Examining Relationships of Taiwanese Adolescents` Achievement Goals to Academic Engagement and Coping

Abstract

The present study attempted to examine the relationships among Taiwanese eighth graders’ achievement goals, academic engagement, and coping. Also, the beneficial effects of pursuing multiple goals on academic engagement and coping were investigated. Four hundred and two eighth-grade Taiwanese students completed a self-reported survey assessing the variables described above. Results of regression analyses sustained the vital role of mastery-approach goals in students’ academic engagement. Mastery-approach goals positively predicted agentic, behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Moreover, performance-approach goals positively predicted agentic engagement. As for the predictors of academic coping, mastery-approach and mastery-avoidance goals together with behavioral and cognitive engagement emerged as positive predictors of engagement coping. Mastery-approach goals negatively predicted disengagement coping, whereas performance-avoidance goals functioned as a positive predictor of this type of coping. Finally, results from MANCOVA showed that both mastery-approach and performance-approach goals independently exerted influences on students’ academic engagement and coping. Implications for educational practices are discussed.