In a sample of 296 8th-grade middle school students, the authors examined the role of personal achievement goals and feelings of school belonging in mediating the relation between perceptions of the school psychological environment and school-related beliefs, affect, and achievement. Sequential regression analyses indicated that perceiving a task goal structure in middle school was positively related to academic self-efficacy and that this relation was mediated through personal task goals. Perceiving an ability goal structure was related to academic self-consciousness and this relation was mediated through personal relative ability goals. Perceiving positive teacher-student relationships predicted positive school-related affect and this relation was mediated through feelings of school belonging. Feelings of academic efficacy and school belonging in turn were positively related to final-semester academic grades. Results are discussed in relation to current middle school reform efforts.

It has been suggested that some students procrastinate, fool around, reduce effort, and use other self-handicapping strategies so that if subsequent performance is low, these circumstances will be seen as the cause. Surveys were given to 112 8th graders. The handicapping items formed a single factor with good internal consistency. Handicapping was positively associated with self-deprecation, negative attitudes toward education, ego-oriented goals, and low grades. There was a significant interaction between race and both ego-oriented goals and negative attitudes. The relation between ego-oriented goals and handicapping was stronger for African Americans than for European Americans, whereas the relation between negative attitudes and handicapping was stronger for European Americans than for African Americans. Path analysis revealed that handicapping mediated the relationship between negative attitudes about education and grade point average.Recently, there has been increased interest in the strategies students use to appear able and worthy to others in school (e.g.,

No abstract

Research on academic achievement motivation has increasingly focused on students’ goals. Most of that research has focused on two particular types of achievement goals: task goals and ability goals. In this review, we propose that a more thorough understanding of motivation and achievement in schools can be developed if we examine social goals—defined as perceived social purposes for academic achievement—in addition to task and ability goals. We review research on achievement goal theory, social goals, social motives, and social influences on students’ school-related attitudes and behaviors to develop hypotheses about the antecedents and consequences of social goals. In addition, we discuss ways in which the learning environment may influence students’ social goal orientations. We conclude with a discussion of seven areas for future research on the nature and function of social goals.