Mastery or Performace Orientation: Russian Adaptation of the Approach to Instruction Scale (PALS) to Assess Classroom Goal Structures

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the construct of the classroom goal structure. Achievement goal theory of motivation suggests that two types of classroom goal structures can be identified: mastery goal structure and performance goal structure. The study presents the results of the Russian adaptation of the Approach to Instruction (Patterns of Adapted Learning Survey) scale which can be used to assess classroom goal structures from the perspective of teacher practices. The survey is built on a data which comes from a survey on a sample of fifth-grade teachers (N = 656) conducted in the fall of 2020. The study includes a description of the steps for adaptation of the scale into Russian. The study presents the results of confirmatory factor analysis and describes the adjustments to the initial model. The adapted scale demonstrated a good fit to the empirical data and adequate internal consistency. The Russian-language version of the scale can be used by researchers in future studies of the educational environment in the classroom in the context of learning motivation. The scale could potentially be employed in the future studies examining the factors that determine students’ educational outcomes as well as the development of social-emotional skills.

Keywords

• school
• teacher practices
• classroom goal structure
• achievement goal theory
• mastery orientation
• performance orientation