Incidence of academic targets of secondary school pupils in their motivational management

Abstract

From diverse theoretical positions and recent researches, the importance of taking care of the motivation components involved in the learning process is emphasizing. The aim of this review is to find the most characteristic goal orientation of the individuals who use the volitive strategies like the delay of gratification or the activation of the self-efficacy beliefs for the maintenance of the commitment to the study. Based on a sampling of 152 students of 2nd year of mandatory secondary education ranged from 13 to 16 with a mean age of 13.82, and starting with a correlation analysis, we have employed a regression analysis in order to decide the degree to which the goal structure predicts the use of these volitive strategies. The results show us that working interested in the subject, for the acquisition of a decent future job or to be more competent, could influence positively in the activation of self-efficacy beliefs. On the other hand, unlike what we had initially hypothesized, the strategy delay of gratification is more associated with goals based on achievements or rewards. Finally, we have indicated the external and internal nature of the academic goals to explain these different links.