British Journal of Educational Psychology

Special Issue Article

Self-reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: A qualitative study

Corresponding Author

Cheryl J. Travers

School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, UK

Correspondence should be addressed to Cheryl J. Travers, School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, Ashby Road, Loughborough, Leicester LE11 3TU, UK (email: [email protected]).Search for more papers by this author

Dominique Morisano,

Dominique Morisano

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada

Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada

Search for more papers by this author

Edwin A. Locke,

Edwin A. Locke

Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

Search for more papers by this author

Cheryl J. Travers,

Corresponding Author

Cheryl J. Travers

School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, UK

Dominique Morisano,

Dominique Morisano

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada

Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada

Search for more papers by this author

Edwin A. Locke,

Edwin A. Locke

Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

Search for more papers by this author

First published: 26 December 2014

https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12059

Citations: 53

Share a link

Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Wechat

Abstract

Background

Goal-setting theory continues to be among the most popular and influential theories of motivation and performance, although there have been limited academic applications relative to applications in other domains, such as organizational psychology.

Aims

This paper summarizes existing quantitative research and then employs a qualitative approach to exploring academic growth via an in-depth reflective growth goal-setting methodology.

Sample

The study focuses on 92 UK final-year students enrolled in an elective advanced interpersonal skills and personal development module, with self-reflection and growth goal setting at its core.

Method

Qualitative data in the form of regular reflective written diary entries and qualitative questionnaires were collected from students during, on completion of, and 6 months following the personal growth goal-setting programme.

Results

About 20% of students' self-set growth goals directly related to academic growth and performance; students reported that these had a strong impact on their achievement both during and following the reflective programme. Growth goals that were indirectly related to achievement (e.g., stress management) appeared to positively impact academic growth and other outcomes (e.g., well-being). A follow-up survey revealed that growth goal setting continued to impact academic growth factors (e.g., self-efficacy, academic performance) beyond the reflective programme itself.

Conclusions

Academic growth can result from both academically direct and indirect growth goals, and growth goal setting appears to be aided by the process of simultaneous growth reflection. The implications for promoting academic growth via this unique learning and development approach are discussed.

