DO PERCEPTIONS OF INSTRUCTORS’ EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK PREDICT MATHEMATICS STUDENT GROWTH MINDSET, SELF-EFFICACY, AND ACHIEVEMENT GOALS?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether undergraduate mathematics students’ perceptions of their instructors’ effective feedback practices predict their achievement goals orientations through the mediating roles of mathematics growth mindset and self-efficacy. Based on different motivational theories and empirical evidence, the current study investigated how students’ perceptions of effective feedback related to motivational beliefs and achievement goals in mathematics contexts. A quantitative correlational research design was used to examine survey data collected from (N = 1405) first year undergraduate mathematics students enrolled in MATH 1005 (Mathematical Reasoning) and MATH 1643 (Foundation and modeling) courses at Midwest University. Assessment measures used to collect data included perceived effective feedback scale, mathematics growth mindset scale, and approaches to learning scale for measuring achievement goals and self-efficacy. Path analysis was conducted to investigate the hypothesized relationships among study variables. Findings indicated that students’ perceptions of instructors’ effective feedback positively predicted both mathematics growth mindset beliefs and self-efficacy. Mathematics growth mindset positively predicted mastery goals while negatively predicting performance approach and performance avoidance goals. Self-efficacy positively predicted mastery and performance approach goals and negatively predicted performance avoidance goals. Additionally, mathematics growth mindset and self-efficacy significantly mediated the relationships between perceived effective feedback and achievement goal orientations. These findings contribute to the existing literature on feedback, motivation, and mathematics education by focusing on the importance of students’ perceptions of instructor feedback in determining students’ motivational beliefs and achievement goals within undergraduate mathematics contexts.