Achievement Goals, Implicit Theories and Behavioral Regulation among Polytechnic Engineering Students.

This study examined the relationships between the approach-avoidance dimension, as well as the mastery-performance dimension of achievement goals, implicit theory of intelligence, and behavioral regulations among engineering students in a polytechnic in the academic domain. Polytechnic students (n = 1359) from Singapore participated in the survey. They were assessed on achievement goal orientations, implicit beliefs, behavioral regulations, values, effort and enjoyment towards their course of study using questionnaires. Cluster analysis was conducted and the results showed that five distinct clusters could differentiate the students in terms of their achievement goals profiles. Follow-up tests between the clusters showed that the five clusters had differing psychological characteristics, and differing values, effort, and enjoyment towards their course of study. Taken together, the present study offers some insights into intraindividual's differences in achievement goals and its impact and offers some useful implications for interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]