Developmental relations of achievement goals and affect in physical education

This study aimed to examine the developmental relationships between achievement goals and affect in school physical education.

The study sample comprised 1063 (girls 546) Finnish Grade 6 students (M = 12.27 years ± 0.33 at the beginning of the study). The participants in the study were asked to provide annual assessments about their perceptions of achievement goals, enjoyment, and anxiety. The assessments were conducted four times over three consecutive years.

The results indicated that mastery-approach goals were positively associated with enjoyment (between-level), whereas both mastery-avoidance and performance-avoidance goals were positively associated with anxiety (between-level). Additionally, the associations between repeated measures (within-level) of mastery-approach goals and enjoyment were similar each year, whereas mastery- and performance-approach/avoidance goals were consistently associated with anxiety within the same year. Girls reported lower performance-approach goals and enjoyment but higher mastery-avoidance goals and anxiety than boys.

The findings suggest that mastery approach goals exhibit a positive correlation with favorable affective reactions, while performance-avoidance goals demonstrate a connection with maladaptive responses. Physical education teachers should endeavor to establish mastery-oriented goals for their students from the outset of the educational process.