An international comparison study of pharmacy students’ achievement goals and their relationship to assessment type and scores

Alrakaf, Saleh; Anderson, Claire; Coulmanc, Sion A.; John, Dai N.; Tordoff, June; Sainsbury, Erica; Rose, Grenville; Smith, Lorraine

Abstract

Objective: To identify pharmacy students’ preferred achievement goals in a multi-national undergraduate population, to investigate achievement goal preferences across comparable degree programs, and to identify relationships between achievement goals, academic performance, and assessment type.
Methods: The Achievement Goal Questionnaire was administered to second year students in 4 universities in Australia, New Zealand, England, and Wales. Academic performance was measured using total scores, multiple-choice questions, and written answers (short essay).
Results: Four hundred eighty-six second year students participated. Students showed an overall preference for the mastery-approach goal orientation across all sites. The predicted relationships between goal orientation and multiple-choice questions, and written answers scores, were significant.
Conclusion: This study is the first of its kind to examine pharmacy students’ achievement goals at a multi-national level and to differentiate between assessment type and measures of achievement motivation. Students adopting a mastery-approach goal are more likely to gain high scores in assessments that measure understanding and depth of knowledge.

Citation

Alrakaf, S., Anderson, C., Coulmanc, S. A., John, D. N., Tordoff, J., Sainsbury, E., Rose, G., & Smith, L. (2015). An international comparison study of pharmacy students’ achievement goals and their relationship to assessment type and scores. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 79(3), Article 35. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe79335

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 3, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jul 24, 2023
• Publication Date: Apr 25, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jan 27, 2025
• Journal: American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
• Electronic ISSN: 1553-6467
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 79
• Issue: 3
• Article Number: 35
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe79335
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/44681372
• Publisher URL: https://www.ajpe.org/article/S0002-9459(23)02036-3/fulltext
• Related Public URLs: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002945923020363