Conation, Goal Accomplishment Style, and Academic Achievement at the Middle School Level

AbstractThe Conative Domain, a domain of behaviors associated with striving, provides a framework for examining goal-oriented behaviors of academic achieving (GPA of 3.25 and above) and non-achieving (GPA of 1.99 and below) students at the middle school level. All sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students at the Washington Park Middle School, Washington, PA, set school-related goals during the 1986-87 school year within the context of a structured study skills/guidance program. At the close of the year, students were administered the Goal Orientation Index. Significant goal-oriented behaviors were identified across the three grades that distinguish academic achieving students from non-achieving students. Case study data provide additional support for the premise that students who set academic goals for themselves achieve them.