Browsing by Subject "Classroom goal structures"

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Open Access
Do culture and values predict students' perceived classroom goal structures?
(2015-05) Alp, Ayşenur
The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether university students’ cultural orientation and their values predict their perceived classroom goal structures and their life satisfaction. A cross-sectional design was used in the present study in which 177 students from social sciences and engineering and sciences departments in a foundation university in Ankara, Turkey responded to a survey. The questionnaires measured students’ cultural orientations: (horizontal collectivistic, vertical collectivistic, horizontal individualistic and vertical individualistic orientations), values (intrinsic values and extrinsic values), their perceived classroom goal structures (mastery-approach goal structures, performance-approach goal structures) and their life satisfaction. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance revealed that students from engineering and sciences had a higher mean in perceived performance-approach goal structures, horizontal individualism and vertical collectivism when compared to the mean of students from social sciences. Performing two hierarchical regression analyses, it was revealed that students’ intrinsic values were useful inpredicting their perceived mastery-approach classroom goal structures, whereas perceived performance-approach goal structures were revealed as a negative predictor of life satisfaction. The results were discussed in terms of their implication for educational practices. Cultivating students’ intrinsic values at school and avoiding a performance focus in teaching practices could improve students’ life satisfaction and well-being.
Open Access
Need satisfaction as a mediator between classroom goal structures and students' optimal educational experience
(Elsevier, 2018) Alp, A.; Michou, Aikaterini; Çorlu, M. S.; Baray, G.
Goal-related messages in a classroom are associated with students’ experiences and functioning in learning. However, little is known about need satisfaction as a mediator that translates the classroom messages into students’ optimal educational experience. In the present studies, we investigated in a sample of 171 (in Study 1) and 255 (in Study 2) Turkish undergraduate students (60% females; Mage = 19.79, SD = 1.68 and 45% females, Mage = 19.75, SD = 1.67 respectively), the relation of classroom goal structures to students’ educational satisfaction (or vitality) and state flow through their experience of need satisfaction considering it as the psychological mediator. Path analysis with bootstrap showed that mastery goal structures (i.e., classroom environment focuses on learning and self-improvement) were positively related to need satisfaction while performance goal structures (i.e., classroom environment focuses on normative success) were either negatively related (Study 1) or unrelated (Study 2) to need satisfaction. Path analysis with bootstrap also showed that mastery goal structures were related to vitality, educational satisfaction and flow in class-related tasks through need satisfaction. Understanding need satisfaction as a mediator of classroom goal structures and optimal educational experience help teachers to reconsider their goal-related messages in the classroom.