Achievement Goals of Students with ADHD

Although achievement goal theory is currently one of the dominant theoretical frameworks used to understand and improve student motivation (Brophy, 2004), little work has been done to evaluate the achievement goals of students with ADHD. After an initial review of achievement goal theory, the current study begins to address four research questions: What are the achievement goals of students with ADHD? How do achievement goals of students with ADHD differ from those of students without ADHD? How are achievement goals related to other academic outcome variables for students with ADHD? Can current instructional practices be altered to promote optimal goals and motivation of students with ADHD? Results revealed a number of interesting differences for students with ADHD, especially concerning performance-avoidance goals. Implications are discussed. (Contains 8 tables and 2 notes.)