Achievement of Goal Orientation and Academic Engagement among Adolescents in Southwestern Uganda

Abstract

Enhancing academic engagement is essential for improving the educational experiences of adolescents. Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, this study explored the relationship between achievement goal orientation and academic engagement among 510 secondary school students in Southwestern Uganda. The study focused on two forms of goal orientation—mastery-approach and performance-approach goals—and examined the mediating and moderating role of academic self-efficacy. The results, derived from self-reported data, indicate that approach achievement goals (mastery and performance) positively predict academic engagement, independently. Moreover, academic self-efficacy plays a dual role:  while it mediates the relationship between approach achievement goals (mastery and performance) and academic engagement, self-efficacy also moderates the relationship between performance-approach achievement goals and academic engagement. These findings underscore the importance of academic self-efficacy and achievement goal orientation in enhancing academic engagement among adolescent students, especially in low socioeconomic status communities. This research contributes to the understanding of factors like teacher-student relationship, external support offered by Compassion International program, goal setting skills training and predetermined external rewards can enrich the educational experiences of students in low resource education contexts