Mastery-approach Goal Orientation Research Articles

Are you learning or performing? A comparison of students’ goal orientation during experimentation at an outreach science laboratory and at school using the CEAS model

BackgroundMany outreach science laboratories have been established in the fields of STEM to counteract negative developments in student motivation such as a decrease in mastery-approach goal orientation and an increase in avoidance-performance goal orientation. Studies to date have not yet addressed the question whether a visit to an outreach science laboratory could have a buffering or counteracting effect on these negative developments. AimsWe investigated differences in students’ state goal orientations, state of interest, perceived need satisfaction, and perceived pressure when conducting experiments in an outreach science laboratory or at school. SampleParticipants were 358 German school students (age: M = 16.43 years, SD = 0.76 years; gender: 58% female). MethodsIn a quasi-experimental study, the students conducted the same experiments at an outreach science laboratory (n = 186) or at school (n = 171) under local conditions. ResultsThe students in the outreach science laboratory perceived themselves as more competent, more related, and less pressured than the students at school. Their state of interest and perceived autonomy were similarly high. Furthermore, we found no differences in their state mastery-approach goal orientation, while the students in the outreach science laboratory exhibited lower performance goal orientations than the students at school. ConclusionsOur findings support the assumption that students may be motivated to learn about biological content in outreach science laboratories as at school, but with more competence perception and beyond performance pressure. Regarding the recent negative developments of student motivation, outreach science laboratories might be valuable complements to formal biology education.

The Worked-Example Effect and a Mastery Approach Goal Orientation

This study aimed to explore the impact of a mastery approach goal orientation (MAGO) on learning from worked examples. In this experiment (N = 98, mean age = 13.9 years), learners had their MAGO measured, and received instruction in mathematics, either through a worked-example or a problem-solving strategy. The study demonstrated that the worked-examples approach resulted in enhanced retention (but not transfer) and decreased cognitive load when compared to the problem-solving approach. However, there was a significant interaction between instructional strategy and the MAGO, indicating that only learners with a high MAGO benefited from worked examples. Learners with higher MAGO levels also experienced less cognitive load than learners with a lower MAGO. These results indicate a moderating role of MGO in enhancing the effectiveness of worked examples. This study also found that prior knowledge was the only factor influencing transfer performance, highlighting the importance of studying its impact.

몽골 중고등학생의 학습목표지향성과 학습몰입의 관계

[Purpose] This study aimed to examine the relations of Mongolian middle and high school students’ Learning Goal Orientation Types to Learning Flow, and mediating roles of Learning Motivation Types in the relations. [Methods] The subjects were 500 middle and high school students (male students 49%, female students 51%) from 5 schools located in Ulaanbaatar city and provincial areas. Statistical analyses and SEM(Structural Equation Modeling) was performed using SPSS 26 and Amos 26. [Results] Only mastery-approach goal orientation has the direct effect to learning flow indicating that the learning goal that is oriented to mastery-approach is associated with the higher level of increasing flow. On the other hand, performance learning goal has indirect effects to learning flow with both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Finally, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations have the positive relationships with learning flow. [Conclusion] This study shows that the higher levels of mastery-approach goal orientation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are associated with the higher levels of learning flow, and that learning motivation, especially, intrinsic motivation is the key controller of learning flow in the condition of given learning goal orientations.

고등학생의 학업적 자기효능감과 학습몰입 간의 관계에서 성취목표지향성의 매개효과

The purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating effects of achievement goal orientation on the relationship between academic self-efficacy and learning flow of high school students. For the purpose of this study, a questionnaire was conducted on 299 students of B high school located in Busan, and the data of 287 students were finally analyzed. Correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship among academic self-efficacy, learning flow, and achievement goal orientation; regression analysis was performed to verify the mediating effects of achievement goal orientation. The conclusions from the results and discussions are as follows. First, there are significant correlations among academic self-efficacy, learning flow, and achievement goal orientation. Second, mastery approach goal orientation has a partial mediating effect between academic self-efficacy and learning flow. Third, performance approach goal orientation has a partial mediating effect between academic self-efficacy and learning flow. Based on these conclusions, it is necessary to present an educational direction for effective learning in the school field by considering the achievement goal-oriented type in order to promote the learning flow of high school students.

