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International note: The relationship between achievement goals and academic-related boredom
Journal of Adolescence 41 (2015) 53e55
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Adolescence journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jado
International note: The relationship between achievement goals and academic-related boredom Yangyang Liu Nanjing University, China
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Available online 29 March 2015
In a sample of 520 Chinese high school students, the present study aimed to replicate the prior Western findings about the relationship between achievement goals and academic boredom. Our findings indicated that mastery-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals predicted academic boredom, but mastery-avoidance goals and performanceapproach goals did not. © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Achievement goals Academic boredom Chinese
Achievement goals are “competence-relevant aims that individuals strive for in achievement settings” (Shim, Ryan, & Anderson, 2008). Elliot and McGregor (1999, 2001) have proposed a 2 2 framework (mastery-approach, masteryavoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) to describe students' achievement goals. They have suggested that achievement could be defined by absolute, intra-individual standards (mastery) or by normative, inter-individual standards (performance) (Pekrun & Stephens, 2010). Thus, achievement goals could be differentiated into mastery goals and performance goals. Furthermore, the two kinds of achievement goals can focus either on approaching success or on avoiding failure (Pekrun & Stephens, 2010). Hence, a 2 2 framework can represent students' achievement goals. Academic boredom is a kind of unpleasant academic emotions which is related to lack of stimulation and low physiological arousal (Pekrun, 2006; Tze, Daniels, Klassen, & Li, 2013). Within the control-value model (Pekrun, 2006), mastery goals were assumed to reduce boredom, because mastery goals focused on mastering of ongoing activities and the positive value of the activities. Western empirical studies indicated that mastery goals were a predictor of academic boredom, while other achievement goals were not (Pekrun, Elliot, & Maier, 2006; Pekrun, Elliot, & Maier, 2009). However, until now, no emprical study has replicated these Western findings in a Chinese sample. In China, the emphasis on the importance of education in Confucian beliefs makes highly competitive and examination-oriented educational contexts. Hence, the effects of performance-oriented goals on academic-related variables may be stronger among Chinese students than among Western students (Chen & Wong, 2014). In the present study, we seek to replicate the prior Western findings about the relationship between achievement goals and academic boredom in a Chinese high school sample. Method Participants and procedures Participants were 520 Chinese high school students (166 students were in grade 10, 151 were in grade 11, and 203 were in grade 12), whose mean age was 17.56 years (SD ¼ .53). We measured students' achievement goals and academic boredom at
E-mail address: [email protected]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.03.001 0140-1971/© 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
54
Y. Liu / Journal of Adolescence 41 (2015) 53e55
Table 1 Descriptive data and inter-correlations. Variable
1
2
3
4
5
6
1. Mastery-approach goals 2. Performance-approach goals 3. Performance-avoidance goals 4. Mastery-avoidance goals 5. Academic boredom (Time 1) 6. Academic boredom (Time 2) Mean SD
.43** .11* .14** .55** .39** 19.92 4.34
.19** .19** .24** .15** 10.75 2.54
.28** .02 .18** 10.99 3.47
.08 .03 14.98 4.36
.50** 4.64 2.55
4.89 2.40
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.
