ABSTRACT
Survey research on personal goal orientations and classroom goal structures has been important in showing associations between academic goals and a wide range of achievement-related outcomes. Little is known, however, about what specific teacher behaviors and characteristics actually influence their students’ perceptions of the goal structures that are emphasized in the classroom. In this chapter we outline an observational project that was developed within the larger, survey-based Patterns of Adaptive Learning Study. The aim of this project was to investigate variations in teachers’ instruction and management in relation to students’perceptions of various aspects of the classroom environment, particularly classroom goal structures. We present briefly the development of an instrument to guide these observations, and then review three studies that came from the observation data collected. We conclude by discuss-
ing implications of our findings for both goal theory and practice, in terms of teaching and teacher education.
