Cultural Differences in Academic Motivation Goals: A Meta-Analysis Across 13 Societies

A meta-analysis of academic motivation focused on the relations between students' achievement goal orientations and societal values and human development indicators. The authors analyzed relevant studies using either A. J. Elliot and M. A. Church's (1997) or M. J. Middleton and C. Midgley's (1997) achievement goal instruments separating mastery, performance approach, and performance avoidance goals, with 36,985 students from 13 societies. Ecological correlation and regression analyses showed that mastery goals are higher in egalitarian societies, whereas performance approach goals are higher in more embedded contexts and in less developed societies. Performance avoidance goals did not strongly relate to societal-level variables. The findings show that achievement goals are rooted within dominant societal values.