Relationship between Achievement Goal Orientation and Academic Achievement among Form Three Students in Kiambu County, Kenya
Loading...
Date
2018-04
Authors
Ng’ang’a, Maria Wacera
Mwaura, Peter A. M.
Dinga, Jotham N.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Education and Research
Abstract
In the last five years (2013 to 2017), poor academic achievement has been experienced in Kiambu
County, despite government interventions. Most researchers attribute this to socio-cultural factors
with little done to explain personal factors which may contribute towards students’ academic
achievement. The study was designed to determine the relationship among students’ achievement
goal orientation, and academic achievement in Kiambu County. The study was guided by the goal
orientation theory. The research adopted mixed methods sequential explanatory design. The
targeted population was all year 2017 Form Three students in Kiambu County. Purposive sampling
was used to select Gatundu South Sub-county. Using stratified random sampling 12 schools were
selected. Through proportionate stratified sampling, one girl’s only and one boys’ only boarding,
one co-educational boarding and nine co-educational day schools were selected. Simple random
sampling was used to select 665 participants. Achievement goal orientation scales were adopted and
used to measure achievement goal orientation. Purposively, 40 respondents were selected from
those who filled the questionnaires for an interview to cross check the quantitative data. Academic
achievement was inferred from students’ examination grades obtained from school records. The
quantitative data was analyzed using SPPS version 21. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically.
A pilot study on 40 students was conducted in a school within the County. Data collected was
analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypotheses was tested at a =.05 level of
significance. The findings revealed that all the domains of achievement goal orientation
significantly correlated to academic achievement (r (630) =.310, p<.05).The highest relationship
was observed between performance avoidance (r (630) =.355, p<.05). Based on the findings,
teachers, parents and all concerned stake holders should work together in creating conducive
environment for fostering development of domains of achievement goal orientation found to have a
positive predictive value on academic achievement.
Description
Keywords
Academic achievement, Achievement goal orientation, Mastery Approach, Mastery Avoidance, Performance Approach, Performance Avoidance
Citation
Ng’ang’a, M. W., Mwaura, P. A., & Dinga, J. N. (2018). Relationship between achievement goal orientation and academic achievement among form three students in Kiambu County, Kenya.