Abstract:
This research was conducted to show policy makers and quality
improvement personnel how the classroom and personal goals related to
academic effort and intrinsic motivation employing the revised goal theory
of motivation. 809 middle school students were taken from different schools
by stratified and systematic sampling techniques from Jimma zone,
Ethiopia. The study found out mastery classroom goal was high (Mean
=2.49, S=.42) relative to performance-approach classroom goal (Mean =2.48,
S=.42) and performance-avoidance classroom goal (Mean =2.28, S=.57); and
also mastery goal was high (Mean =2.89, S=.24) as compared to performance
avoidance goal (Mean =2.52, S=.49) and performance approach goal (Mean
=2.38, S=.57). A test of one-way ANOVA revealed a statistically significant
mean differences in students’ mastery goal between grade 6 and 7 students
and between grade 6 and 8 students, F (2,647) = 6.085, p=.002. 7% of the
variance in students’ intrinsic motivation in the academic task was
explained for by the linear combination of the independent
variables. Similarly, 11% of the variance in students’ effort in
the academic task was explained for by the linear combination of the
independent variables. Moreover, the study found out mastery goals and
performance goals had positive and negative outcomes, respectively. The
study implies the General Education Quality Improvement Programs
(GEQIP) in Ethiopia should be revisited in a way that addresses explicitly
the motivation of middle school students at a classroom level.