Psychological Birth Order and Achievement Goal Orientation of High School Students engaged in Shadow Education

The focus of the current study is to examine the nature of the relationship of goal orientation with psychological birth order. Likewise, it also looked into the ability of psychological birth order to influence the endorsement of achievement goals (mastery-approach and avoidance; performance- approach and avoidance). A total of 220 high school students engaged in shadow education answered the White-Campbell Psychological Birth Order Inventory (PBOI) and the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ). Based on the regression analysis performed, only the pairing of psychological birth order and performance-approach is significant while those of psychological birth order, mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, and performance-avoidance are not significant. Further analysis revealed that those who are psychologically firstborns tend to endorse the mastery-approach goal orientation while those who are psychologically youngest or lastborn endorses mastery-avoidance.

Exploring the Dimensions of Movement-Specific Reinvestment From Personal Characteristics Perspectives.

The purposes of the present study were three-fold: to examine (a) if the movement-specific reinvestment responses should be represented as two dimensional constructs, (b) whether dichotomization of the movement-specific reinvestment responses are appropriate, and (c) how the two dimensions are associated with relevant psychological concepts. To conduct a comparative examination of the MSRS structure in two Asian samples, participants were 236 Japanese university students (136 men, 100 women; Mage = 18.0, SD = 1.6) and 328 Singaporeans (167 men, 161 women; Mage = 21.8, SD = 1.8). After examining the factor structure of the movement-specific reinvestment responses for the first purpose, latent class factor analysis was conducted for both samples for the second purpose. For the third purpose, correlation analysis and mediation analysis were conducted for a part of the Singaporean sample. Through a series of latent class factor analysis, four and three classes were identified for the Japanese and Singaporean samples, respectively. For both samples, the patterns of the item-average scores for the two movement-specific reinvestment dimensions were parallel among the classes. Conscious Motor Processing was positively associated with mental toughness, intrinsic regulation, integrated regulation, mastery-approach and task goal orientations, and dispositional flow, whereas Movement Self-Consciousness was positively related with stress and mastery-avoidance goal orientation. The findings of the study supported (a) the two-dimensional representation of the movement-specific reinvestment responses, but did not fully support (b) the practice of dichotomization of the movement-specific reinvestment responses, and indicated that (c) at the trait level, Conscious Motor Processing and Movement Self-Consciousness were associated with positive and negative psychological constructs, respectively.

Making feedback constructive: the interplay of undergraduates' motivation with perceptions of feedback specificity and friendliness

Providing constructive feedback is complex due to the interplay of emotional and motivational processes students experience when receiving such feedback. In the present study, we investigated constitutive elements of what would make feedback perceived to be constructive, and whether students’ mastery approach goal orientation and writing self-efficacy influenced these perceptions of feedback on an imagined, writing assignment scenario. In Phase 1, college students were asked to rate 56 feedback statements on degree of specificity and friendliness. In Phase 2, different students rated the feedback statements from Phase 1 on levels of constructiveness. Feedback high in specificity was rated higher in constructiveness than unspecific feedback; however, feedback friendliness had no effect overall. Feedback high in specificity and friendliness received lower ratings of constructiveness. This pattern was more pronounced for students high in mastery approach goal orientation and students high in writing self-efficacy.

The effect of personality diversity on life satisfaction and job performance

The purpose of this study is to verify the effect of personality diversity on well-being in life and job performance. Personality diversity is a hypothetical construct for this study based on self-concept differentiation across roles, considering both the variability between roles and the variability within a role in personality. Personality diversity is the variety of subject-specific personality, which refers to a variety of distinctive personality that are expressed according to the role. To this end, it is examined how personality diversity relates to life satisfaction and job performance. After that, the process is explained through a mediated model by achievement goals. As a result, personality diversity showed negative relationship with life satisfaction. This result reconfirmed the previous studies. However, personality diversity had positive correlations with task performance, context performance, and adaptational performance. And even after controlling the level of personality, personality diversity showed significant incremental validity for task performance. In addition, the mastery approach goal orientation showed partial mediation effect between the personality diversity and task performance and full mediation effect between the personality diversity and the other criterion variables, contextual and adaptational performance. These results suggest that personality diversity is distinguished from the level of personality and can have adaptive effect on job performance rather than supporting the self-fragmentation hypothesis of prior researches. Finally, the need of reliability test for personality diversity and further research was suggested.

