The Relations Between Student Motivational Beliefs and Cognitive Engagement in High School

The authors examined relations among student perceptions of classroom achievement goals, self-efficacy, perceived instrumentality of classroom work, and sense of belonging within a classroom. Participants were 249 high school students. The authors also examined how cognitive engagement was predicted by those variables along with personal achievement goals (mastery and performance approach). The results indicate that the adoption of mastery goals was predicted by perceived instrumentality, self-efficacy, and belonging, whereas cognitive engagement was predicted by belonging and perceived instrumentality. Last, the authors found that a classroom promoting a mastery orientation was predictive of a student's sense of belonging. They discuss the importance of mastery-oriented classrooms.