Personal and contextual antecedents of achievement goals: their direct and indirect relations to students' learning strategies

Abstract

In this correlational research, we investigated to what extent achievement goals, in conjunction with need for achievement and fear of failure as well as perceived classroom goal structures, are related to learning strategies among upper elementary school students. After taking into account students' tendency to respond in a socially desirable way, we found, through path analysis, that mastery-approach goals partially mediated the relation of need for achievement and perceived mastery goal structures to learning strategies. These findings are discussed within the hierarchical model framework proposed by Elliot (1999). They suggest that the simultaneous examination of personal and contextual antecedents of achievement goals can enhance our understanding of the processes underlying achievement motivation and its outcomes.