Academic Strategies of High School Students

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of the seven academic avoidance strategies/patterns of mastery, performance avoid, performance approach, academic efficacy, self-handicapping, approach to novel concepts, and the relevance of subject for future success, was consistent across the three subject areas of math, science, and English in the high school classroom. Repeated measures ANOVA's were used to test these hypotheses. Sixty New Jersey public high school students were asked to complete a modified version of the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Survey. Students also completed a questionnaire pertaining to their socioeconomic status and other demographic variables. Three of the hypotheses of this study were supported. Specifically, the constructs of performance-approach, performance-avoid, and self-handicapping did show consistency across the subject areas of math, science, and English. However, the four constructs of mastery, academic efficacy, approach to novel concepts, and relevance of subject for future success, did vary significantly across these subject areas.

A student's perception of self-worth based on high ability results in means self-
protection that outweighs a teacher's system of reward and punishment (
Covington & Omelich, 1979). In high school, student' personal motivation may be
a better 7.