How ability grouping and gender alter the relationship between achievement goals, self-efficacy, and academic outcomes

초록

Using a series of structural equation modelling (SEM) on the responses of ninth graders in the Korean Education Longitudinal Study (KELS) 2013 database, we investigated whether students’ motivation predicts their academic outcomes differently depending on their gender, participation in between-classroom ability grouping, the assigned groups, and the subjects under consideration. In English, students’ participation in ability grouping moderated the relationship between their mastery goals and achievement. While students’ mastery goals positively predicted their achievement in both non-grouping and ability-grouping classrooms, this relationship was stronger in non-grouping classrooms. In math, students in low-ability groups experienced higher levels of stress as they reported stronger math self-efficacy. However, this result was qualified by significant gender differences. Only boys in low-ability groups expressed higher academic stress as their math self-efficacy became stronger. Boys in high-ability groups demonstrated lower math achievement as they pursued stronger performance goals. Neither trends were observed among girls. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

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