Background: Mastery and performance goals are typically measured as trait-like abstract goals. However, in their daily academic pursuits, students pursue more concrete goals. The pursuit of these goals is replete with obstacles that can lead to an action crisis. Aims: We examined how mastery and performance goals affect progress, effort and…

This study examined the relationships among cultural values, goal orientations, and mathematics achievement in mainland China. Structural equation models were used to analyze data on 350 Grade 5 students. The results showed that mathematics achievement was positively related to family-support and mastery goal orientations and negatively related to…

Peer relationships play important roles in middle-school students' individual development. Peer support is indispensable in computer-supported learning contexts. This study is designed to explore the connection between perceived peer support and deeper learning, while examining the mediating role of computer self-efficacy and perceived classroom…

Previous research has reported the importance of students' perceptions of learning environment in their affective outcomes, motivational regulations, and performance. In this study, we investigated the predictive effects of students' perceptions of biology classroom learning environment on their mastery goals orientation, motivational regulations,…

Three main categories of variables which impact the approach to learning were synthesised, and they are linked to the learning context, the way that students perceive this context and the students' characteristics. Despite the research which emphasised the influence of these variables on approaches to learning in different areas, only a few…

This study examined the cross-lagged relationships between students' autonomous motivations (intrinsic motivation and identified regulations) and approach goals (mastery and performance) in school. The sample included 449 students (52% girls) in Grades 7 and 8 (secondary 1 and 2). Results showed that intrinsic motivation (IM) positively predicted…

Purpose: To assess if high school students' leisure-time physical activity is predicted by their perception of the motivational climate, their perceived competence, and their achievement goals in physical education (PE) and if these variables interact with each other. Methods: A sample of 843 high school students completed self-reported…

Examining how students' epistemic beliefs (EB) influence their cognition is central to EB research. Recently, the relation between students' EB and their motivation has gained attention. In the present study, we investigate the development of the relationship between students' EB and their achievement goals (AG) over grades 5-11. Previous studies…

Background: Goal theory research has mostly focused on the unidirectional effects of goals on learning strategies and academic achievement. Reciprocal relationships have mostly been neglected. Aims: The primary aim of this study was to examine the reciprocal relations and causal ordering of mastery goals, metacognitive strategy use, and academic…

In response to the recent call from educational psychology for comprehensive models of academic achievement (Linnenbrink-Garcia and Patall, in: Corno, Anderman (eds) Handbook of educational psychology, Taylor and Francis, New York, 2015. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203874790), this study used multiple theories of motivation and instructional…

The present work broadens previous research on students' mastery goals and intrinsic motivation by exploring their reciprocal effects using a longitudinal approach. To this end, a study using four measurement points was conducted during 10 weeks of one semester. The sample comprised 1156 students enrolled in psychology courses at a medium-sized…

This study examined the influence of motivation on academic achievement. The theoretical rationale for the study is grounded in bridging two influential yet isolated literatures of motivation: goal setting theory and achievement goal theory. Although it is clear that academic performance should be influenced by assigned learning goals,…

Some people ascribe successful language learning to an innate aptitude that cannot be further developed, at least after a certain young age (i.e., an entity mindset), while other people believe that language learning ability can be improved (i.e., an incremental mindset). The purpose of this research is to (a) introduce the Language Mindsets…

Background: Within-class consensus on mastery goal structures describes the extent to which students agree in their perceptions of mastery goal structures. Research on (work) teams suggests that higher levels of consensus within a group indicate a well-functioning social environment and are thus positively related to beneficial socio-emotional…

This study assessed the role of prior personal best goals in predicting subsequent academic motivation and engagement. A total of 1160 high school students participated in a longitudinal survey study exploring the extent to which personal best and mastery and performance (dichotomous) achievement goals predict students' academic motivation and…