Goal setting and grade loss aversion have individually been found to be effective motivators for student performance. We combine these two strategies to investigate, in a university setting, the effectiveness of grade endowment within a goal-setting framework. Our participants set grade goals which some must earn the traditional way, thus framed…

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of goal setting as a motivator for kindergarten students in learning grade-level sight words. This study was conducted over a 6-week period in two Midwestern kindergarten classrooms. The participants in the experimental group were trained in self-setting goals and participated in…

The purpose of the study being reported here set out to examine the achievement goal orientations of students majoring in Music Education as predictors of their learning approaches. Set in Turkey, the study group consisted of music education majors (n = 240) in a variety of higher education settings (n = 5). The study results revealed that the…

Prior literature in engineering education has focused on student-centered learning by utilizing active, constructive, and interactive instructional strategies. However, most research focused on evaluating the effectiveness of these instructional strategies by comparing them with traditional approaches, which typically placed students in passive…

An important recent development in the achievement goal literature is to define achievement goals strictly as aims. In this overview, we argue that this restrictive definition of achievement goals paves the way for a systematic consideration of the autonomous and controlled reasons underlying individuals' achievement goals, a distinction…

There is abundant evidence to suggest that students' achievement goals (AGs) predict their motivation and performance. While it has been proposed that psychological need satisfaction (PNS) may affect AG, empirical support remains limited during the transition to secondary school. This prospective study addresses this gap by examining the link…

School counselors are often called upon to develop and implement academic interventions. In this case study of one urban elementary school, a school counselor conducted a small group academic advisement intervention. The results suggest that integrating the activities into the elementary school counseling program can be an effective Response to…

The motivational effects of mastery goals and performance goals have been widely documented in previous research on achievement motivation. However, recent studies have increasingly indicated a need to include social goals so as to gain a more comprehensive understanding of achievement motivation. The purpose of the present research was to examine…

To build on prior correlational research into personal best (PB) goals and motivational outcomes, an experimental study was conducted to assess the role of PB goal setting in gains (or declines) in students' motivation in science (viz. biology, anatomy, health). The study (comprising N = 71 elementary/primary and secondary school students) applied…

In light of recent evidence suggesting the academic benefits of personal best (PB) goals for students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), this article explores practical approaches to implementing PB goals in the counselling and classroom context. Beginning with a brief summary of how and why PB goals impact academic outcomes and…

This research investigated how student social interactions within two approaches to an inquiry-based science curriculum could be related to student motivation and achievement outcomes. This qualitative case study consisted of two cases, Off-Campus and On-Campus, and used ethnographic techniques of participant observation. Research participants…

Freshman honors students in a service-learning course tutored low-income English Language Learning kindergartners, first-, and second-graders in reading. We conducted two separate data collections, one assessing college students' attitudes and motives (Study 1) and one exploring the benefits for elementary school children (Study 2). We measured…

With the assumption that domain specificity would significantly influence students' motivation, our study was designed to investigate between- and within-domain relations of task value, perceived autonomy and competence, and achievement goal orientations across physical education and mathematics. Urban adolescents (N = 273, ages 12-14 years)…

The purpose of this study was to analyze student achievement growth and motivational goal orientations in a standards-based reporting environment in a rural SC school district. More specifically, this study sought to determine if student achievement growth is related to the number of years students received standards-based reports in middle…

During the 2006-2007 school year, 14% of the eighth-grade mathematics students at the study campus failed to meet advancement criteria on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). The purpose of this quantitative pretest-posttest and control-group design study was to first investigate the effects of a mastery goal approach to…