Quality of teachers' and peers' behaviors and achievement goals: The mediating role of self-efficacy

This study explored, using a longitudinal design, the contribution of teachers' and peers' behaviors to achievement goals in a sample of Romanian adolescents. The study also investigated whether self-efficacy would explain these links. A sample of 329 high school students (Mage = 17.34 years, 59.9% girls) filled in questionnaires regarding their teachers' supportive/fair and their peers' cooperation/cohesiveness behaviors at Time 1. The adolescents' self-efficacy was measured 12 months later at Time 2, and then achievement goals were assessed 4 months later, at Time 3. Results showed that the teachers' support/equity and peers' cooperation/cohesiveness were related to achievement goals, although when controlling for each other, none of these factors had a unique and direct contribution to the participants' achievement goals. The findings suggested that self-efficacy explained the associations between the teachers' support/equity behaviors, rather than peers' cooperation/cohesiveness, and achievement goals. Specifically, adolescents experiencing greater teacher supportive and equity behaviors perceived themselves as having better abilities to accomplish specific tasks, and in turn, showed greater mastery approach and performance approach goals, as well as lower performance approach goals. Our study highlights the importance of self-efficacy as a mechanism explaining relations between the perception of teachers' behaviors and adolescents' achievement goals.