Students' goal orientations and their perceived peer relationships

Abstract

The perception of positive social interactions is important for positive experiences in heterogeneous groups, cultural diversity and inclusion in educational contexts. Based on social-cognitive theories, findings on motivation in school are available from numerous studies. However, only few studies focus on longitudinal relationships between students’ mastery vs performance goal orientations and their later perception of peer relationships in school. Aim of the current research was to clarify the extent to which reciprocal effects exist between students’ mastery vs performance goal orientation and their perception of peer relationships. To test the assumed reciprocal effects, data from 204 primary school students (on average 11 years of age) of the longitudinal study RUMBA-S in Switzerland were analyzed using cross-lag structural-equation modeling. The results suggest a statistically significant effect of the students' mastery goal orientation on their later positive perception of peer relationships, but not vice versa. Thus, no other and no reciprocal relationships exist. Performance goal orientation is related to the perception of peer relationships. The results highlight the importance of students’ mastery goal orientation for their academic and social learning.