Relationships among Achievement Goal, Academic Self-Efficacy, and Academic Achievement of Thai Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The present study examined relationship patterns among achievement goal, academic self-efficacy, and academic achievement via three path models with different order configurations based on social cognitive theory and expectancy value theory. Model 1 proposed (achievement goals à academic self-efficacy à academic achievement). Model 2 posited (academic self-efficacy à achievement goals à academic achievement). Model 3 placed (academic self-efficacy, achievement goals à academic achievement). Participants consisted of 988 Thai undergraduate students with mean age of 20 (SD = 0.99), ranging from 18 to 27 years. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data. Findings revealed that all three models fitted the sample covariance matrix reasonably well. Direct model comparisons indicated that Model 1 and Model 3 fitted the data significantly better than Model 2. Findings from the path analysis indicated that adoption of different types of achievement goals directly influenced academic achievement. Specifically, performance-approach goal demonstrated a positive relationship with academic achievement in contrast to performance-avoidance goal which showed a negative relationship. Factors influencing student adoption of different types of achievement goals were discussed.