the beginning of a school year (Time 1) and their academic boredom again at the end of this school year (Time 2). During investigation, the students completed a five minutes survey during classroom time. Measures Achievement goals Students' achievement goals in the subject of Chinese were assessed with a 20-item scale. The scale was adapted from Bong's (2009) scale on achievement goals. The scale has four dimensions which are mastery-approach goals, masteryavoidance goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals. Students were asked to respond on a five-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The previous research has revealed satisfactory psychometric properties of this scale (Bong, 2009). In the present study, the internal consistencies of this scale were also adequate (for mastery-approach goals, a ¼ .89; for mastery-avoidance goals, a ¼ .83; for performance-approach goals, a ¼ . 77; and for performance-avoidance goals, a ¼ .78). Academic boredom A three-item scale was used to measure students' academic boredom (for example, I am bored in my Chinese class) in the subject of Chinese. A 5-point scale was also chosen. The internal consistencies of the scale were acceptable at two time points (as ¼ .71and.73). Results and discussion Descriptive data and inter-correlations are shown in Table 1. Linear regression was used to examine the relationship between achievement goals and academic boredom in the subject of Chinese. Students' achievement goals at Time 1 were treated as predictors of their academic boredom at Time 2, when their academic boredom at Time 1 was controlled. The results indicated that students' mastery-approach goals (b ¼ .20, p < .01) and performance-avoidance goals (b ¼ .21, p < .01) significantly predicted their academic boredom, but mastery-avoidance goals (b ¼ .01, ns) and performance-approach goals (b ¼ .03, ns) did not. Our findings successfully replicate the prior Western findings about the relationship between masteryapproach goals and performance-approach goals. However, inconsistent with the prior Western findings, our data showed that Chinese high school students' performance-avoidance goals were significantly related to their academic boredom. In line with the prior suggestion about the cultural differences in the relationship between performance-oriented goals and academic-related variables (Chen & Wong, 2014), our findings confirm that the effects of performance-avoidance goals on academic boredom are stronger among Chinese students than among Western students. In addition, our findings suggest that to increase students' mastery-approach goals and to reduce their performance-avoidance goals are two ways to reduce academic boredom during adolescence. References Bong, M. (2009). Age-related differences in achievement goal differentiation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 879e896. Chen, W.-W., & Wong, Y.-L. (2014). The relationship between goal orientation and academic achievement in Hong Kong: the role of context. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 1e8. Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. (1999). Test anxiety and the hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 628e644. Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 501e519. Pekrun, R. (2006). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18, 315e341. Pekrun, R., Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2006). Achievement goals and discrete achievement emotions: a theoretical model and prospective test. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(3), 583e597. Pekrun, R., Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2009). Achievement goals and achievement emotions: testing a model of their joint relations with academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 115e135. Pekrun, R., & Stephens, E. J. (2010). Achievement emotions: a control-value approach. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 238e255.
Y. Liu / Journal of Adolescence 41 (2015) 53e55
55
Shim, S., Ryan, A., & Anderson, C. (2008). Achievement goals and achievement during early adolescence: examining time-varying predictor and outcome variables in growth-curve analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 655e671. Tze, V. M. C., Daniels, L. M., Klassen, R. M., & Li, J. C. H. (2013). Canadian and Chinese university students' approaches to coping with academic boredom. Learning and Individual Differences, 23(0), 32e43.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Adolescence journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jado
International note: The relationship between achievement goals and academic-related boredom Yangyang Liu Nanjing University, China
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Available online 29 March 2015
In a sample of 520 Chinese high school students, the present study aimed to replicate the prior Western findings about the relationship between achievement goals and academic boredom. Our findings indicated that mastery-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals predicted academic boredom, but mastery-avoidance goals and performanceapproach goals did not. © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Achievement goals Academic boredom Chinese
Achievement goals are “competence-relevant aims that individuals strive for in achievement settings” (Shim, Ryan, & Anderson, 2008). Elliot and McGregor (1999, 2001) have proposed a 2 2 framework (mastery-approach, masteryavoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) to describe students' achievement goals. They have suggested that achievement could be defined by absolute, intra-individual standards (mastery) or by normative, inter-individual standards (performance) (Pekrun & Stephens, 2010). Thus, achievement goals could be differentiated into mastery goals and performance goals. Furthermore, the two kinds of achievement goals can focus either on approaching success or on avoiding failure (Pekrun & Stephens, 2010). Hence, a 2 2 framework can represent students' achievement goals. Academic boredom is a kind of unpleasant academic emotions which is related to lack of stimulation and low physiological arousal (Pekrun, 2006; Tze, Daniels, Klassen, & Li, 2013). Within the control-value model (Pekrun, 2006), mastery goals were assumed to reduce boredom, because mastery goals focused on mastering of ongoing activities and the positive value of the activities. Western empirical studies indicated that mastery goals were a predictor of academic boredom, while other achievement goals were not (Pekrun, Elliot, & Maier, 2006; Pekrun, Elliot, & Maier, 2009). However, until now, no emprical study has replicated these Western findings in a Chinese sample. In China, the emphasis on the importance of education in Confucian beliefs makes highly competitive and examination-oriented educational contexts. Hence, the effects of performance-oriented goals on academic-related variables may be stronger among Chinese students than among Western students (Chen & Wong, 2014). In the present study, we seek to replicate the prior Western findings about the relationship between achievement goals and academic boredom in a Chinese high school sample. Method Participants and procedures Participants were 520 Chinese high school students (166 students were in grade 10, 151 were in grade 11, and 203 were in grade 12), whose mean age was 17.56 years (SD ¼ .53). We measured students' achievement goals and academic boredom at
E-mail address: [email protected]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.03.001 0140-1971/© 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
54
Y. Liu / Journal of Adolescence 41 (2015) 53e55
Table 1 Descriptive data and inter-correlations. Variable
1
2
3
4
5
6
1. Mastery-approach goals 2. Performance-approach goals 3. Performance-avoidance goals 4. Mastery-avoidance goals 5. Academic boredom (Time 1) 6. Academic boredom (Time 2) Mean SD
.43** .11* .14** .55** .39** 19.92 4.34
.19** .19** .24** .15** 10.75 2.54
.28** .02 .18** 10.99 3.47
.08 .03 14.98 4.36
.50** 4.64 2.55
4.89 2.40
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.
