The role of achievement goals in completing a course assignment: examining the effects of performance-approach and multiple goals

This study examines the relationship between achievement goals and some important learning-related variables in the completion of a course assignment. The research on achievement goals is reviewed and two contentious issues-the nature of performance goals and the effects of multiple goals-are highlighted. Three hundred and seventy-three Chinese distance learners in Hong Kong participated in a mailed survey. A correlation analysis revealed that their mastery goals were adaptive to learning; but, in contrast, work-avoidance goals were maladaptive to the processes of completing an assignment. A mixed pattern of association was found with performance-approach goals. Using a median-split technique, the participants were classified into four different groups of 'multiple-goal learners'. MANOVA tests showed that mastery-focused learners had the most adaptive pattern of learning and engagement in completing the assignment, followed in order by balanced-goal learners, performance-focused learners and performance-anxious learners. The results are discussed in light of achievement goal research conducted using campus-based students.