Variation in Achievement Goal Orientationamong High Ability Students Participating in a Community College Honors Program

Educational Psychology & Individual DifferencesPhD Candidacy Project Proposal Scott R. FurtwenglerWednesday, December 12, 2012

Outline

Overview of the problem Purpose of the current study Brief overview of extant literature Methodology Significance of this study References Questions

Overview of the problem

Mean differences between honors versus traditional high ability students remain largely unexplained.

High ability, low SES students are not participating in honors programs or enrolling in selective institutions.

Post-secondary institutions are subject to performance funding and holding programs accountable.

Purpose of the current study

To determine the degree to which achievement goal orientation varies among students enrolled in a community college honors program.

Research questions: Do a significant number of participants in

the honors program adopt a particular goal orientation?

Overview of extant literature

Post-secondary honors programs The community college context Achievement goal orientation

Honors Programs

Cosgrove (2004): mean GPA

Long & Lange (2002): conscientiousness, openness to experience, GPA, ACT

Rinn (2007): academic achievement and higher academic self-concept

Scager, Akkerman, Keesen, Mainhard, Pilot, & Wubbels (2012): desire to learn, drive to excel, creativity

Honors Programs

Moon (2012): Perceived honors as extra work without

adequate benefit Were concerned about time commitments

and increased stress Lacked a clear understanding about the

program Lacked academic self-efficacy

Community College Context

Byrne (1988): review of literature

Long & Kurleander (2011): lower rates of degree completion and college credits earned

Olivas (1975) & Outcalt (1999): disproportion of underrepresented students

Achievement Goal Orientation

Dweck (1986)

Maehr (1983)

Nicholls (1984)

Mastery goals: developing competence through task mastery

Performance goals: developing competence relative to others

Achievement Goal Orientation

Elliot (1999)

Elliot & Harackiewicz (1996)

Pintrich (2000)

Extended to a 2 x 2 model Definitions of competence: mastery &

performance Valences of competence: approach &

avoid

Achievement Goal Orientation

Law, Elliot, & Murayama (2012) Performance-approach goals: high effort,

high persistence, high level of aspiration, high academic performance

Performance-avoid goals: disorganized study strategies, high test anxiety, low academic performance, low intrinsic motivation

Perceived competence is a moderator

Methodology

Participants Instrument Procedure

Methodology: participants

San Jacinto College is a community college with three campuses in east and south Houston. Total unduplicated enrollment for spring 2012 was 26, 465: 57% female, 33% White, 10% African American, 40% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 1% Native American, 2% non-resident alien, 9% not reported, < 1% Native Hawaiian). Targeted participants include approximately 600 community college students who earned a cumulative GPA of 3.25 on at least 12 college credit hours by the end of summer semester 2012 and have chosen to participate in the college’s honors program.

Methodology: instrument

Achievement Goal Questionnaire – Revised or AGQ-R (Elliott & Murayama, 2008), a 12-item survey, each item consisting of a five-point summative response scale. The structural validity of Elliott’s and Murayama’s revised instrument stands up to rigorous scrutiny. They found the four-factor structure to be a better fit to the data than other three- and two-factor structures, with each of the four factors exhibiting a high-degree of internal consistency and reliability (Cronbach’s alphas: Mastery-approach, .84; Mastery-avoidance, .88; Performance-approach, .92; and Performance-avoidance, .94).

Methodology: instrument

Their SEM analyses of the predictive utility of the instrument were also strongly supportive, with performance-approach significantly and positively predicting exam performance (.36) and performance avoidance goals significantly and negatively predicting exam performance (-.33). In addition, their results show mastery-approach goals emerging from the “need for achievement” antecedent and performance-avoidance goals emerging from the “fear of failure” antecedent.

Methodology: procedure

The purpose of this study is exploratory; therefore, the dependent variables will be measured on a quantitative scale of measurement. The researcher will be able to generate summary statistics providing data on the central tendency and variance of the four subcategories of the achievement goal orientation construct within the group. Once the cumulative GPA is collected at the beginning and end of fall semester 2012, an analysis of covariance will be conducted to determine to what extent, if any, the four subcategories of goal orientation affect the fall semester cumulative GPA for each participant.

Methodology: procedure

Honors program members will be contacted by e-mail

Online access to the AGQ-R

Complete surveys will be matched with the students corresponding cumulative grades

Unique identifiers will be assigned to each participant

Significance of this study

Exploratory, elaboration for dissertation exploring if goal orientation influences students’ decision to participate in honors.

Future studies can explore how much variance is explained between honors/non-honors by goal orientation.

How much affect does participation in honors explain?

Can we implement honors strategies to all educational levels/environments?

Significance of this study

Does goal orientation moderate the relationship between group and academic achievement?

Exploring other factors that might account for differences in outcomes between the two groups: academic self-concept, achievement goal orientation, attributional style, expectancy-values theory,

Significance of this study

“Cohort” effect? Stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson,

1995) Progressive conformity (Moos, 1976) Hawthorne effect (Cook, 1962) Peer effects (Geiger, 2002, 2004;

McKeachie, 1986; and Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991)

References

Byrne, J. P. (1998). Honors Programs in Community Colleges: A Review of Recent Issues and Literature.

Cosgrove, J. R. (2004). The impact of honors programs on undergraduate academic performance, retention, and graduation. Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, 45-53.

Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41, 1040-1048.

Elliot, A. J., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (1996). Approach and avoidance achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: A mediational analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 461– 475. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.461

Law, W., Elliot, A. J., & Murayama, K. (2012). Perceived competence moderates the relation between performance-approach and performance-avoid goals. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 806-819.

Long, E.C.J. & Lange S. (2002). An Exploratory Study: A Comparison of Honors & Non-Honors Students. The National Honors Report, 23 (1): 20-30.

Long, T. L & Kurleander, M. (2011). Do community college provide a viable pathway to a baccalaureate degree? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 31, 30-53.

Maehr, M. L. (1983). On doing well in science: Why Johnny no longer excels, why Sarah never did. In S. Paris, G. Olson, & H. Stevenson (Eds.), Learning and motivation in the classroom (pp. 179–210). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

References

Moon, J. L., (2012). Honors and high-ability students: Factors that predict academic efficacy, critical thinking skills, and academic goals. Graduate Theses and Dissertations. Paper 12412.

Olivas, M. A. (1975). A Statistical Portrait of Honors Programs in Two-Year Colleges. (ED 221 257).

Outcalt, C. L. (1999). The importance of community college honors programs. New Directions for Community Colleges, 108, 59-68.

Pintrich, P. R. (2000). An achievement goal theory perspective on issues in motivation terminology, theory, and research. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 92–104.

Rinn, A. N. (2007). Effects of programmatic selectivity on the academic achievement, Academic self-concepts, and aspirations of gifted college students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 51, 232-245.

Scager, K., Akkerman, S. F., Keesen, F., Mainhard, M. T., Pilot, A., & Wubbels, T. (2012). Do honors students have more potential for excellence in their professional lives? Higher Education, 64, 19-39. DOI 10.1007/s10734-011-9478-z

Questions?

Contact information

Scott R. Furtwengler

Honors Program, San Jacinto College

13735 Beamer Road

Houston, TX 77089

281-929-4614

scott.furtwengler@sjcd.edu

srfurtwengler@uh.edu