Predicting school achievement in boys and girls

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Harald Freudenthaler ◽  
Birgit Spinath ◽  
Aljoscha C. Neubauer
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Achievement Goals ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
School Anxiety ◽  
School Attainment ◽  
Work Avoidance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Mean Differences ◽  
Avoidance Goals

This study investigates the extent to which girls' better school attainment is associated with sex differences in intelligence, personality and school‐related motivation. In a sample of 1353 Austrian pupils (mean age 13.74 years), intelligence, the Big Five of personality, self‐esteem, school anxiety, school‐related intrinsic motivation and achievement goals were assessed as predictors and GPA as achievement criterion. Most predictors yielded significant mean differences between sexes and some of the variables predicted school achievement only for boys or only for girls. Intelligence and self‐esteem were the strongest predictors of GPA for both sexes, and school‐related intrinsic motivation, school anxiety and performance‐avoidance goals explained additional variance in GPA only for boys, whereas work avoidance did so only for girls. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

scholarly journals Higher Education Instructors’ Usage of and Learning from Student Evaluations of Teaching – Do Achievement Goals Matter?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Hein ◽  
Stefan Janke ◽  
Raven Rinas ◽  
Martin Daumiller ◽  
Markus Dresel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Achievement Goals ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Work Avoidance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Approach Goals ◽  
Avoidance Goals

Identifying what motivates higher education instructors in their self-regulated learning from stu-dent evaluations of teaching (SET) is important for improving future teaching. In a longitudinal online field study, we investigated how higher education instructors’ achievement goals predict the use of SET(s), processing its results and learning from it. We expected beneficial effects of learning (approach and avoidance) goals and performance approach goals, while performance avoidance goals and work avoidance goals should be detrimental for the learning process. In to-tal, 407 higher education instructors with teaching commitments reported their achievement goals. Out of these participants, 152 instructors voluntarily conducted SET(s) and subsequently reported their learning intentions regarding this student feedback. Using structural equation modelling, we found that learning avoidance goals were positively associated with conducting SET(s) and learning approach goals were positively associated with learning intentions. These findings highlight the importance of learning goals for instructors’ use of SET(s).

Prediction of Intrinsic Motivation and Sports Performance Using 2×2 Achievement Goal Framework

2011 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 625-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiung-Huang Li ◽  
Likang Chi ◽  
Suh-Ruu Yeh ◽  
Kwei-Bin Guo ◽  
Cheng-Tsung Ou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Achievement Goals ◽  
Sports Performance ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
High School Athletes ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Approach Goals ◽  
Avoidance Goals ◽  
Sport Motivation Scale ◽  
Task Mastery

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of 2×2 achievement goals on intrinsic motivation and performance in handball. Participants were 164 high school athletes. All completed the 2×2 Achievement Goals Questionnaire for Sport and the Intrinsic Motivation subscale of the Sport Motivation Scale; the coach for each team rated his athletes' overall sports performance. Using simultaneous-regression analyses, mastery-approach goals positively predicted both intrinsic motivation and performance in sports, whereas performance-avoidance goals negatively predicted sports performance. These results suggest that athletes who pursue task mastery and improvement of their competence perform well and enjoy their participation. In contrast, those who focus on avoiding normative incompetence perform poorly.

Self-Esteem, Achievement Goals, and Self-Handicapping in College Physical Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 690-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuosong Chen ◽  
Kaihong Sun ◽  
Kun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Achievement Goals ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Mastery Goals ◽  
Chinese College Students ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Avoidance Goals ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Positive Effect

This study aims to investigate the relationships among self-esteem, achievement goals, and self-handicapping and the potential mediating role of achievement goals in the relationship between self-esteem and self-handicapping in college physical education. The participants were 320 Chinese college students. Three validated scales were employed to assess participants’ self-esteem, achievement goals, and self-handicapping in college physical education. Results showed that self-esteem had a negative effect on self-handicapping. Self-esteem had a positive effect on mastery goals, but had a negative effect on performance-avoidance goals. Mastery goals had a negative effect and performance-avoidance goals had a positive effect on self-handicapping. Moreover, mastery goals and performance-avoidance goals partially mediated the relationship between self-esteem and self-handicapping, and self-esteem had both direct and indirect effects on self-handicapping in college physical education. The findings indicate that improving individual’s self-esteem and promoting mastery goals while reducing performance-avoidance goals may be relevant strategies to reduce self-handicapping in college physical education.

