Assessment Climate and Mastery Goal Orientation Nexus: The Mediating Role of Academic Self-efficacy

It is often said that the quickest way to change students learning is to change the assessment system, suggesting that classroom assessment practices might be potent in their effects on students. The principal aim of the study was to investigate the indirect effect of assessment climate on mastery goal orientation through students’ self-efficacy. Descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study where six College of Education institution’s students within the Central, Eastern and Western regions of Ghana were targeted. Utilizing disproportionate quota sampling technique, a total of 254 students were sampled to serve as respondents. Data were collected using classroom assessment environment questionnaire, achievement goal questionnaire and self-efficacy scale. The instruments were all adapted from the literature and validated using data from the Ghanaian context. The two hypotheses in the study were tested using Hayes (2013) mediation analysis. Findings revealed that assessment climate was a significant predictor of mastery goal orientation among College of Education students, however, the study found no supporting evidence for an indirect effect of assessment climate on mastery goal orientation through self-efficacy. The study recommends that management of academic environment should as a matter of policy institute measures that would expose and updates tutors on the state of the art assessment regime that builds motivational believes among students.