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Introduction
The concept of management by objectives has long been used in business in enhancing good staff performance. There has been growing interest among teaching researchers in exploring the influence of goals within the academic field. Much of the early work in this area of motivational research has been done with children rather than with college students. Only recently have the theories been extended to college classrooms. Goal setting can dramatically influence students? self-regulated learning (Pintrich, 1995) and motivation (Ames, 1992). In this study, the author would try to explore if goal setting can serve as effective motivational tool in enhancing their self-regulated learning process, thus academic performance for college students.
Goal setting as motivational tool
Zimmerman and Risemberg identified six components of academic self-management: motivation, methods of learning, use of time, physical environment, social environment, and performance (Zimmerman and Risemberg, 1997). Through learning these self-management skills, students can exert control over their learning and thus promote academic achievement. In the present study, the focus is on examining how students use goal setting as motivational tool in the process of self-regulated learning process.
If motivation is one crucial factor, how can teachers know that students are motivated in their learning? Ames (1992) defines student motivation as goal-directed behaviour that involves, different ways of thinking and is elicited under various internal and external conditions. He augmented that motivational goals provide the mechanism for filtering perceptions and other cognitive process (Ames, 1992).
Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons (1986) suggest different ways for students to manage their motivation: setting goal, developing positive beliefs about one?s ability to perform academic task, and arranging rewards or punishments for success or failure at an academic tasks. Schunk (1991) further augmented that students who feel more confident in their ability regarding a task are likely to engage their repertoire of strategies and persist in their use than those having no confidence in their competence.
Educational research indicates that high achievers report using goal setting more frequently and more consistently than low achievers (Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1986). Furthermore, students are more motivated to accomplish what they have planned for themselves and they tend to work harder on self-made goals than externally imposed goals and that participation in goal setting can lead to high goal...