Achievement goal profiles in elementary school: Antecedents, consequences, and longitudinal trajectories

• Published in: Contemporary educational psychology Vol. 46; pp. 164 - 179
• Main Authors: Schwinger, Malte, Steinmayr, Ricarda, Spinath, Birgit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Diego Elsevier Inc 01.07.2016; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Achievement; Achievement goals; Achievement Need; Antecedents; Educational psychology; Elementary school; Elementary school students; Gender differences; Goal profiles; Goal stability; Grade 4; Implicit theories; Intelligence; Intrinsic motivation; Measurement; Multiple goals; Objectives; Perceptions; Achievement goals; Multiple goals; Goal profiles; Elementary school; Goal stability
• ISSN: 0361-476X; 1090-2384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2016.05.006

•542 German elementary students participated across seven measurement waves.•We examined antecedents, consequences, and trajectories of achievement goal profiles.•Latent profile analyses revealed five different profiles (three truly consistent).•Over 85% of the students changed their goal profiles over time.•The primarily mastery-oriented profile was associated with the best outcomes. The present study investigated antecedents and consequences of achievement goal profiles across multiple measurement waves from second to fourth grade in a sample of 542 German elementary school students. Latent profile analyses revealed five different achievement goal profiles (high and moderate, multiple goals, primarily mastery- and moderately performance-oriented, and amotivated), although not all profiles were prevalent at each measurement wave. Over 85% of the students changed their goal profiles over time, with slightly greater instabilities within rather than between school years. We found mixed support for the hypothesized cognitively based shift from mastery-oriented to performance-oriented profiles. Though the amount of moderately performance-oriented students increased over time, the overall number of students adopting this profile remained small until the end of fourth grade. Gender and implicit theories of intelligence, but not ability self-perceptions, were significant antecedents of goal profiles, with girls and students favoring an incremental view of intelligence, and being more likely to pursue primarily mastery goals. Cross-sectional analyses revealed that primarily mastery-oriented and high multiple goal students showed significantly higher values on intrinsic motivation than moderately performance-oriented and amotivated students. Though mean differences were not always significant, primarily mastery-oriented students received the best school grades. Cross-lagged analyses showed that lower school grades and lower intrinsic motivation at one time point made adopting a mastery-oriented profile less likely at the following time point. Results are discussed in relation to our understanding of the nature and development of individual goal profiles in elementary school.