References

Ames, C., & Archer, J. (1988). Achievement goals in the classroom: Students’ learning strategies and motivation processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 260–267. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.80.3.260
Bandura, A. (1986). The explanatory and predictive scope of self-efficacy theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4, 359–373. doi:10.1521/jscp.1986.4.3.359
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Stanford, CA: W.H. Freeman.
Bandura, A. (2013). The role of self-efficacy in goal-based motivation. In E. A. Locke & G. Latham (Eds.), New developments in goal setting and task performance (pp. 147–157). New York, NY: Routledge.
Bauer, J. J., & McAdams, D. P. (2004). Growth goals, maturity, and well-being. Developmental Psychology, 40, 114–127. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.40.1.114
Baumeister, R. F. (2013). Self-control – The moral muscle. The Psychologist, 25, 112–115.
Berg, B. L. (2007). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences ( 6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson and Allyn and Bacon.
Boyd, E. M., & Fales, A. W. (1983). Reflective learning: Key to learning from experience. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 23, 99–117. doi:10.1177/0022167883232011
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brockbank, A., & McGill, I. (1998). Facilitating reflective learning in higher education. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. C. (1990). The psychology of optimal experience. New York, NY: Harper Row.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. C. (1996). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Cullen, K. W., Baranowski, T., & Smith, S. P. (2001). Using goal setting as a strategy for dietary behaviour change. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 101, 562–566. doi:10.1038/oby.2003.222
Diseth, Å., & Kobbeltvedt, T. (2010). A mediation analysis of achievement motives, goals, learning strategies, and academic achievement. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 671–687. doi:10.1348/000709910X492432
Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41, 1040–1048. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.41.10.1040
Dweck, C. S., Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2011). Academic tenacity. White paper prepared for the Gates Foundation. Seattle, WA.
Elliot, A. J., Murayama, K., Kobeisy, A., & Lichtenfeld, S. (2015). Potential-based achievement goals. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 192–206. doi:10.1111/bjep.12051
Emmons, R. A., & Diener, E. (1986). A goal–affect analysis of everyday situational choices. Journal of Research in Personality, 20, 309–326. doi:10.1016/0092-6566(86)90137-6
Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. London, UK: Further Education Unit.
Gist, M. E., Stevens, C. K., & Baretta, A. G. (1991). Effects of self-efficacy and post-training intervention on the acquisition and maintenance of complex interpersonal skills. Personnel Psychology, 44, 837–861. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.1991.tb00701.x
Haggis, T. (2002). Exploring the ‘Black Box’ of process: A comparison of theoretical notions of the ‘adult learner’ with accounts of postgraduate learning experience. Studies in Higher Education, 27, 207–220. doi:10.1080/03075070220119986
Harachi, T. W., Abbott, R. D., Catalano, R. F., Haggerty, K. P., & Fleming, C. B. (1999). Opening the black box: Using process evaluation measures to assess implementation and theory building. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 715–735. doi:10.1023/A:1022194005511
Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire: A compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 1073–1082. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00213-6
Hirsh, J. B., Mar, R. A., & Peterson, J. B. (2012). Psychological entropy: A framework for understanding uncertainty-related anxiety. Psychological Review, 119, 304–320. doi:10.1037/a0026767
Howard, A. (2013). The predictive validity of conscious and subconscious motives on career advancement. In E. A. Locke & G. P. Latham (Eds.), New developments in goal setting and task performance (pp. 246–261). New York, NY: Routledge.
Kacewicz, E., Slatcher, R. B., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2007). Expressive writing: An alternative to traditional methods. In L. L'Abate (Ed.), Handbook of interventions to promote physical and mental health: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 271–284). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
King, N. (1998). Template analysis. In G. Symon & C. Cassell (Eds.), Qualitative methods and analysis in organisational research: A practical guide (pp. 118–134). London, UK: Sage.
Krause, T. R., Seymour, K. J., & Sloat, K. C. M. (1999). Long-term evaluation of a behaviour-based method for improving safety performance: A meta-analysis of 73 interrupted time-series replication. Safety Science, 32, 1–18. doi:10.1016/S0925-7535(99)00007-7
Levack, W., Dean, S., McPherson, K., & Siegert, R. (2014) Evidence-based goalsetting: Cultivating the science of rehabilitation. In R. J. Siegert & W. M. M. Lavack (Eds.), Rehabilitation goal setting: Theory, practice and evidence (pp. 21–44). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press: Taylor & Francis.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57, 705–717. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2006). New directions in goal setting theory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 265–268. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00449.x
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2013). New developments in goal setting and task performance (pp. 603–620). New York, NY: Routledge.
Martin, A. J. (2006). Personal bests (PBs): A proposed multidimensional model and empirical analysis. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 803–825. doi:10.1348/000709905X55389
Martin, A. J. (2011). Personal best (PB) approaches to academic development: Implications for motivation and assessment. Educational Practice and Theory, 33, 93–99. doi:10.7459/ept/33.1.06
Martin, A. J. (2013). Goal orientation. In J. Hattie & E. M. Anderman (Eds.), International guide to student achievement (pp. 353–355). New York, NY: Routledge.
Martin, A. J. (2015). Implicit theories about intelligence and growth (personal best) goals: Exploring reciprocal relationships. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 207–223. doi:10.1111/bjep.12038
Morin, L., & Latham, G. (2000). The effect of mental practice goal setting as a transfer of training intervention on supervisors’ self-efficacy and communication skills: An exploratory study. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49, 566–578. doi:10.1111/1464-0597.00032
Morisano, D. (2013). Goal setting in the academic arena. In E. A. Locke & G. P. Latham (Eds.), New developments in goal setting and task performance (pp. 495–506). New York, NY: Routledge.
Morisano, D., Hirsh, J. B., Peterson, J. B., Pihl, R. O., & Shore, B. M. (2010). Setting, elaborating, and reflecting on personal goals improves academic performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 255–264. doi:10.1037/a0018478
Myers, I. B., & McCaulley, M. H. (1985). Manual: A guide to the development and use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Perry, R. P., Hladkyj, S., Pekrun, R. H., Clifton, R. A., & Chipperfield, J. G. (2005). Perceived academic control and failure in college students: A three-year study of scholastic attainment. Research in Higher Education, 46, 535–569. doi:10.1007/s11162-005-3364-4
Pintrich, P. R., Conley, A. M., & Kempler, T. M. (2003). Current issues in achievement goal theory and research. International Journal of Educational Research, 39, 319–337. doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2004.06.002
Poppleton, S., Briner, R. B., & Kiefer, T. (2008). The roles of context and everyday experience in understanding work and non-work relationships: A qualitative diary study of white- and blue-collar workers. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 81, 481–502. doi:10.1348/096317908X295182
Reis, H. T. (1994). Domains of experience: Investigating relationship processes from three perspectives. In L. Gilmour & R. Erber (Eds.), Theoretical frameworks in personal relationships (pp. 87–110). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ruthig, J. C., Perry, R. P., Hall, N. C., & Hladkyj, S. (2004). Optimism and attributional retraining: Longitudinal effects on academic achievement, test anxiety, and voluntary course withdrawal in college students. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34, 709–730. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb02566.x
Seijts, G. H., Latham, G. P., Tasa, K., & Latham, B. W. (2004). Goal setting and goal orientation: An integration of two different yet related literatures. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 227–239. doi:10.2307/20159574
Seijts, G. H., Latham, G. P., & Woodwark, M. (2013). Learning goals: A qualitative and quantitative review. In E. A. Locke & G. P. Latham (Eds.), New developments in goal setting and task performance (pp. 195–212). New York, NY: Routledge.
Senko, C., Hulleman, C. S., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2011). Achievement goal theory at the crossroads: Old controversies, current challenges and new directions. Educational Psychologist, 46, 26–47. doi:10.1080/00461520.2011.538646
Sheldon, K. M., Kasser, T., Smith, K., & Share, T. (2002). Personal goals and psychological growth: Testing an intervention to enhance goal attainment and personality integration. Journal of Personality, 70, 5–31. doi:10.1111/1467-6494.00176
Travers, C. (2011). Unveiling a reflective diary methodology for exploring the lived experiences of stress and coping. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 204–216. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2010.11.007
Travers, C. J. (2013). Using goal setting theory to promote personal development. In E. A. Locke & G. P. Latham (Eds.), New developments in goal setting and task performance (pp. 603–620). New York, NY: Routledge.
Wexley, K. N., & Nemeroff, W. (1975). Effectiveness of positive reinforcement and goal setting as methods of management development. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 446–450. doi:10.1037/h0076912

Citing Literature

Volume85, Issue2

Special Issue: Growth Approaches to Academic Development: Growth Goals, Mindsets, Assessment, and Reporting

June 2015

Pages 224-241

Self-reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: A qualitative study

Abstract

Background

Aims

Sample

Method

Results

Conclusions

References

Citing Literature

References

Information

About Wiley Online Library

Help & Support

Opportunities

Connect with Wiley

Self-reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: A qualitative study

Abstract

Background

Aims

Sample

Method

Results

Conclusions

References

Citing Literature

References

Related

Information