Stability and Variability of Students' Achievement Goals and Perceived Class Structure: A Latent Trait-State Approach

• In Event: Motivational Trajectories Across Adolescence: Studies of Change and Development During High School and College

Abstract

Achievement goals are often conceptualized as dispositions. However, they are also assumed to be sensitive to contextual characteristics, such as the goal structure of the achievement setting. In the present research, we examined the contribution of traits and states to university students’ achievement goals and perceived class structure. Thus, we conducted two longitudinal studies in the setting of real-life university courses (Study 1: 597 students, three measurements; Study 2: 1284 students; four measurements).
Students reported their course-specific achievement goals and perceived class structure on questionnaires after course sessions. For all constructs, traits contributed slightly more to variance than states. Correlational analyses reveal a slightly different pattern for relations between trait- and state-specific components. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Authors

• Ulrike Elisabeth Nett, Augsburg University

• Sonja Rita Bieg, University of Augsburg

• Markus Dresel, Augsburg University