Achievement Goal Orientation Theory: Moving Towards a Theory that Better Informs Education Practice

Abstract

From some of the earliest research in modern psychology, social and cognitive theorists have constructed achievement goal orientation theory, which holds that students' achievement motivation is determined in part by their beliefs about how they should direct their behavior and how that will determine their outcomes. Traditionally, students have been divided into mastery goals, which center on developing competence, and performance goals, which center on demonstrating competence. According to the mastery goal perspective, students who pursue the former goal type should be better learners and less stressed. The actual findings are mixed. While mastery goals are more consistently linked to positive affect, performance goals are not always detrimental to students’ learning outcomes. In fact, sometimes performance-oriented students score higher than their mastery-oriented peers. For the last two decades, however, new theories suggest that the goals might have the greatest benefit existing together. Furthermore, researchers are considering the role of cultural and contextual factors on achievement. Findings are discussed herein.