Proposal view
| Proposal Type: | Individual Paper |
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| Domain: | Motivational and Affective Processes |
| SIG: | Individual Differences in Learning and Instruction |
| Type | Submitted Paper |
| Equipment |
PC and projector is PC etc enough for powerpoint |
| Paper Details |
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| Title | Multiple goals : an investigation of developmental trends and learning outcomes in a Hong Kong educational context |
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| Abstract | This paper reports a study of multiple motivational goals and their relationship to learning strategies, self-attributes, and achievement. It extends previous research by being a longitudinal study in a non-Western setting and by considering social goals as well as mastery and performance goals as possible multiple goals. The participants were 697 Hong Kong secondary school children. Measures were obtained at two times points twelve months apart of their academic goals and learning strategies. Their academic achievement was also obtained. A median split was used to assign each participant to one of eight motivational groups: 2 ( high - low ) x 3 goal types. Multivariate analysis showed that for achievement there were no significant main or interaction effects. For learning outcomes a Time main effect was found for achieving strategy only but significant differences were for the Motivation group main effects but not for the interactions ( note the latter would be evidence of multiple goals ). For the self-attributes again only significant main effects were found. The findings did not support traditional multiple goal theory let alone its extension to include social goals or the particular benefits of a strong mastery goal orientation in terms of associated deeper learning strategies or more positive self-attributes. Rather it seems that in the Hong Kong context, the more ways a student can be motivated the more likely they will be using better learning strategies and to have more positive self perceptions |
| Summary | Multiple goal theory has become a popular area of research in recent years but to date there has been a lack of longitudinal data, particularly from a non-Western perspective. This paper extends the work of Pintrich ( 2000 ) by not only examining the development of multiple goals over time and their associated learning and affective outcomes but also by considering social goals as one of the possible multiple goals. Such goals are likely to be relevant in a relatively collectivist culture such as Hong Kong, if anywhere. The participants were 354 Form 1 ( aged 12-13 years ) and 343 Form 3 ( aged 14-15 years ) ethhnically Chinese secondary school students. They responded to Chinese versions of the Inventory of School Motivation ( ISM; McInerney et al., 2000 ) and the strategy scales of the Learning Process Questionnaire ( Biggs, 1992 ) on two occasions 12 months apart. As well as assessing mastery, performance, and socail goal orientations, the ISM also provided measures of the self-attributes of self-concept, self-reliance, and sense of purpose. Both inventories have been shown to be reliable and valid for HK respondents . Their academic achievement scores were also obtained and standardised within class groups. Following Pintrich ( 2000 ) we used median splits to assign respondents to high or low performance, mastery , and social goal groups. The eight groupings were then compared in terms of academic achievement and deep, surface, and achieving learning strategies and self-attrubutes at Times 1 and 2 using Time X Motivation Group MANOVA. The 'all high' and 'all low' groups were found to be the largest. The above MANOVA found there were no statistically significant main effects for achievement or any interaction effects. But for learning strategies all main effects for Time and Motivational group were significant. Follow-up analyses showed that for Time only Achieving Stratgy changed, tending to drop from Time 1 to Time 2. Those high on a mastery goal orientation tended to report deeper level learning strategies as expected but also so did those reporting high social or performance goals. Time X Group MANOVA on the self-attributes again only found significant main effects, for each goal. Follow-up analyses showed no significant differences for self-concept but a greater sense of purpose was shown by higher scorers on any of the three goal types. Higher self-reliance was found for high scorers on both mastery and performance goals. The results questioned the value of multiple goal theory and its extension to include social goals in the context of HK secondary schools. As argued by Watkins and Biggs ( 1996 ), it seems that in this context deeper learning strategies and more positive self-perceptions are likely to be encouraged by motives other than just those exemplified by mastery goals. Indeed further analysis showed that the more types of goals a student claimed to be high on, the better their learning strategies and the greater their self-reliance and sense of purpose. All three goal orientations were also found to be positively correlated, contrary to some Western findings. Biggs, J. ( 1992 ). Why and how do Hong Kong students learn ? Hong Kong : Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong. McInerney, D., Yeung, S.Y., & McInerney, V. ( 2001 ). Cross-cultural validation of the Inventory of School Motivation ( ISM ). Journal of Apllied Psychological Measurement, 2, 134-152. Pintrich, P. ( 2000 ) Multiple goals, multiple pathways : the role of goal orientations in learning and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 544-555. Watkins, D. & Biggs, J. ( Eds. ) ( 1996 ). The Chinese learner. Hong Kong/Melbourne : Comparative Education Research Center/Australian Council for Educational Research. |
| Keywords | Cross-cultural studies Learning processes/strategies Motivation |
| Appendices | |
| Authors | ||||||
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| Name | Surname | Institution | Country | EARLI Number | Presenting | |
| David | Watkins | University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong | hrfewda@hku.hk | * | |
