A multifactorial model of intrinsic / environmental motivators, personal traits and their combined influences on math performance in elementary school

Abstract Numerous studies have explored the important role of achievement goals, as well as factors such as interest and self-efficacy, for academic performance of students of various ages. Such studies usually focus on the influence of one or two of these factors that are known to be associated with performance. At the same time, achievement goals themselves are influenced by environmental factors such as the influence of “significant others” (parents, teachers) or the overall socio-cultural context. In the present study, we expand the framework of achievement goal theory by building a holistic multifactorial path analysis model of direct and indirect influences, where achievement goals and personality traits such as self-efficacy and interest exert a combined influence on performance, but also receive influence from environmental factors. To achieve this goal, we collected data from 762 5th and 6th grade students, who attended 22 public primary schools in Cyprus. Data was collected with reliable and valid self-report scales such as the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ-R) and the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS), as well as a battery for Mathematical performance created by the researchers. Our results indicate a robust model that effectively captures the complex grid of associations between these factors of interest. Among other findings, self-efficacy and interest were found to mediate the relation between students’ mastery goals and performance. In sum, this research underscores the profound significance of mastery goals, self-efficacy and interest in Mathematical performance.