Jianmin Guan

Bio: Jianmin Guan is an academic researcher from University of Texas at Austin. The author has contributed to research in topics: Need for achievement & Mastery learning. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 70 citations.

Using Achievement Goals and Interest to Predict Learning in Physical Education

Abstract: On the basis of an integrated theoretical approach to achievement motivation, the authors designed this study to investigate the potential influence of mastery goal, performance-approach and avoidance-approach goals, individual interest, and situational interest on students' learning in a physical education softball unit. The authors collected and analyzed data from 6th graders (N = 177), using correlation and multiple regression analyses. The results revealed that the mastery goal was a significant predictor for the recognition of situational interest, although individual interest directly contributed to acquisition of knowledge and skill. The findings suggest a need for researchers to adopt an integrated theoretical framework to explore the complicated connection between achievement motivation and learning in physical education.

The competition–performance relation: a meta-analytic review and test of the opposing processes model of competition and performance

Abstract: What is the relation between competition and performance? The present research addresses this important multidisciplinary question by conducting a meta-analysis of existing empirical work and by proposing a new conceptual model--the opposing processes model of competition and performance. This model was tested by conducting an additional meta-analysis and 3 new empirical studies. The first meta-analysis revealed that there is no noteworthy relation between competition and performance. The second meta-analysis showed, in accord with the opposing processes model, that the absence of a direct effect is the result of inconsistent mediation via achievement goals: Competition prompts performance-approach goals which, in turn, facilitate performance; and competition also prompts performance-avoidance goals which, in turn, undermine performance. These same direct and mediational findings were also observed in the 3 new empirical studies (using 3 different conceptualizations of competition and attending to numerous control variables). Our findings provide both interpretational clarity regarding past research and conceptual guidance regarding future research on the competition-performance relation.

Relation ship among achievement goal orientations and multidimensional situtional motivation in physical in education

Abstract: BACKGROUND Contemporary research suggests that task and ego achievement goal orientations affect students' intrinsic motivation in physical education. This research has assessed intrinsic motivation as a unidimensional contruct, however, which is inconsistent with the more contemporary postulates of self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991) which states that intrinsic motivation is only one type of motivation. To date, research has not addressed whether different types of motivation at the situational level are influenced by the proneness to adopt task or ego involvement. AIMS To examine the relationship between achievement goal orientations and multidimensional situational motivation in PE. SAMPLE Middle school children (182 male, 136 female; M age = 13.2 years). METHOD Responded to questionnaires assessing their dispositional goal orientation (POSQ; Roberts, Treasure, & Balague, 1998) and situational motivation (SIMS; Guay, Vallerand, & Blanchard, 2000) in PE. RESULTS Task orientation was found to be positively associated with more self-determined types of situational motivation. Ego orientation was weakly related to less self-determined motivation. An extreme group split was conducted to create four goal groups and goal profile analyses conducted. A significant MANOVA was followed by univariate analyses, post hoc comparisons, and calculated effect sizes, which revealed that groups high in task orientation reported more motivationally adaptive responses than groups low in task orientation. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that a high level of task orientation singularly or in combination with ego orientation fosters self-determined situational motivation in the context of PE.

"This Choice Thing Really Works?…?" Changes in Experiences and Engagement of Adolescent Girls in Physical Education Classes, during a School-Based Physical Activity Programme.

Abstract: Background: There is a significant amount of research which shows a proportion of girls are not engaging with physical education (PE) in school, resulting in a number of relatively inactive girls within the PE class. These girls are often identified in the literature as ‘low active’, ‘hard to reach’ or ‘disengaged’. Reasons for this ‘disengagement’ are often due to a combination of psychological, social and environmental barriers.Purpose: This research aimed to qualitatively explore the reasons for girls' disengagement in PE classes. By longitudinally tracking a sample of ‘disengaged girls’ from one case study school in Scotland, the study investigated if and how girls' experiences and engagement are affected by a physical activity (PA) intervention programme, ‘Fit for Girls’.Research design: A questionnaire was used to identify five disengaged girls for three phases of semi-structured individual interviews. These were to track changes in girls' engagement and experiences in the PE environment. Interviews...

The role of EFL learners’ demotivation, perceptions of classroom activities, and mastery goal in predicting their language achievement and burnout

Abstract: The present study aims at delving into English as foreign language students’ demotivation, burnout, mastery goal orientation, and perceptions of classroom activities. This is accomplished by building a causal structural model through which the associations among the constructs are estimated. The Persian version of the 'de-motivation scale’ designed by Sakai and Kichuki (System 37:57-69, 2009) is used to assess demotivation. It measures six constructs: teachers, characteristics of classes, experiences of failure, class environment, class materials, and lack of interest. To gauge burnout, student version of ‘Maslach Burnout Inventory’ (Schaufeli et al., Psychology, 33(5):464-481, 2002) is employed. It measures three dimensions of burnout, namely, emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and academic inefficacy. The Persian version of the ‘Students Perceptions of Classroom Activities’ scale designed by Gentry and Gable (My class activities: A survey instrument to assess students’ perceptions of interest, challenge, choice, and enjoyment in their classrooms, 2001) is utilized in determining student perceptions of their classes. The scale assesses four perceptions: interest, challenge, choice, and joy. Students’ goal orientation is measured by the translated version of ‘Achievement Goal Orientation Inventory’ designed by Midgley et al. (Contemporary Educational Psychology, 23 (2):113-31, 1998). The results display a good overall fit of the proposed model with the empirical data. In particular, demotivators positively and significantly predict student burnout and the two internal demotivators namely, ‘lack of interest’ and ‘experiences of failure’ negatively and significantly impact on student mastery goal orientation. The results also indicate that student burnout negatively and significantly predict student mastery goal orientation and positive perceptions of classroom activities. Student perceptions of interest and joy, on the other hand, positively and significantly play an important role in mastery goal orientation. Student perceptions and mastery goal orientation have positive effects on student achievement.