Analysis of the Role and Personal Goal Relationship With Academic Goals
This academic goals essay has a systematic identification, location and analysis of documents related to the research problem. It covers a review of the literature relevant and crucially related to the problem. It entails a review of the literature on the background of the relationship between personal best goals, achievement goals and academic achievement. It also presents literature on the mediation role of academic engagement in the relationship between achievement goals, personal bests and academic achievement.
Personal Best Goals and Academic Achievement
Much of research literature reveals a strong correlation between personal best goals and academic achievement among students. A study by Burns et al. involving Australian secondary school students reported goal setting as a viable strategy of impacting positively on academic engagement at any time and across time to help students improve their academic success. This study collected data from 368 Australian secondary school students. The data were analyzed using Latent Growth Modelling (LGM) and the conclusion was made. These study however, used a sample of students selected from a learning context that differ significantly from the Kenyan one. Therefore, there is need for the present research in order to address the research problem using evidence obtained from the Kenyan context.
Burns, Martin and Collie conducted a study aimed at examining the role of adaptability and personal best in students’ academic achievement. A total of 2130 students from nine secondary schools were used in data collection. The findings of these study indicated that perceived control, adaptability and self-efficacy predicted personal best goal pursuit and personal best goal pursuit predicted academic engagement as well as academic achievement. This study however did not examine the direct association between personal best goals and academic achievement, a gap this current research will address.
Martin and Elliot study supports the preposition that personal best goals are associated with academic achievement in the learners life. Another study conducted by Michaela et al argued that personal goals were important in determining academic achievement of learners. This study experiment was based on personal goal setting theory and it was conducted among 2928 university students. The study conclusion showed that personal goals led to an increase in academic achievement among students. This study however had a limitation as it involved university student.
In Kenya, little has been done on the relationship between personal best goals and academic achievement goal. Most of the literature available indicate a decline in academic engagement among secondary school students due to social, economic and cultural factors, which has led to the consistent poor academic performance among most of these students. However, in Nakuru West Sub County there is limited research on the relationship between psychological variables and academic achievement among secondary school students hence the need for the proposed research.
Achievement Goals and Academic Achievement
The relationship between achievement goals and academic achievement has been given considerable attention from educational researchers. In a study done using a sample size of 321 university students, a questionnaire on academic goals and learning strategies were used to collect data. Real semester scores were used to measure academic achievement. The findings showed a significant and direct relationship between mastery of content, performance approach goals and academic achievement. Resource management strategies of learning had a significant mediation role in the relationship between achievement goals of learners and their achievements academically. This study however was done among university students, while the current study intend to target secondary school students for more conclusive findings.
Another research by Chen and Wei-Wen explored the relationship between goal orientations and academic achievement among Chinese students. A sample size of 336 students was used in the study. This study also established that there was a significant correlation between academic achievement and goal orientations. However, this study used a relatively small sample of students that limit the generalization of the results to the population of secondary school students in Kenya.
In Kenya, Ng’ang’a, Mwaura, and Dinga examined the relationship between student’s achievement goal orientation and academic achievement in Kiambu County. A mixed sequential explanatory design was used where purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 665 students. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from the students. The findings of the study showed a significant relationship between achievement goal orientation and academic achievement. This study recommended a replication of these study using different data collection and analytical methods to confirm its finding, what the current study intends to do. Another study by Obura, Kinai and Ndambuki conducted in Nairobi County, investigated academic goals and its relation with academic achievement with a sample of 602 students. The study proved a positive correlation between mastery goals and performance approach with the academic achievement. The findings of these study were not conclusive hence further research is recommend.
A study by Ong’uti, Aloka and Nyakinda investigated the relationship between goal setting and mathematics performance in Kenya showed a positive correlation between the two variables. The study used questionnaires and interviews to collect data from sample size of 360 students and 11 teachers. Solomon four pre-test post-test two group design was adopted. Though these findings are found to be relevant to address the problem of the proposed study, the sample size involved was relatively small hence the need to replicate the study to confirm these findings. This is the gap that the current study will fill by providing research information on achievement goals and its relationship with academic achievement among form three students of Nakuru West Sub County.
