Chapter 12 Reaching for Medals and Vocational Excellence?
WorldSkills Competition Success in Relation to Goal Orientations and Metacognitive and Resource Management Strategies
In: Good Teachers for Tomorrow's SchoolsSearch for other papers by Petri Nokelainen in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Heta Rintala in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
This study investigated Finnish vocational students and WorldSkills competitors’ (N = 137) self-assessed goal orientations and metacognitive and resource management strategies and their relation to objectively-measured success in international WorldSkills competitions (WSC). Goal orientations and metacognitive and resource management strategies were evaluated with a survey distributed to competitors of four WSCs between 2009 and 2017. Success in a WSC is defined by scores (0–600 points) assessed by an international expert panel after the four-day competition. To examine possible differences, highly successful and other competitors were divided into two groups: one including medal winners and Medallion for Excellence recipients scoring over 500 points (group A) and the other included competitors scoring less than 500 points (group B). The results showed that group A had higher mastery and performance-approach goal orientations than group B; however, the two groups did not differ based on performance-avoidance goal orientations. Regarding metacognitive and resource management strategies, group A self-reported higher metacognitive strategies in their studies (e.g., efficient use of practice time and setting clear goals), but no other statistically significant differences were found between the groups.