In response to a shift to high-stakes assessments, teachers are changing their instruction and approaches away from research-based formal training on best practices teaching in response to the stress and pressure this shift has created (Avalos et al., 2020; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Musoleno & White, 2010). More research is needed on teachers who…

While personal performance-approach goals (PAp goals) have already been successfully bifurcated into normative and appearance PAp goals, the same distinction has not yet been applied to performance-approach goal structures (PAp goal structures). The present study therefore aimed to (a) test the factorial two-level structure of PAp goal structures…

This study utilized a 2 × 2 achievement goal model to explore a relationship between achievement goals and social goals, and how these goals are associated with junior high school students' self-reported persistence toward physical activities. A total of 246 students from four junior high schools participated in the study. The results revealed…

Background: Students' mastery goals are positively related to adaptive learning behaviour. Moreover, these goals often mediate the relation between perceived classroom characteristics and academic achievement. Research generally shows a decline of academic achievement and mastery goals after transition to middle school. Creating a learning…

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…

The study used a phenomenological lens to explore middle level classroom goal perceptions and classroom experiences that were pivotal in motivating students to achieve their learning goals. A total of 46 participants (31 students and 15 teachers) from two middle schools in a Midwestern city participated in focus group discussions and one-on-one…

The present research examined how mode of play in an educational mathematics video game impacts learning, performance, and motivation. The game was designed for the practice and automation of arithmetic skills to increase fluency and was adapted to allow for individual, competitive, or collaborative game play. Participants (N = 58) from urban…

Value-added (VA) models measure teacher contributions to student learning and are increasingly employed in educational reform efforts. Using data from 35 seventh-grade teachers and 2,026 students across seven schools, we employ VA methods to measure teacher contributions to students' motivational orientations (mastery and performance achievement…

Grounded in self-determination theory, this longitudinal study examined the academic correlates of middle and high school students' (N = 923; 33.4% male) intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations (i.e., life goals) and the type of aspirations that they perceive their parents to promote to them. Person-centered analysis revealed 3 meaningful groups: a…

Motivation is a fundamental educational challenge for adolescents in the United States, and particularly for immigrant youth. The motivation to achieve, especially in mathematics, declines during adolescence. Most of what is known about motivation is based on studies of predominately middle-class White students; yet the influx of immigrants over…

This study was conducted in a middle school math class and investigated the effects of project-based activities on the middle school math students' skill acquisition and intrinsic motivation. After math-related project activities were implemented and completed, an analysis of how the students were affected in the areas of math skills and…

Achievement goal theory distinguishes between mastery goals (the goals of developing competence) and performance goals (the goals of demonstrating competence) [Ames [1992] "Journal of Educational Psychology" 84: 261-271]. In this study, we employed this theory aiming to better understand why adolescents' motivation to learn science…

This study examined the relationship of motivational climate and differential achievement goals to meta-cognitive self-regulation, regulation of effort, help-seeking and self-handicapping in physical education (PE). The sample consisted of 273 pupils (boys n = 125; girls n = 148) attending 10th grade PE classes in Norway. Both motivational…