Academic Engagement in Relationship Between Personal Goals and Academic Achievement
Academic engagement involves the cognitive, behavioral and emotional efforts of a learner to achieve academic targets.These efforts include, and are not limited to; active participation in the learning process, involvement in academic activities, learners efforts and hard work, and persistence in learning. As seen earlier, specific set targets by learners motivates them to work harder in order to exceed a previous score, and hence achieve greater goals academically. Active learner engagement therefore is a vital prerequisite in achieving personal best goals and academic development. Studies by Nissim et al. shows that learners tend to be more stimulated and motivated to achieving personal best goals when the learning environment is more social, active and lively. Academic self regulatory skills are therefore very important when setting learning environments. Learners become self driven to achieve their goals. The intrinsic motivation that comes along when a learner achieves set targets exceeding previous scores creates a culture of positive academic success. This study did not show clearly the mediating role of academic engagement on the relationship between personal bests and academic achievement. According to Adak, learners use their active learning activities to build on the knowledge that they already have. Therefore, academic positivity may be greatly achieved by regulating student activities and environments that support their learning endeavors. Abid and Akhtar in their study contends that academic engagement is a strong predictor of personal goals attainment. However, academic engagement is not only limited to quality and active learning environments, but also student-to-staff interactions, students emotional feelings and perceptions towards a teacher or subject, and societal experiences of trust and support that boosts learner's efficacy. Abid and Alhtar however did not show how engagement mediated between personal best and academic success.
Many academic aspects have been studied including teaching strategies, learning psychology, and techniques that promote academic prowess. In all those studies, the ultimate purpose has been to identify how better, fast and efficient learning can take place and promote academic growth. Results indicate that mastery of concepts is greatly improved when learning is engaging. Use of resources outside the classroom setting helps learners relate concepts easily to the real life situations hence easy learning. Besides, learner’s perception of the learning environment plays a key role in mastery of information. Forexample, an environment that a learner perceive to be secure, accommodative and emotionally supportive tend to have a positive impact on his/her achievement.
Chen argues that engagement learning is very key in learner's self -efficacy and mastery of content. This leads to excellent academic scores and intrinsic motivation. Attaining personal best goals by an intrinsically motivated learner becomes easy and faster, thereby improving his/her academic goals in the long-run. However the relationship between engagement , personal best and academic achievement has not being clearly brought ought as the current study requires.
Academic Engagement in the Relationship bBetween Achievement Goals and Academic Achievement
Academic engagement is a multidimensional construct that involves student psychological (cognitive, emotional and behavioral) efforts in learning, understanding or mastering skills, craft or knowledge that school work is intended to promote. Lei, Chui and Zhou, with an aim of resolving arguments between scholars on existence of a relationship between academic engagement and academic achievement conducted a study that involved a meta-analysis of 69 independent studies. The study findings indicated a strong relationship between overall students academic engagement and academic achievements. This study further revealed a strong correlation between the domain of engagement (emotional, cognitive and behavioral) had a positive correlation with academic achievements however this study had various limitations as it used data from other research findimgs. Another study by Ping et Al., was conducted among 4310 students from five public high schools in China, to investigate the effects of students' prior academic achievements and academic engagement. The study findings showed students prior achievement predicted their behavioral, emotional and cognitive engagement which further predicted their subsequent academic achievements. The study further revealed that the association was strong among students who had an incremental theory in their academic achievements. The study however did not indicate clearly the mediating role of engagement in the relationship between achievement goals and academic achievement.
Conclusion
Personal bests and achievement goals are of great importance in determining academic achievements and life long learning among students. Some studies show that performance approach and mastery approach significantly predicted academic achievement. Nevertheless further research is recommended in these areas to give more conclusive information for writing academic goals for college students essay.
