Resumen

AGUILERA, María Soledad  y  BONO, Adriana. The impact of learning goals in high-school Argentinian students: a quantitative descriptive study. Rev. Actual. Investig. Educ [online]. 2015, vol.15, n.2, pp.436-459. ISSN 1409-4703.

This article presents the results of a descriptive transactional investigation, about the learning goals chosen by senior high school students. The purpose is to know and describe students' motivational choices in different pedagogic situations in class. Data was obtained from the implementation of the Motivational Reports Survey applied to 126 students from four public schools from Rio Cuarto city, Argentina. The results were systematized through descriptive statistics and show that: 1) the 'learning' target was elected mainly in order to describe the most frequent actions pointed to obtain better grades, and to the most appropriate way to solve a topic specially difficult; 2) the target 'do not complicate one's life' was selected to portray the best manner to learn, and to describe the proper behavior inside the classroom; 3) the goal of learned helplessness' was chosen to describe the most common story in class, and the best way to face a particularly easy subject. Thus, the chosen learning goals refer to motives, interests, reasons, beliefs and desires that guide students' behavior in the classroom, which in turn shape the place where students carry out their choices. They pursue different goals depending on the educational background conditions, choosing different ways of relating to the tasks and teaching contents. Therefore, the commitment, dedication and assessment of their own performance are highly situational, depending on personal purpose towards learning.

Palabras clave : Motivation; Goals; Learning; High School Students; Argentina.

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