Abstract
Recent research using quantitative methodologies and an emerging social psychological theory of socioeconomic status (SES) has found an association between students’ SES and their academic achievement goals. As a new area of research in the achievement goal tradition, there has been little investigation of the contextual influences upon particular goal orientations in divergent SES contexts. To explore these influences, focus groups were conducted with 24 secondary school students aged 16–17 years attending a high and a low SES school in New South Wales, Australia. These teenagers were approaching a ‘developmental deadline’ which required immediate decisions about future work and education pathways. As such, they could be experiencing a period of heightened contextual influences. Directed content analysis of the focus groups observed the broad distinctions in achievement goals seen in previous quantitative studies. However, the analysis elucidated some of the ways in which norms and values in different SES contexts influenced the adoption of particular goal orientations. In some cases, the same orientation had markedly different contextual influences stemming from students’ SES backgrounds. From these exploratory findings, we argue for further research into the factors which influence the adoption of different achievement goals by students from different SES backgrounds.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ames, C. (1984). Competitive, cooperative and individualistic goal structures: A cognitive-motivational analysis. In R. Ames & C. Ames (Eds.), Research on motivation in education (Vol. 1, pp. 177–207). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Ames, C. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84(3), 261–271. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.84.3.261.
Ames, C., & Archer, J. (1988). Achievement goals in the classroom: Students’ learning strategies and motivation processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(3), 260–267. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.80.3.260.
Berger, N. (2013). Exploring the motivational goals of preliminary HSC students from divergent socioeconomic backgrounds. (Unpublished master’s thesis), The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.2044.9288.
Berger, N., & Archer, J. (2015). The relationship between social class and students’ academic achievement goals: Three hypotheses. In C. Rubie-Davies, J. Stephens, & P. Watson (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of social psychology of the classroom (pp. 31–41). Abingdon: Routledge.
Berger, N., & Archer, J. (2016). School socio-economic status and student socio-academic achievement goals in upper secondary contexts. Social Psychology of Education, 19(1), 175–194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-015-9324-8.
Bosch, G., & Charest, J. (2008). Vocational training and the labour market in liberal and coordinated economies. Industrial Relations Journal, 39(5), 428–447. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2338.2008.00497.x.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
Brown, D. K. (2001). The social sources of educational credentialism: Status cultures, labor markets, and organizations. Sociology of Education, 74, 19–34. https://doi.org/10.2307/2673251.
Chankseliani, M., James Relly, S., & Laczik, A. (2016). Overcoming vocational prejudice: How can skills competitions improve the attractiveness of vocational education and training in the UK? British Educational Research Journal, 42(4), 582–599. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3218.
Cruz Rankovic, O. (2017). Högstadieelevers studiemotivation, self-efficacy och uppfattning av andras förväntningar: Ett socioekonomiskt perspektiv. (Unpublished master’s thesis), Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Retrieved from http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8898720.
Dowson, M., & McInerney, D. M. (2001). Psychological parameters of students’ social and work avoidance goals: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.35.
Dweck, C. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41(10), 1040–1048. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.10.1040.
Elliot, A. (1999). Approach and avoidance motivation and achievement goals. Educational Psychologist, 34(3), 169–189. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3403_3.
Elliot, A., & Church, M. (1997). A hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(1), 218–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.72.1.218.
Elliot, A., & Harackiewicz, J. (1996). Approach and avoidance achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: A mediational analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(3), 461–475. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.461.
Elliot, A., & Murayama, K. (2008). On the measurement of achievement goals: Critique, illustration, and application. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(3), 613–628. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.100.3.613.
Elliot, A., Murayama, K., & Pekrun, R. (2011). A 3 × 2 achievement goal model. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(3), 632–648. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023952.
Goddard, C. (2009). ‘Not taking yourself too seriously’ in Australian English: Semantic explications, cultural scripts, corpus evidence. Intercultural Pragmatics, 6(1), 29–53. https://doi.org/10.1515/IPRG.2009.002.
Gutman, L. M. (2006). How student and parent goal orientations and classroom goal structures influence the math achievement of African-Americans during the high school transition. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 31(1), 44–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2005.01.004.
Harackiewicz, J., Barron, K., & Elliot, A. (1998). Rethinking achievement goals: When are they adaptive for college students and why? Educational Psychologist, 33(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3301_1.
Heckhausen, J., & Tomasik, M. J. (2002). Get an apprenticeship before school is out: How German adolescents adjust vocational aspirations when getting close to a developmental deadline. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60(2), 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.2001.1864.
