A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book

Achievement goal orientations: A person-oriented approach




AuthorsNiemivirta M, Pulkka A, Tapola A, Tuominen H

EditorsK. Ann Renninger, Suzanne E. Hidi

PublisherCambridge University Press

Publication year2019

Book title The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning

Series titleCambridge Handbooks in Psychology

First page 566

Last page616

ISBN978-1-136-63079-2

eISBN978-1-316-82327-9

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1017/9781316823279.025


Abstract
In this chapter, we describe the principles of a person-oriented approach to studying individual differences (and similarities), and how it can be applied to the study of students’ achievement goal orientations. First, we briefly illustrate the approach, which provides a way of looking at the relative emphasis of different achievement goal orientations, thereby explicitly addressing the issue of multiple goals and their associations with important outcomes. Second, we give a comprehensive review of studies that have applied such an approach to investigating students’ achievement goals. The diversity in conceptualizations, methods, and study samples in the studies complicates the interpretation of the findings, but some generalizations can nevertheless be made. Based on the review, we conclude that students with qualitatively different achievement goal orientation profiles can clearly be identified, and that the extracted profiles are rather similar across studies. Further, it seems that such profiles are relatively stable over time and meaningfully associated with learning and various educational outcomes (e.g., academic achievement, self-perceptions, well-being, task-related motivation, and performance). The review also contributes to the debate concerning the advantages of endorsing different goals. Finally, we raise some methodological concerns, discuss implications for learning, and provide suggestions for future research.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 13:40