Achievement goals, efficacy beliefs and coping strategies in mathematics: The roles of perceived parent and teacher goal emphases

This study examines children’s perceptions of the achievement goals parents and teachers emphasize for them in mathematics, and the relation of these goals to children’s personal achievement goals, self-efficacy beliefs, and coping strategies. Results indicated that children’s perceptions of both parent and teacher mastery and performance goal emphases predicted children’s personal goals. Further, children’s personal goals mediated the relation between perceived parent and teacher goal emphases and children’s efficacy beliefs and coping strategies. Children’s perceptions of parent and teacher emphasis on performance goals varied slightly by gender but not ethnic background, whereas variance across groups in perceptions of mastery emphases did not reach practical significance. Relations between goal perceptions, personal goals, efficacy and coping strategies also did not vary by gender or ethnic background. Implications for future research regarding the goals children perceive to be emphasized in home and school contexts, and their importance for children’s adaptive beliefs and behaviors in mathematics, are discussed.