Studying for the sake of others : the role of social goals on engagement and well-being

Abstract

Students pursue different goals in school, which have been shown to influence a variety of educational outcomes. The achievement goal framework which focuses on mastery and performance goals is currently the most dominant paradigm for the examination of students‘ goals in the school setting. Numerous studies have shown the different consequences associated with the pursuit of mastery and performance goals. However, a limitation of achievement goal theory is its neglect of social goals which pertain to social reasons for studying. This is surprising given the importance of interpersonal relationships for adolescent students. Moreover, from a cross-cultural perspective, social goals seem to be even more salient for students from collectivist cultures due to the greater importance of the relational fabric in such societies. Therefore, the general aim of this study was to investigate the types, the structure, and the consequences of social goals in a collectivist cultural context.

Five inter-related studies were conducted with Filipino secondary school students. Study 1 was a qualitative study which aimed to assess the different types of goals that students pursued. Results indicated that most of the goals pertained to social goals, and only a minority of these referred to the more commonly-researched achievement goals. Studies 2 and 3 aimed to examine the cross-cultural applicability of the 2 x 2 achievement goal model and the hierarchical and multidimensional model of social goals respectively in the Philippine setting. The 2 x 2 achievement goal model posits a distinction between four types of achievement goals: mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance avoidance, while the hierarchical and multidimensional model of social goals construes social goals as a higher-order construct underpinned by five specific types of social goals: social affiliation, social approval, social concern, social responsibility, and social status. Results of these two studies indicated that these models were both applicable to Filipino students. As such, they were used in the subsequent studies. The aim of Study 4 was to test the relationships among achievement goals, social goals, academic engagement, and achievement. A longitudinal design was adopted and results indicated that social goals were the most salient positive predictors of academic engagement. They were also negative predictors of academic disengagement. Engagement and disengagement, in turn, mediated the impact of goals on subsequent academic achievement. Study 5 examined the relationships among achievement goals, social goals, and well-being. A longitudinal design was adopted, and results showed that mastery-approach and social goals were the most beneficial for well-being.

Taken together, these studies showed the importance of investigating social goals alongside the oft-examined achievement goals given their greater salience and their causal dominance over achievement goals in predicting both achievement-related and broader well-being outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research are discussed.