Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Goal Structures – Will They Ever Converge? Exploring Changes in Student-Teacher Agreement and Reciprocal Relations to Self-Concept and Achievement

Publication date: Available online 26 August 2019Source: Contemporary Educational PsychologyAuthor(s): Lisa Bardach, Takuya Yanagida, Barbara Schober, Marko LüfteneggerAbstractPrevious studies have shown that alignment between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of goal structures (i.e., student-teacher agreement) ranges from non-existent to, at most, moderate. However, existing work is limited in that it all relies on cross-sectional data, meaning that we lack an understanding of changes in student-teacher agreement on goal structures over time. The present study therefore (a) attempts to shed light on changes over one semester in student-teacher agreement on six dimensions of goal structures (task, autonomy, recognition, grouping, evaluation, and time) in mathematics classes. In addition, we address the question (b) whether differentiated developmental trajectories of student-teacher agreement emerge for the period before vs. after the first mathematics test in the semester. Furthermore, the study (c) examines whether and how students’ self-concept and indicators of students’ initial and actual achievement are (reciprocally) related to agreement and changes in agreement. Data for this study was collected at five measurement points in newly assembled classes (Grade 9) after a transition within secondary education. The sample contained 130 students and their mathematics teachers, resulting in 130 student-teacher dyads. Applying piecewise growth curve modeling indicat...
Source: Contemporary Educational Psychology - Category: Child Development Source Type: research