Primary School Students with Reading Comprehension Difficulties and Students with Learning Disabilities: Exploring Their Goal Orientations, Classroom Goal Structures, and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

Christina Kampylafka; Fotini Polychroni; Alexandros-Stamatios Antoniou

doi:10.3390/bs13020078

Primary School Students with Reading Comprehension Difficulties and Students with Learning Disabilities: Exploring Their Goal Orientations, Classroom Goal Structures, and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 Jan 17;13(2):78. doi: 10.3390/bs13020078.

Authors

Christina Kampylafka^{1

2}, Fotini Polychroni³, Alexandros-Stamatios Antoniou⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15703 Athens, Greece.
² Department of Education, School of Education, University of Nicosia, 1700 Nicosia, Cyprus.
³ Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15703 Athens, Greece.
⁴ Department of Primary Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10680 Athens, Greece.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate goal orientations and classroom goal structures and their relationship with strategies of self-regulated learning (SRL) in students with and without learning disabilities (LD) and reading comprehension difficulties (RCD). The sample consisted of 537 students attending the two last grades of primary school, fifth and sixth grade (Mage = 11.28 years, SD = ±0.59). Of these, 58 students were diagnosed with LD, and 70 students, after individually administered assessments in reading accuracy and reading comprehension, were assigned to the RCD group. Self-reported questionnaires were administered, assessing students' personal goal orientations, classroom goal structures, and strategies of SRL. The results showed that students with LD and students with RCD scored lower in mastery orientation and higher in performance avoidance compared to their peers without difficulties (ND). LD students reported lower scores of adaptive strategies than their peers. In addition, the results confirmed the adaptive character of mastery-approach goals and mastery goal structures and the negative effects of performance-avoidance goals and performance goal structures on the adaptive strategies of SRL. Performance-approach goals predicted adaptive behaviors for all students, confirming the argument of an adaptive type of motivation. The findings of the current study highlight the importance of goal orientations and classroom goal structures for students' SRL. Implications of the findings for enhancing motivation for students with LD and students with RCD are discussed.

Keywords: classroom goal structures; goal orientations; learning disabilities; motivation; personal goals; reading comprehension difficulties; strategies of self-regulated learning.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.