Does perceived competence serve as a protective mechanism against performance goals for struggling readers? Path analysis of contextual antecedents and reading outcomes

This study examined the extent to which struggling readers' perceived classroom goal structures explain their adoption of personal achievement goals and ratings of perceived competence. We also investigated how these motivational characteristics relate to outcomes in word reading and reading comprehension in a sample of fourth and fifth grade struggling readers (N = 112). In a series of path analyses, different motivational patterns emerged in predicting word reading and reading comprehension. Mastery goals negatively predicted while perceived competence positively predicted word reading. For reading comprehension, only perceived competence was a significant motivational predictor. However, for both reading outcomes, perceived competence had a positive moderating role against the potential negative effect of performance-avoidance goals on reading. Our findings also highlight the importance of focusing on mastery goals within the classroom in order to promote students' perceptions of competence in reading comprehension.