Children's efficacy beliefs and coping strategies in mathematics across the transition to middle school: The roles of perceived parent and teacher achievement goal emphases.
Friedel, Jeanne M.
2006
Abstract
This dissertation examines the ways in which children's perceptions of achievement goals emphasized in home and school contexts across the transition to middle school work together to support efficacy and ways of coping with academic difficulty in mathematics. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear modeling were used to test an extended version of the theoretical model proposed by Maehr and colleagues (Anderman & Maehr, 1994; Kaplan & Maehr, 2002). Results indicated that children differentiate between goals emphasized by teachers and parents, and that these perceptions contribute uniquely to children's personal goal orientations, efficacy beliefs, and strategies for coping with failure or difficulty in mathematics. Further, changes in children's perceptions of the goals emphasized by parents and teachers predicted changes in the children's efficacy beliefs and the coping strategies they employed when faced with difficulty in mathematics, a relationship partially mediated by children's personal goal orientations. Findings support the assertion that perceiving an increase in the emphasis on mastery goals at home and in the classroom fosters adaptive learning beliefs and behaviors and reduces less adaptive responses to failure or difficulty. In general, perceived and personal mastery goals emerged as the strongest predictors of outcomes facilitating the learning process (i.e., efficacy and positive or problem-focused coping) and those undermining it (i.e., projective coping and noncoping, or negative affect following failure). Consistent with prior research, children reported a slight decline in teacher emphasis on mastery goals across the transition to middle school. However, middle school teachers were perceived to emphasize performance goals <italic> less</italic> than elementary school teachers; children's personal performance goals likewise declined across the transition. In general, children reported that parents strongly emphasized mastery goals throughout 6<super>th</super> and 7<super>th</super> grade, whereas emphasis on performance increased. Changes in children's perceptions and outcomes were examined for differences by gender and ethnic background. Several differences were noted. However, relations between perceptions and outcomes did not differ by gender or ethnicity. These studies suggest that to foster adaptive patterns of learning in children, both parents and teachers must convey the importance of learning and understanding, persisting and teaming from mistakes or difficulty, and self improvement.Subjects
Achievement Goal Children Coping Efficacy Beliefs Emphases Mathematics Middle School Transition Parent Perceived Roles Strategies Teacher
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