scholarly journals Temporal Dynamics Between Faculty Goals, Burnout/Engagement, and Performance in Teaching and Research: A Latent Change Score Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Daumiller ◽  
Markus Dresel
Keyword(s):  
Achievement Goals ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Work Avoidance ◽  
Latent Change Score ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Approach Goals ◽  
Avoidance Goals

Motivation is posited to be central for faculty members’ professional experiences and performance. To this end, achievement goals have been associated with burnout/engagement and performance at work. However, the few studies that have examined this topic were cross-sectional and only considered one of the two equally important work domains of faculty members. In the present research, we analyze the temporal relationships between achievement goals and burnout/engagement as well as performance and investigate the domain specificity of goal pursuit by considering goals for teaching and goals for research. To this end, we conducted a longitudinal study including 681 German faculty members that were surveyed four times over a total of two years. Multivariate Latent Change Score modeling attested that in both domains, mastery-approach goals were positively related to subsequent development of performance, while performance was also positively related to subsequent development of mastery goals, creating a double positive loop. Performance goals and work-avoidance goals were differentially associated with performance in both domains, indicating that the effects of goals can be bound to different contextual features. For overall burnout/engagement, our results implied that for its development, primarily research goals mattered (with performance-avoidance and work-avoidance goals being risk factors), while high burnout levels were associated with subsequent reduction of adaptive mastery-approach goals in both domains. This highlights the relevance of achievement goals for burnout/engagement and performance of faculty and employees in general, and sheds light on their complex temporal dynamics that can also meaningfully inform achievement goal research in other contexts.

scholarly journals Exploring the Link between Achievement Goals, Motivation, and Parental Expectations among University Students in Kosovo

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 147-164
Author(s):  
Albulene Grajcevci ◽  
Arif Shala
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Achievement Goals ◽  
Extrinsic Motivation ◽  
Parental Expectations ◽  
Mastery Goals ◽  
Expected Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Avoidance Goals

This paper sheds light on the link between achievement goals, motivation, and parental expectations in a sample of 600 students attending higher education institutions in Kosovo. Aside from exploring the stipulated link between the constructs, the research aims to discover whether cultural differences mediate expected results. The results proved that the masteryof goals positively correlates to intrinsic motivation in addition to which curiosity as a subscale of intrinsic motivation positively predicted preferences for the mastery of goals. As expected, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals, correlated to extrinsic motivation with extrinsic motivation, successfully predict preferences for both types of performancegoals. The data proved that among students in Kosovo, all types of goals correlated to intrinsic motivation. Achievement goals were differentiated in extrinsic motivation with mastery goals correlating rather weakly to only one subscale of extrinsic motivation.

Achievement Motives, Cognitive and Social Competence, and Achievement Goals in the Classroom

2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 445-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayumi Tanaka ◽  
Takuhiro Okuno ◽  
Hirotsugu Yamauchi
Keyword(s):  
Social Competence ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Achievement Goals ◽  
Cognitive Competence ◽  
Approach And Avoidance ◽  
Work Avoidance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Ninth Grade Students ◽  
Approach Goals ◽  
Avoidance Goals

This study investigated the interrelations of approach and avoidance achievement motives (Motive to Achieve Success and Motive to Avoid Failure), two types of competence (Cognitive and Social competence), achievement goals (Mastery, Performance-approach, Performance-avoidance, and Work Avoidance goals), of 131 eighth and ninth grade students from a Japanese junior high school. Multiple regression analysis indicated positive relations between Mastery goals and the Motive to Achieve Success and Cognitive Competence. Performance-approach goals and both the Motive to Achieve Success and the Motive to Avoid Failure, and Performance-avoidance Goals and both the Motive to Achieve Success and the Motive to Avoid Failure. Negative relations were found between Work Avoidance goals and the Motive to Achieve Success and Cognitive Competence. Several interactions between achievement motives and competence on achievement goals were also found. The different antecedents of four achievement goals were discussed.

Sex differences in school achievement: what are the roles of personality and achievement motivation?

