Achievement Motivation amongst Rwandan secondary students. An Empirical Investigation of its internal and external nomological network

通过我的研究，我想通过开发和经验性地测试一个模型，将控制信念和动机定向结合在一起，预测卢旺达的学习结果，从而为关于学校表现的心理决定因素的文献做出贡献。由于这个国家仍在努力解决学生学业成绩不佳的问题，我还想设计和评估一种干预措施，加强卢旺达课堂上的激励环境，以提高学生的学习成绩。在行动控制理论及相关模型中，学业成绩被概念化为儿童对自己学业成功的控制感的产物(Little，Hawley，Heinrich&Marsland 2002，Skinner&Connell 1990)。尤其是机构对努力的信念(例如‘我将从投资努力中受益’)和能力(例如我有能力)是学校表现的关键决定因素，因为它们代表了一种代理信念系统，本身就鼓励学校参与，从而促进成就(Little，Stetsenko和Maier，1999，Little等人)。2002年，斯金纳等人。1990年)。在这方面，机构信念是通过自我延续的控制经验、努力和结果的循环来形成的。更高的机构信念导致更多的学术努力，这反过来又带来更高的学习结果。这可能会进一步巩固人们最初对控制权的看法。当然，低水平的感知控制可能会引发努力和结果的螺旋式下降(Skinner等人)。1990年，斯金纳等人。1998年)。然而，这些周期的方向可能会改变(例如Mueller&Dweck 1998)。动作控制信念在整个婴儿期都有所不同。例如，到小学结束时，孩子们已经形成了具体的特定领域的机构信念，他们认为自己对每一门学校的学科都有能力和技能。在同一学科的不同学习挑战中，他们进一步持有情境代理信念，表达了他们认为在这些挑战中他们能取得什么成就(Bong&Skaalvik 2003，Little等人)。2002年)。情境学习体验是一个高度动态和复杂的过程。它们的特点是儿童试图通过自我评估任务表现来衡量能力，同时考虑到任务的难度和投入的努力量(Nicholls，1984)。跨情境学习经验的积累形成了认知基础，最终形成了更高层次的机构信念，这反过来又可以影响情景水平的机构信念系统(Bong&Skaalvik 2003)。

Through my research, I want to contribute to the literature on psychological determinants of school performance by developing and empirically testing a model that brings together control beliefs and motivational orientation to predict learning outcomes in Rwanda. Since this country still struggles with poor academic achievements amongst students, I also want to design and evaluate an intervention that strengthens motivational environments in Rwandan classrooms to boost students' learning performance. In action control theory, and related models, school performance is conceptualized to be the product of children's perceived control over their own academic success (Little, Hawley, Heinrich & Marsland 2002, Skinner & Connell 1990). Particularly agency beliefs in effort (e.g. 'I will benefit from investing efforts') and ability (e.g. 'I am competent') are critical determinants of school performance because they represent an agentic belief system that in itself encourages school engagement and thus achievement (Little, Stetsenko, & Maier, 1999, Little et al. 2002, Skinner et al. 1990). In this respect, agency beliefs are shaped through self-perpetuating cycles of control experiences, effort, and outcomes. Higher agency beliefs result in more academic effort which in turn entail higher learning outcomes. This might then further solidify initial perceptions of control. Of course, low levels of perceived control can trigger downwards spirals of effort and outcomes (Skinner et al. 1990, Skinner et al. 1998). However, the directions of these cycles can change (e.g. Mueller & Dweck 1998). Action control beliefs differentiate throughout infancy. By the end of primary school, for example, children have developed concrete domain specific agency beliefs about competencies and skills they think they hold for each school subject. Across the different learning challenges within a school subject, they further hold situational agency beliefs that express what they think they can achieve within these challenges (Bong & Skaalvik 2003, Little et al. 2002). Situational learning experiences are highly dynamic and complex processes. They are characterized by children's attempts to gauge ability through self-evaluating task performances while considering how difficult the tasks were and the amount of effort invested (Nicholls 1984). The accumulation of learning experiences across situations form the cognitive basis that ultimately shape higher-level agency beliefs, which in turn can influence agency belief systems at the situational level (Bong & Skaalvik 2003).