1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This study had two objectives. The first was to identify naturally occurring developmental AG [achievement goal] trajectories using group-based trajectory modeling (Nagin, 1999, 2005). This analytical strategy allows grouping students according to their naturally occurring similarities and differences in terms of AG fluctuations during and after the middle school transition. […] The second was to examine the role of behavioral and emotional dispositions in predicting AG trajectories, while controlling for students’ gender, performance, and perceptions of academic competence, which were found to predict AG […].» (p. 493)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The authors of the present study hypothesize «that the development of mastery goals [is not] homogenous during the transition to middle school.» (p. 506)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«We used data obtained from the first four waves of a longitudinal study on students’ school adaptation and persistence from the end of elementary to the end of high school in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present study began when the students were in the last year of elementary school (Grade 6). The sample for the present study (n = 378) included 155 boys and 210 girls (13 unspecified) […].» (p. 494) Les mères des élèves ont également participé à la recherche.

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«As expected, multiple trajectories of AG were identified, based on yearly assessments from Grade 6 to Secondary 3. Moreover, students’ behavioral and emotional dispositions predicted these developmental trajectories fairly coherently.» (p. 505) «[F]indings [include] three distinct groups of students pursuing independent trajectories over the 4-year period. […] Trajectories for performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals presented a more complex picture, with four distinct developmental trajectories. Three trajectories for the two goal types showed a relatively similar pattern.» (p. 506-507) «In addition, students who were perceived by their mother as having limited attention capacity were more likely to belong to the moderate performance avoidance trajectory group than the low group, with a greater risk for girls than for boys. Although this finding might initially appear intriguing, it is in line with the finding that young girls seem to be more concerned about pleasing their parents and teachers with their school performance […]. Girls who found it more difficult to concentrate on and complete complex tasks might be more liable than boys to worry about the social consequences of being incompetent […].» (p.509)