the beginning of a school year (Time 1) and their academic boredom again at the end of this school year (Time 2). During investigation, the students completed a five minutes survey during classroom time. Measures Achievement goals Students' achievement goals in the subject of Chinese were assessed with a 20-item scale. The scale was adapted from Bong's (2009) scale on achievement goals. The scale has four dimensions which are mastery-approach goals, masteryavoidance goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals. Students were asked to respond on a five-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The previous research has revealed satisfactory psychometric properties of this scale (Bong, 2009). In the present study, the internal consistencies of this scale were also adequate (for mastery-approach goals, a ¼ .89; for mastery-avoidance goals, a ¼ .83; for performance-approach goals, a ¼ . 77; and for performance-avoidance goals, a ¼ .78). Academic boredom A three-item scale was used to measure students' academic boredom (for example, I am bored in my Chinese class) in the subject of Chinese. A 5-point scale was also chosen. The internal consistencies of the scale were acceptable at two time points (as ¼ .71and.73). Results and discussion Descriptive data and inter-correlations are shown in Table 1. Linear regression was used to examine the relationship between achievement goals and academic boredom in the subject of Chinese. Students' achievement goals at Time 1 were treated as predictors of their academic boredom at Time 2, when their academic boredom at Time 1 was controlled. The results indicated that students' mastery-approach goals (b ¼ .20, p < .01) and performance-avoidance goals (b ¼ .21, p < .01) significantly predicted their academic boredom, but mastery-avoidance goals (b ¼ .01, ns) and performance-approach goals (b ¼ .03, ns) did not. Our findings successfully replicate the prior Western findings about the relationship between masteryapproach goals and performance-approach goals. However, inconsistent with the prior Western findings, our data showed that Chinese high school students' performance-avoidance goals were significantly related to their academic boredom. In line with the prior suggestion about the cultural differences in the relationship between performance-oriented goals and academic-related variables (Chen & Wong, 2014), our findings confirm that the effects of performance-avoidance goals on academic boredom are stronger among Chinese students than among Western students. In addition, our findings suggest that to increase students' mastery-approach goals and to reduce their performance-avoidance goals are two ways to reduce academic boredom during adolescence. References Bong, M. (2009). Age-related differences in achievement goal differentiation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 879e896. Chen, W.-W., & Wong, Y.-L. (2014). The relationship between goal orientation and academic achievement in Hong Kong: the role of context. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 1e8. Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. (1999). Test anxiety and the hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 628e644. Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 501e519. Pekrun, R. (2006). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18, 315e341. Pekrun, R., Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2006). Achievement goals and discrete achievement emotions: a theoretical model and prospective test. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(3), 583e597. Pekrun, R., Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2009). Achievement goals and achievement emotions: testing a model of their joint relations with academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 115e135. Pekrun, R., & Stephens, E. J. (2010). Achievement emotions: a control-value approach. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 238e255.
Y. Liu / Journal of Adolescence 41 (2015) 53e55
55
Shim, S., Ryan, A., & Anderson, C. (2008). Achievement goals and achievement during early adolescence: examining time-varying predictor and outcome variables in growth-curve analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 655e671. Tze, V. M. C., Daniels, L. M., Klassen, R. M., & Li, J. C. H. (2013). Canadian and Chinese university students' approaches to coping with academic boredom. Learning and Individual Differences, 23(0), 32e43.