Development of Academic Goal Orientation Inventory for Senior Secondary School Students of Kerala

Goal orientations, Mastery approach orientation, Mastery avoidance orientation, Performance approach orientation, Performance avoidance orientation Abstract Research interest in achievement motivation and its correlates has grown in recent years. Though there are thousands of studies on goal orientation, the number of instruments to identify goal orientation based on four-fold model viz., performance approach goal orientation (PAP), performance avoidance goal orientation (PAV), mastery approach goal orientation (MAP) and mastery avoidance goal orientation (MAV) are rare, especially in the non-western education contexts. This paper describes the development of academic goal orientation inventory for adolescent students. Data from 832 higher secondary school students of Kerala chosen through stratified random sampling were factor analyzed to confirm that the responses on the new inventory follows the 2x2 achievement goal-orientation framework proposed by Pintrich (2000) and Elliot and McGregor (2001). This 15 item inventory reliably and validly identifies four goal orientations. © 2015 Guru Journal of Behavioral and Social Sciences Motivational process has a significant role in achievement situations, is accepted by psychologists for long years. In 1986, Dweck described motivational processes as having adaptive and maladaptive motivational patterns. These patterns of motivational processes were depicted as goal orientation. Goal orientation is a disposition toward developing or demonstrating ability in achievement situation (Dweck, 1986). Learners' cognitive strategies, affective responses and achievement behavior are affected by their goal orientation. The dominant theoretical approaches that explains goal orientation in educational situations identifies two types of goal orientation, namely learning orientation (mastery orientation) and performance orientation. Mastery orientation denotes a personal intention to learn, and to improve one's ability and skills. Such students are not concerned of what others would think about their competence. They probably set challenging goals, and persist when encountered with difficulties. In performance goal orientation, the subjects strive to demonstrate their competence and expertise or to avoid unfavorable judgments about their competence, in achievement situations. Performance goal orientation is a personal intention to be a competent person in front of others. Such students very much bother about measuring up their performance , and focusing on getting good grades, being the first in class and like that (Dweck, 1986; Ames, 1992). Later researches evidenced that goal orientation affects cognitive and affective behaviors (Kadivar, Kavousian, Arabzadeh, & Nikdel, 2011; Gonida, Voulala, & Kiosseoglou, 2009; Howell & Watson, 2007). Yet, literature evidence that studies following Dweck's theory has given less attention to performance avoidance goals. Most of the earlier studies followed mastery goals against performance goals dichotomy, and hence many earlier instruments purporting to delineate goal orientation of learners did so for performance vs. mastery dichotomy, and ignored approach - avoidance dimension. This study intends to fill the gap especially with focus on goal-orientation of learners in non-western school contexts. As early as 1996 Elliot and his colleagues recognized the shortcomings of the dichotomous nature of goal orientation. They proposed an alternative framework with