Hsieh, H.-F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687.
Huang, C. (2012). Discriminant and criterion-related validity of achievement goals in predicting academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(1), 48–73. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026223.
Hulleman, C., Schrager, S., Bodmann, S., & Harackiewicz, J. (2010). A meta-analytic review of achievement goal measures: Different labels for the same constructs or different constructs with similar labels? Psychological Bulletin, 136(3), 422–449. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018947.
Jury, M., Darnon, C., Dompnier, B., & Butera, F. (2016). The social utility of performance-approach goals in a selective educational environment. Social Psychology of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-016-9354-x.
Jury, M., Smeding, A., Court, M., & Darnon, C. (2015). When first-generation students succeed at university: On the link between social class, academic performance, and performance-avoidance goals. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 41, 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2014.11.001.
Kaplan, A., Gheen, M., & Midgley, C. (2002). Classroom goal structure and student disruptive behavior. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72(2), 191–211. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709902158847.
Kraus, M., Piff, P., Mendoza-Denton, P. R., Rheinschmidt, M., & Keltner, D. (2012). Social class, solipsism, and contextualism: How the rich are different from the poor. Psychological Review, 119(3), 546–572. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028756.
Kraus, M., & Stephens, N. (2012). A road map for an emerging psychology of social class. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6(9), 642–656. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00453.x.
Levy, I., Kaplan, A., & Patrick, H. (2004). Early adolescents’ achievement goals, social status, and attitudes towards cooperation with peers. Social Psychology of Education, 7(2), 127–159. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPOE.0000018547.08294.b6.
Massey, E., Gebhardt, W., & Garnefski, N. (2008). Adolescent goal content and pursuit: A review of the literature from the past 16 years. Developmental Review, 28(4), 421–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2008.03.002.
Midgley, C., Kaplan, A., & Middleton, M. (2001). Performance-approach goals: Good for what, for whom, under what circumstances, and at what cost? Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.77.
Nelson, R. M., & DeBacker, T. K. (2008). Achievement motivation in adolescents: The role of peer climate and best friends. Journal of Experimental Education, 76(2), 170–189. https://doi.org/10.3200/JEXE.76.2.170-190.
Nicholls, J. (1984). Achievement motivation: Conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice, and performance. Psychological Review, 91(3), 328–346. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.91.3.328.
Patrick, H., Kaplan, A., & Ryan, A. (2011). Positive classroom motivational environments: Convergence between mastery goal structure and classroom social climate. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(2), 367–382. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023311.
Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Titz, W., & Perry, R. P. (2002). Academic emotions in students’ self-regulated learning and achievement: A program of qualitative and quantitative research. Educational Psychologist, 37(2), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3702_4.
Piff, P., Martinez, A., Stancato, D., Kraus, M., & Keltner, D. (2012). Class, chaos, and the construction of community. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(6), 949–962. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029673.
Poortvliet, P. M., & Darnon, C. (2010). Toward a more social understanding of achievement goals: The interpersonal effects of mastery and performance goals. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(5), 324–328. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721410383246.
Smeding, A., Darnon, C., Souchal, C., Toczek-Capelle, M.-C., & Butera, F. (2013). Reducing the socio-economic status achievement gap at university by promoting mastery-oriented assessment. PLoS ONE, 8(8), e71678. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071678.
Sommet, N., Quiamzade, A., Jury, M., & Mugny, G. (2015). The student-institution fit at university: Interactive effects of academic competition and social class on achievement goals. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 769. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00769.
Stephens, N., Fryberg, S., & Markus, H. (2011). When choice does not equal freedom: A sociocultural analysis of agency in working-class American contexts. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(1), 22–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550610378757.
Stephens, N., Fryberg, S., Markus, H., Johnson, C., & Covarrubias, R. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: How American universities’ focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1178–1197. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027143.
Stephens, N., Markus, H., & Townsend, S. (2007). Choice as an act of meaning: The case of social class. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(5), 814–830. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.814.
Vickerstaff, S. (2007). ‘I was just the boy around the place’: What made apprenticeships successful? Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 59(3), 331–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820701520369.
Zhang, Y., Watermann, R., & Daniel, A. (2016). Are multiple goals in elementary students beneficial for their school achievement? A latent class analysis. Learning and Individual Differences, 51, 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.08.023.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Berger, N., Archer, J. Qualitative insights into the relationship between socioeconomic status and students’ academic achievement goals. Soc Psychol Educ 21, 787–803 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-018-9442-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-018-9442-1