Achievement Goals, School Achievement, Self-Estimations of School Achievement, and Calibration in Students With and Without Special Education Needs in Inclusive Education

This study focuses on the goal orientation of students with and without special education needs (SEN) in inclusive schools. Participants were 186 students (110 boys; 76 girls) from Grade 7 (mean age = 13.83). Of these, 93 were diagnosed as having SEN, while the other 93 were mainstream students matched on IQ. Students without SEN scored significantly higher in mastery-goal orientation, while students with SEN had a significantly higher performance-avoidance orientation. Two-step regression analyses showed that SEN was the only variable to predict differences in both mastery orientation and performance-avoidance orientation, while actual school achievements in German and Mathematics, self-estimations of school achievement in these school domains, as well as calibration (all entered in Step 1) were not significant.