What Predicts Quality of Learners’ Study Efforts? Implicit Beliefs and Interest Are Related to Mastery Goals but Not to Use of Effective Study Strategies

What goes into motivating students to take effective action? Ideally, students are not only motivated to invest time into their studying, but that they use their time in effective and productive ways. In the present study, we surveyed college undergraduates (N = 366) about how they engage in one of their college courses. Specifically, we explored how their motivation-related implicit beliefs (ease and difficulty mindsets, intelligence mindset;Dweck, 2000; Fisher and Oyserman, 2017) interact with perceived course interest and course importance to predict their achievement goal orientation for the course and the quality of their study strategies. We used a person-centered latent profiles analysis approach categorize meaningful profiles of implicit beliefs. Those who were likely to highly endorse motivation-increasing implicit beliefs and who found a course interesting were also more likely to hold mastery-approach goals; the relationship, however, was more complicated for performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Implicit beliefs profiles themselves did not directly relate to strategy use, but goal orientation did. In particular, mastery-approach goal orientation was uniquely related to all three of the effective study strategies subscales (e.g., elaborative, standard testing, generative testing). Mastery-avoidance was related to less use of elaborative strategies, and performance-goals were not related to any type strategy use. Perceived course importance was positively related to increased passive and elaborative strategies, but not the standard testing or generative testing strategies. We discuss implications for interventions.

Self-Regulation in Informal Workplace Learning: Influence of Organizational Learning Culture and Job Characteristics.

The digital shift leads to increasing changes. Employees can deal with changes through informal learning that enables needs-based development. For successful informal learning, self-regulated learning (SRL) is crucial, i.e., to set goals, plan, apply strategies, monitor, and regulate learning for example by applying resource strategies. However, existing SRL models all refer to formal learning settings. Because informal learning differs from formal learning, this study investigates whether SRL models can be transferred from formal learning environments into informal work settings. More precisely, are all facets relevant, and what are the relational patterns? Because informal workplace learning occurs through interaction with the context, this study investigates the influence of context, i.e., organizational learning culture and job characteristics (autonomy, task identity, and feedback) on SRL. Structural equation modeling of N = 170 employees in various industries showed the relevance of the self-reported metacognitive strategies planning, monitoring, and regulation; the resource strategies help-seeking and effort regulation; and deep processing strategy elaboration. However, there was no evidence for organization strategies. The learning strategies were associated with self-efficacy and mastery-approach goal orientation. Regarding context, results supported indirect effects over self-motivational beliefs of learning strategies. Organizational learning culture was connected with mastery-approach goal orientation, whereas job characteristics autonomy and feedback were related to self-efficacy, which were again related to SRL strategies. Therefore, context can empower employees not only to accomplish their tasks but to develop themselves by applying SRL strategies. The results are discussed, and practical implications are outlined.

Relationship between metacognitive awareness and motivation to learn in medical students

BackgroundIn self-regulated learning, learning is defined as metacognitively guided, intrinsically motivated and strategic. In the context of medical education, the development of self-regulated learning can be associated with better academic and clinical performance. Hence, this report focuses on demonstrating the association between metacognitive awareness and motivation to learn among medical students in the clinical sciences portion of their education (3rd and 4th years of the medical programme) and characterizing medical students’ motivational factors.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study with a qualitative and quantitative approach involving medical students from the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in Brazil. We have selected validated self-report questionnaires for the evaluation of metacognition (the Schraw and Dennison Metacognitive Awareness Inventory - MAI) and motivation to learn (the Baranik, Barron and Finney Achievement Goals for a Work Domain - AGWD). MAI has two domains: knowledge about cognition and regulation of cognition. AGWD divides achievement goals into mastery approach, mastery avoidance, performance approach and performance avoidance goal orientations. We also performed a qualitative analysis based on an open-ended question: “What motivates me the most in medical training?”ResultsOne hundred eighty-five students completed the questionnaires: 103 (55.67%) were men, 110 (59.45%) were in their fourth year of the medical programme, and 152 (82.16%) were up to 24 years old. Only the knowledge about cognition domain of MAI was significantly associated with motivation to learn. We found that higher scores on the knowledge about cognition domain of MAI was associated with the mastery approach goal orientation (p = 0.003, median 0.71, IQR 0.23) and that lower scores on this same domain was associated with a mastery avoidance goal orientation (p = 0.034, median 0.65, IQR 0.14). The open-ended question showed that altruism, personal satisfaction, financial feedback, personal and supportive networks and graduating were motivational factors.ConclusionsMetacognitive awareness and motivation to learn are closely related. This association may represent a potential target for the educational process, as deans and faculty can adopt strategies focused on promoting self-regulated learning concerning students’ motivational factors. This could enhance academic outcomes and promote more enjoyable learning.

