The stability of goal orientations in grade five students: Comparison of two methodologies

Abstract

Seventy-six grade five students completed a questionnaire on two occasions separated by a five months interval. Responses were subjected to a factor analysis which was followed by a series of pairwise t-tests and Pearson correlations between time 1 and time 2 scores on measures of ability perceptions, self-worth, self-efficacy, success and failure attributions, positive and negative emotions, and preference for challenge. Time 1 mastery and performance orientation scores were also subjected to a cluster analysis followed by a series of repeated measures ANOVAs with time 1 and time 2 scores as the repeated measure and cluster membership as the independent variable. Factor analytic-correlational methodology was compared to cluster analysis with between-groups contrasts to determine the agreement between the two methods. Results indicated that while there was considerable stability in motivational constructs over time, the two methodologies yielded slightly different interpretations of the data.