Psychological sense of community in university classrooms: do achievement goal orientations matter?(Report)

Studies of Psychological Sense of Community (PSOC) have been conducted in association with various settings, and evidence has shown the impact of PSOC in local neighborhoods and communities, community organizations, and industrial organizations. On the other hand, relatively little is known about the effect of PSOC in student learning situations--more specifically, achievement goal orientations (AGO) in the university settings. This study examined how different types and degrees of AOO were predictive of PSOC in university classrooms. Responses from 1801 college students recruited from 92 classes were analyzed via multilevel regression models. Results indicated that the mastery-approach and performance-approach goals had positive relations with PSOC. A negative relationship was found between the mastery-avoidance goal and PSOC.

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Psychological sense of community (PSOC) is important in promoting the well-being of both individuals and communities. Because of its relevance in understanding human behavior embedded in ecological and cultural contexts, PSOC has become one of the core factors in explaining the relationship among individuals, communities, and societies.

Past studies of PSOC have been conducted in association with various settings and levels and examined the impact of PSOC in neighborhoods and local communities (e.g., Chavis & Wandersman, 1990; Perkins, Florin, Rich, Wandersman, & Chavis, 1990), community organizations (e.g., Hughey, Speer, & Peterson, 1999), and industrial organizations (e.g., Pretty, Conroy, Dugay, Fowler, & Williams, 1996). These studies have advanced the understanding of communities and other extraindividual phenomena that are known to promote the well-being of individuals. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of PSOC on student learning (e.g., Ames, 1992). Because relatively little is known about how PSOC in the university classroom is created, and how it can be influenced by the students' individual learning goals, it is important to understand the relationship between PSOC and students' learning goals. The role of extraindividual processes, such as the learning environment and classroom communities (e.g., Ames, 1992; Church, Elliot, & Gable, 2001), in their learning experiences can thus be clarified. The main purpose of this study is to examine the differential roles of students' achievement goals on PSOC in the university settings.

Psychological Sense of Community

PSOC generally refers to "interdependent with others, a willingness to maintain this interdependence by giving to or doing for others what one expects from them, the feeling that one is part of a larger dependable and stable structure" (Sarason, 1974, p. 157). PSOC is seen as an intraindividual or a psychological resource that one can obtain from the structures and functions that exist extraindividually. Note that the word community does not appear in the definition, but rather such concepts as interdependence and dependable and stable structure refer to characteristics of the community. PSOC can thus be experienced by not only individuals in relationship to a particular geographical community (e.g., neighborhoods and cities) but also in many types of relational or functional communities (e.g., school settings and work environments).

Adapting the above definition, the construct of PSOC was specified and a series of psychological instruments were developed (e.g., Chavis, Hogge, McMillan, & Wandersman, 1986; Perkins et al., 1990). Because communities can be determined either locally or relationally, the boundaries by which a certain community is defined are not of central concern (Dalton, Elias, & Wandersman, 2001). Instead, the psychological experiences of individuals about extraindividual phenomena are most relevant when forming the construct of PSOC. By following Sarason's (1974) formulation, in particular, McMillan & Chavis (1986) developed a 4-factor model of PSOC defined as "a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members' needs will be met though their commitment to be together" (p. 9), which is represented by the factors of Membership, Influence, Integration and Fulfillment of Needs, and Shared Emotional Connection.