Achieving Employability as We Age: The Role of Age and Achievement Goal Orientations on Learning and Employability

The aging workforce challenges companies to keep their aging employees employable in the workforce. This paper gives an indication as to which employees are more likely to be interested in further learning and employability. Specifically, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of chronological age and achievement goal orientations for informal and formal learning and employability. Data of 167 Austrian knowledge workers were gathered via electronic questionnaires to investigate the relationships between age, achievement goal orientations, learning activities, and employability using structural equation modeling. It was found that informal learning has a significant positive relation with several dimensions of employability. Furthermore, mastery-approach goal orientation also shows a significant positive relation with informal learning and employability. In addition, age had no significant relation with the achievement goal orientations. The paper stresses the need to consider characteristics other than chronological age, such as goal orientations, when considering employees’ learning behavior and employability.

성인진입기 대학생의 열정마인드셋과 진로적응성의 관계에서 그릿(Grit)과 숙달접근 성취목표지향성의 매개효과

성인진입기 대학생의 열정마인드셋과 진로적응성의 관계에서 그릿(Grit)과 숙달접근 성취목표지향성의 매개효과

Time Orientation and its Relationship with Goal Orientation

The objectives of the study are to investigate time orientation and goal orientation levels in light of some variables, and to identify the relationship between the two variables. The sample of the study consists of 698 male and female students studding at Yarmouk University. Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) Time Orientation Scale and Abu Ghazal et al., (2013) Goal Orientation Scale are used after assessing the validity and reliability for both scales. The results of the study showed that the past positive domain in time orientation ranked first, followed by future past negative, present hedonism, present fatalistic, respectively. The results also showed that the domain of mastery-approach in goal orientations ranked first, followed by performance-avoidance, and finally performance-approach. The results of the study indicated a statistically significant positive correlations between future time orientation and mastery- approach goal orientation, and between past negative time orientation and performance- avoidance goal orientation. There are statistically significant positive correlations between time orientation domains and goals orientations domains except a negative correlation between present fatalistic time orientation and mastery-approach goal orientation

Thriving Under Uncertainty: The Effect of Achievement Goal Orientation on Job Insecurity and Flourishing

Flourishing, a construct encompassing optimal human functioning, is an indicator of well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of employees’ achievement goal orientation (mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal orientation) on flourishing, through the appraisal of quantitative (concerns about continued existence of the job) and qualitative (concerns about continued existence of important job features) job insecurity. Data were collected from 275 employees in an organization on the brink of a substantive downsizing. The results of structural equation modelling showed that mastery approach and—avoidance goal orientation positively predicted flourishing. Furthermore, flourishing was negatively predicted by qualitative job insecurity but not by quantitative job insecurity. Qualitative job insecurity mediated the effects of mastery- and performance-approach goal orientation on flourishing but the effects were not significant. Hence, in an environment with a substantial threat of job loss, a mastery goal orientation contributed directly to flourishing. Our results plead for more attention for the effects of achievement goal orientation and qualitative job insecurity on flourishing under uncertainty.

Transferring Knowledge in a Knowledge-in-Use Task—Investigating the Role of Knowledge Organization

Knowledge-in-Use, i.e., the ability to apply what one has learned, is a major goal of education and involves the ability to transfer one’s knowledge. While some general principles of knowledge transfer have been revealed, the literature is full of inconclusive results and it remains hard to predict successful transfer. However, research into expertise suggests that how one organizes one’s knowledge is critical for successful transfer. Drawing on data from a larger study on the learning of energy, we employed network analysis to investigate how the organization of students’ knowledge about energy influenced their ability to transfer and what role achievement goal orientation may have played in this. We found that students that had more coherently organized knowledge networks were more successful in transfer. Furthermore, we also found a connection between mastery goal orientation and the organization of students’ knowledge networks. Our results extend the literature by providing evidence for a direct connection between the organization of students’ knowledge networks, their success in transfer, and their goal orientation and hint at the complexities in the relationship between mastery approach goal orientation and successful transfer beyond what is reported in the literature.

