Reciprocal relations between achievement goals and academic performance in a collectivist higher education context: a longitudinal study

This study examined the bidirectional longitudinal relations between achievement goals and academic performance among Chinese college students. The Achievement Goal Questionnaire was administered to a sample of Chinese college students (N = 311) in their first and third years of study. Their end-of-term grade point averages were used as measures of their academic performance. Two-wave longitudinal data were collected and analyzed using a longitudinal design within a structural equation modeling framework. The results revealed positive reciprocal relations between performance approach goals and academic performance and negative reciprocal relations between performance avoidance goals and academic performance. In contrast, mastery goals were not significantly associated with academic performance. The implications of these results are discussed.