Explaining Maladaptive Strategy Use and Achievement in Middle School Mathematics by Achievement Goals, Self-Efficacy, Perceived Classroom Goal Structures, and Their Interaction

How student motivation, perceived classroom characteristics, and their interaction explained cheating, help-seeking avoidance, and achievement in middle school mathematics was examined. Responses of 972 students (529 boys, 443 girls) nested in 54 classrooms at 12 schools were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Among the individual-level variables, self-efficacy demonstrated the strongest explanatory utility. As self-efficacy increased, maladaptive strategy use decreased and achievement improved. Help-seeking avoidance increased with performance goals and decreased with mastery goals. Among the classroom-level variables, performance-oriented goal structures were associated with greater cheating and help-seeking avoidance. Cross-level interactions were also observed. In mastery-oriented classrooms, students with strong performance goals exhibited greater cheating and help-seeking avoidance, while those with weak self-efficacy did lower achievement. In performance-oriented classrooms, students with strong self-efficacy reported greater cheating, while those with strong performance goals did lower achievement.