Abstract:

Academic goals are essential in the interests teenager students have, since based on them the students focus their attentions in this critical and difficult stage of their lives. The objective of this work is to find the most significant factors that move teenagers to study in one of the most basic levels of study: secondary school. In order to pay attention in the most important students’ interests, these factors were taken into consideration to propose material significant that include together both the goals of official academic programs and the personal goals of pupils. This study is the result of a research that concerns three important academic goals for two groups of secondary school students among 12 and 16 years old in two different periods and cohorts: Learning goals, achievement goals, and social reinforcement goals. The cohorts subject of this work were one in the field in the year 2019 and one in the city in the year 2020. Considered this as a very broad topic, the study was limited by focusing on two groups of students who belong to two secondary education campuses of the State of Tabasco in Mexico. The methodology carried out was non-experimental transverse type with a mixed approach. It was developed with a predominantly quantitative orientation. The data collection technique was the application of a survey developed using Linkert's technique with five levels of response ranging from never, almost never, sometimes, almost always and always. Emphasis was placed on the variable sex and age, and special interest was placed in what the students on the campuses have as their main academic goals at the time they are studying. This with the aim of doing a reference analysis according to the responses of the students. The results are variable and depend a great deal on the personal characteristics of the pupils. Due to the geographical location of the schools, the socio-economic-cultural level of the students, ages and interests in general, they have a standard behavior in terms of learning or achievement goals and the gender variable has no great influence on these factors. However, it significantly highlights the interest that girls have in being socially accepted, as they consider this factor of relevant importance to them to feel successful and accepted in social interactions and groups in general in their future.

Keywords:

Factors, learning, achievement, social reinforcement.