Destined to decline? A comparison of cohort trends in students’ goal orientations between 2012 and 2023

There is a widespread perception, particularly among teachers, that school-related learning motivation declines from one generation of students to the next. The present study followed up on earlier work that found negative trends in students’ goal orientations between 2002 and 2012. To investigate whether the unfavorable cohort trends of students’ goal orientations have continued over the past decade, we compared the second and third standardization samples of the Scales for the Assessment of Learning and Achievement Motivation (SELLMO; Spinath et al., 2002 ; 2012 ) (2012: N = 3,348, 2023: N = 1,510). While no differences were found regarding performance-avoidance goals, students in the 2023 sample exhibited a lower learning goal orientation, lower performance-approach goals, and higher work avoidance compared to the 2012 sample. Negative trends in goal orientations were mainly evident among secondary school students. These findings indicate a continuing negative trend in students’ school-related goal orientations over more than two decades. Implications of the current findings for future research and practice are discussed.