Predicting transfer from a game-based learning environment

This study examined the predictive impact of variables from self-regulated learning models on transfer following multiple gameplay sessions in a classroom game-based learning environment (GBLE). The game focused on science curriculum including map models, map navigation, and landforms. Fifth-grade students (N = 594) interacted with CRYSTAL ISLAND - UNCHARTED DISCOVERY during six 50-min sessions over four weeks integrated with classroom instruction. The transfer activity required students to create an island on grid paper that included at least seven different landforms, a map navigation activity created for peers, and an attached map scale model. Results of multiple regression analyses revealed that when other variables were accounted for, none of the measured motivational variables including interest for the game, performance-approach goal orientation, mastery-approach goal orientation, or self-efficacy for science were significant positive predictors of transfer. Interestingly, video game self-efficacy was a significant negative predictor of transfer performance. Prior knowledge and change in science knowledge after gameplay were also significant predictors of transfer. Girls performed as well as boys on the transfer task despite completing less game quests and had significantly lower posttest content scores. Interest was a consistent predictor of performance for girls but not boys for in-game performance, posttest content scores, and transfer scores. Regression models were systematically less able to predict performance moving from content knowledge, to in-game performance, to transfer. Implications for the design of GBLEs to facilitate transfer are discussed.

Fear of failure: a polynomial regression analysis of the joint impact of the perceived learning environment and personal achievement goal orientation

ABSTRACTBackground and Objectives: Alongside a strong emphasis on performance and achievement in the current higher educational system, researchers have described an increase in anxiety, stress, and fear of failure amongst students. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the (mis)match between a perceived institutional performance-oriented learning environment and students’ personal achievement goal orientation (mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goal orientation) related to fear or failure.Design: Cross-sectional, correlational study.Methods: Students (N = 329) at a highly selective college filled out questionnaires about the perceived performance-orientation in the institutional learning environment, their achievement goal orientations, and fear of failure.Results: Results of the polynomial regression analyses show that independent of each other, performance goal orientations (approach and avoidance) and the perceived institutional performance-oriented learning environment related positively to fear of failure. The results for mastery goal orientations showed that mastery-approach goal orientation attenuated, while mastery-avoidance goal orientation exacerbated the negative effects of the perceived institutional performance-oriented learning environment on fear of failure.Conclusions: These results indicate the importance of examining perceived institutional learning environments alongside students’ personal characteristics in order to understand fear of failure amongst students.

Learner self-efficacy, goal orientation, and academic achievement: exploring mediating and moderating relationships

ABSTRACTWithin the context of Pintrich’s self-regulated learning model, recent reviews of the literature show that motivational factors are the strongest predictors of academic performance. Even so, gaps remain in terms of which goal orientation constructs area most strongly related to performance, and whether academic self-efficacy is involved in such relationships, either as mediator or moderator. This study addresses these gaps using a sample of 478 university students; 409 females aged 17–62 (M = 23.28, SD = 7.22) and 69 males, aged 18–47 (M = 22.5, SD = 6.31). Analyses revealed that academic self-efficacy (ASE) mediated relationships between both mastery and performance-approach goal orientation with achievement, though the mediation effect was larger for the relationship involving mastery approach goal orientation. ASE did not moderate the relationship between performance-approach goal orientation and achievement. Findings suggest teaching programmes should foster learning environments that encourage persistence and effort when learning, and consider how course delivery and feedback can enhance academic self-efficacy, regardless of the goal orientation adopted by students.

Achievement goal motivation and cognitive strategies as predictors of musical creativity among secondary school music students

The purpose of this study was to (a) establish the relationships among achievement goal motivation, cognitive learning strategies, and musical creativity; (b) determine the best predictors of musical creativity among the study variables. Participants ( N = 201) were secondary school music students in Kenya. Two self-report measures, the Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Revised (AGQ-R) and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) were used in data collection for the independent variables. Musical creativity was measured by a creative composition task and evaluated according to four dimensions of musical craftsmanship, syntax, originality and aesthetic sensitivity. The results showed that musical creativity was positively correlated with mastery-approach goal and deep processing learning strategy but negatively correlated with surface processing strategy, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. The best predictor of musical creativity was deep processing strategy, β = .45, p < .01, which accounted for approximately 26% of the variance in participants’ musical creativity, followed by mastery-approach goal, β = .27, p < .01, R2 =.09. The implication for music education is that music teachers should create conducive environments and adopt teaching strategies that nurture mastery-approach goal orientation and deep processing learning strategies to enhance musical creativity