANOVAs revealed participants: 1) performing under a controlling motivational context reported significantly higher HR (p < .001) and systolic BP (p < .05) post-task compared to those operating within an autonomy-supportive environment, 2) induced to an other-approach goal group, recorded significantly higher diastolic BP (p < .05) than those induced to self- and task-approach goals post-task, 3) adopting a task-approach goal under controlling conditions appraised the shooting task as significantly more threatening (p < .05) than their counterparts in the task-approach autonomy-supportive condition, and finally, 4) following approach-based goals under an autonomy-supportive context significantly improved their performance (p < .001) from pre-to post-shooting task. ConclusionsOur findings provide limited support for an integrated motivational model and are discussed in relation to their unique theoretical and practical utility.

Relations of patterns of perfectionism to BIS sensitivity, achievement goals and student engagement

In the hierarchical model of achievement motivation, achievement goals represent mediators between reinforcement sensitivity (e.g., Behavioral Inhibition System [BIS]), as a self-based antecedent variable, and student engagement, as an outcome variable. However, the manifestations of these variables and the relationships between them may differ according to the type of perfectionism. The aim of this study was to explore the differences between adaptive, maladaptive, and non-perfectionists in motivation and engagement in learning physics. Participants were 299 high school pupils from Croatia. When group differences were analyzed, maladaptive perfectionists exhibited a more sensitive BIS and higher mastery- and performance goals than adaptive and non-perfectionists, while maladaptive and adaptive perfectionists had higher approach achievement goals than non-perfectionists. Maladaptive perfectionists were as cognitively engaged as adaptive perfectionists, but their emotional and behavioral engagement were lower. Multigroup analysis demonstrated different models of achievement motivation depending on perfectionism type for cognitive engagement, but not for behavioural and emotional engagement. Among adaptive and non-perfectionists, mastery- and performance-approach goals positively predicted cognitive engagement. Among maladaptive perfectionists, mastery-avoidance and performance-approach goals positively predicted cognitive engagement, while performance-avoidance goals negatively predicted cognitive engagement. Behavioral engagement was predicted by mastery-approach goals only. For the emotional engagement, mediation analysis provided strong support for the hierarchical model of achievement motivation. Our results address the importance of interventions that encourage mastery-approach goals, especially among maladaptive perfectionists.

Predictors of Approach/Avoidance Achievement Goals: Personality Traits, Self-Esteem and Academic Self-Efficacy

This study aims to examine approach -avoidance achievement goals, five-factor personality traits, self-esteem and academic beliefs within a scope of a model. The study used a relational survey model; the sample group consisted of 513 students (189 male and 324 female) enrolled in the Faculty of Education at Gazi University. Students in this sample groups had different demographic features and were from different classrooms. Research data were obtained using the “Achievement Goals Scales,” “Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale,” “Five-Factor Personality Scale” and “Academic Self-Efficacy Scale.” Path analysis modeling was used to test the hypothesis models. It was found that students’ approach and avoidance achievement goals are explained by cause-effect relationship with personality traits, self-esteem and self-efficacy belief. In this study, it was found that self-efficacy belief and self-esteem are the most important variables that predict approach achievement goals and avoidance achievement goals, respectively. The research results were compared to and discussed with regard to the relevant literature. © 2014 IOJES. All rights reserved

Achievement goals in Turkish high school PE setting: The predicting role of social physique anxiety

The objectives of this study were to determine high school students’ achievement goals and social physique anxiety level according to gender and grade level and to examine the role of social physique anxiety in predicting achievement goals. Participants consisted of 1359 female and 1286 male high school students from central Turkey. The results showed that females obtained higher scores on mastery and performance avoidance achievement goals and social physique anxiety, 10th-grade students obtained higher scores on mastery achievement goals, 9th- and 10th-grade students obtained higher scores than students in other grades on performance approach achievement goals, 9th- and 10th-grade students obtained higher scores than students in other grades on performance avoidance achievement goals, and 9th-grade students obtained higher scores than 11th-grade students on social physique anxiety. Furthermore, social physique anxiety was found to be a positive predictor of performance avoidance achievement goals in physical education.