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricarda Steinmayr ◽  
Birgit Spinath
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Motivational Constructs ◽  
School Attainment ◽  
Work Avoidance ◽  
Math Grades ◽  
Gender Specific

It is consistently reported that despite equal cognitive ability, girls outperform boys in school. In several methodological steps, the present study examined sex differences in school achievement and some of the most important personality and motivational constructs in a sample of 204 females and 138 adolescent males (mean age M = 16.94 years; SD = 0.71). Grades in Math and German as well as grade point average (GPA) served as achievement criteria. Intelligence, the Big Five of personality and motivational variables (achievement motives, goal orientation, task values and ability self‐concepts) served as predictors. After controlling for intelligence, girls' grades were significantly better than boys'. Mean sex differences were found for most variables. There were no gender‐specific associations between predictors and grades. Agreeableness, work avoidance, ability self‐concepts and values ascribed to German mediated the association between sex and grades in German. Controlling for ability self‐concepts and values ascribed to Math enhanced the association between sex and math grades. We concluded that personality and motivation play important roles in explaining sex differences in school attainment. Results are discussed against the background of practical and methodological implications. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

scholarly journals Setting Lower Limits High: The Role of Boundary Goals in Achievement Motivation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine S. Corker ◽  
Brent Donnellan
Keyword(s):  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
Achievement Goals ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Mastery Avoidance ◽  
Approach Goals ◽  
Avoidance Goals ◽  
Lower Limits ◽  
Mastery Approach

Boundary goals specify the minimum performance level that an individual must attain to subjectively experience success. The current research integrates boundary goals into the hierarchical model of achievement motivation (A. Elliot, 2006) by positing that boundary goals are a sub-goal in the goal hierarchy. We predicted that performance approach goals would be associated with higher boundary goals, whereas performance avoidance goals would be associated with lower boundary goals. We further predicted that boundary goals would mediate the association between achievement goals and performance, independent of other target goals (i.e., levels of aspiration). We also evaluated whether boundary goals served a similar role in explaining associations between mastery goals and performance. We tested these predictions by tracking the performance of 347 college students across the semester. As predicted, performance approach goals were positively associated with boundary goals (beta = .32) whereas performance avoidance goals were negatively associated with boundary goals (beta = -.11). Further, we found that mastery approach goals had positive associations with boundary goals (beta = .29) whereas the opposite pattern occurred for mastery avoidance goals (beta = -.25). Boundary goals were positively linked to exam scores (beta = .32) and mediated the associations between performance approach, mastery approach, and mastery avoidance goals and grades. These statistical effects were independent of the effects of level of aspiration. In short, boundary goals seem to play an important role in the achievement motivation process and may therefore serve as a potentially useful focus for interventions.

Achievement Motives, Self-Efficacy, Achievement Goals, and Academic Achievement at Multiple Stages of Education: A Longitudinal Analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 771-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnar Bjørnebekk ◽  
Åge Diseth ◽  
Robin Ulriksen
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Path Analysis ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Achievement Goals ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Achievement Level ◽  
Measuring Achievement ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Avoidance Goals

The present study investigated the joint effects of achievement motives, self-efficacy, and achievement goals as predictors of subsequent academic achievement among educational science students. A longitudinal research design allowed for measurement of motivational variables at several stages of education during bachelor courses (subsequent to the introductory courses), firstly by measuring achievement motives, secondly by self-efficacy and achievement goals. Subsequently, students' academic achievement level was measured at four different points in time, until they finished the last course for their bachelor degrees. A multivariate path analysis showed consistent relations between the motivational variables. The motive to avoid failure positively predicted the adoption of avoidance goals (both mastery and performance) and negatively predicted self-efficacy. Academic achievement was mainly predicted by the motive for success and performance-avoidance goals. The path analysis also showed strong relationships between the examination grades at different points in time.

scholarly journals Achievement Goals, Competition Appraisals, and the Psychological and Emotional Welfare of Sport Participants

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Adie ◽  
Joan L. Duda ◽  
Nikos Ntoumanis
Keyword(s):  
Achievement Goals ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Cognitive Appraisals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Sport Competition ◽  
Threat Appraisals ◽  
Challenge And Threat ◽  
And Performance

Grounded in the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework (Elliot & McGregor, 2001), a model was tested examining the hypothesized relationships between approach and avoidance (mastery and performance) goals, challenge and threat appraisals of sport competition, and positive and negative indices of well-being (i.e., self-esteem, positive, and negative affect). A further aim was to determine the degree to which the cognitive appraisals mediated the relationship between the four achievement goals and the indicators of athletes’ welfare. Finally, measurement and structural invariance was tested with respect to gender in the hypothesized model. An alternative model was also estimated specifying self-esteem as an antecedent of the four goals and cognitive appraisals. Four hundred and twenty-four team sport participants (Mage = 24.25) responded to a multisection questionnaire. Structural equation modeling analyses provided support for the hypothesized model only. Challenge and threat appraisals partially mediated the relationships observed between mastery-based goals and the well-being indicators. Lastly, the hypothesized model was found to be invariant across gender.

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