University Instructors' Motivation for Teaching: Structure and Relevance of Their Achievement Goals

• In Event: 32.082 - Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 32.082-4 - Teaching and Teacher Motivation

Abstract

Achievement goals of university instructors and important issues about general achievement goal structure are investigated by measuring 1,066 university instructors’ goals, affect, attitudes, and teaching quality. Results confirmed that the established mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, work-avoidance, and relational goals are likewise valid for university instructors. CFAs indicated that also task goals (focus on: quality of tasks), learning-avoidance goals (avoiding to loose competencies), and appearance (impression others have of own competence) and normative (performance in comparison to others) components of performance goals need to be distinguished. Each goal class showed distinct and sensible relationships with biographical characteristics and outcome variables (affect, attitudes, teaching quality). This highlights the importance of achievement goals for university instruction and advises to regard their structure more differentially.

Authors

• Martin Daumiller, University of Augsburg

• Markus Dresel, Augsburg University