71 research outputs found
Faculty members’ achievement goals and subjective well-being
No full textFaculty members largely contribute to the functioning and development of higher education, science, and society. Given their fundamental role, there is a need to ensure that they are equipped with high levels of subjective well-being—not only as a means of promoting productivity and success, but also personal satisfaction, flourishing, and fulfillment. Despite this, studies clearly indicate that faculty members struggle with aspects of their subjective well-being and face numerous professional challenges linked to stress and burnout (see Kinman & Johnson, 2019). It is thereby crucial that research efforts focus on identifying relevant predictors and outcomes of faculty subjective well-being to enhance both individual and institutional health and vitality.
To this end, faculty members’ individual motivations, particularly their achievement goals, have been found to play a central role in their work-related perceptions and experiences (Daumiller, Stupnisky, & Janke, 2020). Achievement goals are defined as cognitive representations of end states in achievement contexts that individuals strive to approach or avoid (Hulleman et al., 2010). These goals are posited to give rise to different thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, including patterns of self-evaluation and coping (Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Nicholls, 1984). Based on this, it can be expected that faculty members’ achievement goals are closely linked with their subjective well-being, making this a promising research avenue for understanding how to better support them. However, this topic has received little empirical attention, leaving several central research questions unanswered: How are faculty members’ achievement goals associated with different facets of their subjective well-being? Are these associations robust across faculty members from different contexts? What is the temporal ordering of these constructs from a longitudinal perspective? These questions form the primary focus of this dissertation and were investigated within three empirical studies.
In the first study (Study I), a focus was placed on examining the associations between faculty members’ (N = 439) achievement goals and the emotional facets of their subjective well-being, namely their positive and negative discrete emotions. Multiple regression analyses revealed that mastery (learning) approach goals were positively associated with enjoyment and negatively associated with anger and boredom, while mastery (learning) avoidance goals were positively associated with anger. Performance (appearance) approach goals were positively associated with pride, whereas performance (appearance) avoidance goals were linked with anxiety and shame. Additionally, relational goals were positively associated with shame and boredom, and work avoidance goals were negatively associated with enjoyment and positively associated with shame and boredom.
Building on these findings, the second study (Study II) investigated the associations between achievement goals and both emotional and cognitive facets of subjective well-being (positive and negative emotions, personal accomplishment, and life satisfaction) in a sample of 1,335 faculty members using structural equation modelling. The study also examined potential differences in associations based on the country (Germany, USA, India) and type of higher education institution (research-focused vs. teaching-focused) that faculty members worked in. The results indicated that mastery (task) approach goals were positively related to aspects of subjective well-being, while performance (appearance) approach, performance (appearance) avoidance, and work avoidance goals were negatively related. Mixed findings emerged for mastery avoidance and relational goals. These associations were not found to significantly differ across faculty from different countries or institution types.
The final study (Study III) assessed the temporal ordering of faculty members’ (N = 493) achievement goals and multifaceted subjective well-being (positive and negative affect, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction), over the course of one semester (three months). Findings from latent change score modelling revealed that faculty members who had higher levels of subjective well-being at the semester start experienced subsequent increases in mastery approach and performance (appearance) approach goals, and decreases in performance (appearance) avoidance and work avoidance goals. Moreover, higher levels of mastery approach and performance approach goals at the semester start positively predicted respective increases in positive affect and job satisfaction
Relevance of Students’ Goals for Learning Engagement and Knowledge Gains in an Online Learning Course
No full textOnline courses are an important form of educational delivery worldwide, yet students differ in how well they learn from them. Following psychological and educational research, students’ goals can be considered relevant personal predictors of these differences. In the present study, we strive to better understand differences in students’ learning engagement and learning gains and investigate how they are related to their achievement goals. We distinguish between two types of mastery goals (task and learning goals) along with performance approach goals and performance avoidance goals. We constructed an online course and assessed 182 undergraduates’ goals and prior knowledge before, as well as their knowledge gains after learning with the course. Through learning analytics, we measured learning engagement during the course based on nine objective indicators concerning usage, time, and clicks. Structural equation modelling showed that task goals but not learning goals were beneficial for learning engagement and, in turn, learning gains. This paints a more nuanced picture of how mastery goals matter and illuminates how students’ goals form a relevant premise for successful online learning. While online courses may differ in design and support provided, our findings imply that personal learner characteristics, such as student motivations, should also be acknowledged
Faculty Subjective Well-being: An Achievement Goal Approach
No full textResearch indicates that faculty members struggle with compromised subjective well-being (SWB). Although motivation is considered central to SWB, little research has investigated this connection in faculty using comprehensive, multifaceted frameworks. To address this, the present study took an achievement goal approach to examining multifaceted SWB (positive and negative emotions, career and life satisfaction) in 1,335 faculty members from Germany, the USA, and India. Structural equation modelling revealed that, invariant across countries and institutions, achievement goals were meaningfully and differentially associated with SWB. Mastery (task) approach goals were particularly conducive to SWB, while work avoidance goals were detrimental. Moreover, mixed results emerged for performance and relational goals. These findings highlight the centrality of goals for understanding and supporting faculty development
University Instructors' Achievement Goals and Learning in Professional Development Courses
No full textThe Relevance of Stability and Change of Achievement Goals for Self-regulated Motor Learning Processes and Outcomes
No full textSelf-regulated motor learning is a frequent and important achievement activity in sport and exercise contexts. Therein, individual learners’ achievement goals can be considered relevant for motor learning processes and outcomes. To better understand their role, we first examined the temporal stability of achievement goals during self-regulated motor learning. Next, we tested the relevance of the goals and their temporal variability for the learning process (learning time, effort, and motivational problems) and learning outcomes (performance and continuance intentions). To this end, 93 individuals completed a total of 1,017 daily diary entries about their goals (learning-approach, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, work-avoidance goals) and learning processes across sixteen days while learning juggling basics. Afterwards, they completed a post-test assessing their learning outcomes. Multi-level analyses indicated that goals contained both temporally stable and temporally variable fractions that were both relevant for learning processes. For learning outcomes, not only mean levels, but also temporal trends mattered
Relevance of students' goals for learning engagement and knowledge gains in an online learning course
No full textOnline courses are an important form of educational delivery worldwide, yet there are large differences in how well different participants learn from them. We strive to better understand these differences and investigate how they are related to participants’ motivations and learning gains. Following an achievement goal approach, we distinguish between two mastery goals (task and learning goals) and performance approach and avoidance goals. We constructed an online course including 182 undergraduates and assessed their goals and prior knowledge before, and their knowledge gains after the course. Through learning analytics, we assessed learning engagement based on 9 indicators concerning usage, time, and clicks regarding the different course elements. Structural equation modelling showed that task goals were particularly beneficial for learning engagement, and in turn, learning gains. This paints a more nuanced picture of how mastery goals matter and illuminates how students’ goals form a relevant premise for successful online learning
University Instructors' Achievement Goals and Learning in Professional Development Courses
No full textProfessional Development of Teachers in Online Contexts: Differences in Learning Engagement and Relevance of Achievement Goals
No full textProfessional Development of Teachers in Online Contexts: Differences in Learning Engagement and Relevance of Achievement Goals
No full textElite athletes' achievement goals, burnout levels, psychosomatic stress symptoms, and coping strategies
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