Scheduled for Research Consortium Poster Session: Thematic Early Childhood and Elementary Education Posters, Friday, March 16, 2007, 8:45 AM - 10:15 AM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall Poster Area I


Examining the 2 x 2 Achievement Goal Model: A Mixed Method

Jianmin Guan1, Ron E. McBride2 and Ping Xiang2, (1)University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, (2)Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Although empirical research provides support for the 2 x 2 achievement goal model in high school physical education (PE) settings, validation is a continuous process. The purpose of this study was to provide triangulation between questionnaire data and interview data to examine the psychometric properties in high school PE settings. The data for this study were collected as part of a larger study. A total of 15 students (8 boys, 7 girls) from a high school in the southwest United States served as participants. They completed the 12-item Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Physical Education (AGQ-PE). One week later they were also interviewed individually during regularly scheduled PE classes. The interview questions included: (a) is it important for you to learn in your PE class? why or why not? (b) are you ever concerned about not doing well in PE? why or why not? (c) is it important for you to do better than your peers in PE? why or why not? and (d) is it important for you to avoid doing poorly in your PE class? why or why not? These four questions represent mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals, respectively. When answering each of the questions, students were first asked to indicate their level of agreement on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (not at all true of me) through 7 (very true of me), paralleling the 7-point Likert-type scale used in the AGQ-PE. After the student provided a rating score, the interviewer asked why he/she gave such a score to examine perception of his/her achievement goals in PE settings. Follow-up questions were used to clarify vague responses provided by the students. The interview data were analyzed using constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Dependent t-tests were used to assess the consistency between the questionnaire data and those scores from interviews. The results from the interview data confirmed the existence of 2 x 2 model in high school PE settings. The dependent t-tests revealed no significant differences between the questionnaire data and interview data. This consistency demonstrated that the AGQ-PE produced reliable scores. Based on the obtained results combined with previous findings (Guan, McBride, & Xiang, 2005), we believe that scores from the AGQ-PE are valid, reliable, and appropriate for measuring students' achievement goals in high school PE settings.
Keyword(s): assessment, measurement/evaluation, physical education PK-12

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