An International Comparison Study of Pharmacy Students’ Achievement Goals and their Relationship to Assessment Type and Scores

• Published in: American journal of pharmaceutical education Vol. 79; no. 3; p. 35
• Main Authors: Alrakaf, Saleh, Anderson, Claire, Coulman, Sion A., John, Dai N., Tordoff, June, Sainsbury, Erica, Rose, Grenville, Smith, Lorraine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 25-04-2015; American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy; American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Achievement; Achievement goals; Adolescent; assessment type; Australia; comparison study; Education, Pharmacy - statistics & numerical data; Educational Measurement; Educational Status; Female; Forecasts and trends; Goal setting; Goals; Humans; Influence; Male; Motivation; New Zealand; Pharmaceutical education; pharmacy education; Sex Factors; Students, Pharmacy - psychology; United Kingdom; Young Adult; Achievement goals; comparison study; pharmacy education; academic achievement; assessment type
• ISSN: 0002-9459; 1553-6467
• DOI: 10.5688/ajpe79335

Objective: To identify pharmacy students’ preferred achievement goals in a multi-national undergraduate population, to investigate achievement goal preferences across comparable degree programs, and to identify relationships between achievement goals, academic performance, and assessment type.
Methods: The Achievement Goal Questionnaire was administered to second year students in 4 universities in Australia, New Zealand, England, and Wales. Academic performance was measured using total scores, multiple-choice questions, and written answers (short essay).
Results: Four hundred eighty-six second year students participated. Students showed an overall preference for the mastery-approach goal orientation across all sites. The predicted relationships between goal orientation and multiple-choice questions, and written answers scores, were significant.
Conclusion: This study is the first of its kind to examine pharmacy students’ achievement goals at a multi-national level and to differentiate between assessment type and measures of achievement motivation. Students adopting a mastery-approach goal are more likely to gain high scores in assessments that measure understanding and depth of knowledge.