Browsing by Subject "perceived cost"

Aims. Achievement goal orientations have often been studied as rather general individual tendencies to favour certain goals, results and consequences, but they may also demonstrate subject-specificity. Studies taking several academic subjects into account simultaneously, and by utilising a person-oriented approach in particular, are still scarce. Task values (i.e., intrinsic, attainment, utility, cost), in turn, refer specifically to subject-specific beliefs that influence students’ choices and performance. There is a need to understand patterns of subject-specific goal orientations as well as their relations to perceived subject-specific cost and to more general academic well-being better. This study examined upper secondary school students’ subject-specific (mathematics and English) goal orientation profiles and how students with different profiles differ in subject-specific cost (i.e., effort, emotional, and opportunity cost) and academic wellbeing (i.e., schoolwork engagement and school burnout). Methods. Data were collected by questionnaires. Altogether, 434 students from one general upper secondary school in Finland participated in the current study. Preliminary analyses concerning structural validity were conducted using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Regarding motivational profiles, students with similar patterns of achievement goal orientations were identified utilising a person-oriented approach and latent profile analysis (LPA). After establishing groups, analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to examine group differences. Results and Conclusions. Five distinct goal orientation profiles were identified: mastery-oriented (24,9%), success-oriented (25,8%), English-oriented, math-avoidant (14,3%), indifferent (28,8%), and avoidance-oriented (6,2%). Evidence for both domain-generality and -specificity of goal orientation profiles was found. These profiles differentiated in cost and academic wellbeing. Overall, mastery-oriented showed the most adaptive wellbeing and avoidance-oriented the most maladaptive. Success-oriented group, characterised by high multiple goals, also scored high on cost and both adaptive (i.e., engagement) and maladaptive (i.e., burnout) academic wellbeing indicators. The findings indicate that examining students' multidimensional achievement motivation in different subjects may be valuable for comprehending the motivational dynamics and in recognising the factors endangering and fostering student learning and wellbeing.