title: An international comparison study of pharmacy students' achievement goals and their relationship to assessment type and scores.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify pharmacy students' preferred achievement goals in a multi-national undergraduate population, to investigate achievement goal preferences across comparable degree programs, and to identify relationships between achievement goals, academic performance, and assessment type.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Achievement Goal Questionnaire was administered to second year students in 4 universities in Australia, New Zealand, England, and Wales. Academic performance was measured using total scores, multiple-choice questions, and written answers (short essay).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four hundred eighty-six second year students participated. Students showed an overall preference for the mastery-approach goal orientation across all sites. The predicted relationships between goal orientation and multiple-choice questions, and written answers scores, were significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study is the first of its kind to examine pharmacy students' achievement goals at a multi-national level and to differentiate between assessment type and measures of achievement motivation. Students adopting a mastery-approach goal are more likely to gain high scores in assessments that measure understanding and depth of knowledge.
authors.affiliation: The University of Sydney Faculty of Pharmacy, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Saleh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alrakaf
authors.affiliation: The University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wales, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sion A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Coulman
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wales, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Dai N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: John
authors.affiliation: University of Otago School of Pharmacy, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tordoff
authors.affiliation: The University of Sydney Faculty of Pharmacy, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sainsbury
authors.affiliation: Innovation and Evaluation, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Grenville
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: The University of Sydney Faculty of Pharmacy, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Lorraine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D001315:Australia; D004512:Education, Pharmacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009520:New Zealand; D012737:Sex Factors; D013339:Students, Pharmacy / Q000523:psychology*; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Achievement goals; academic achievement; assessment type; comparison study; pharmacy education