Goal Setting in teenagers

This tool was developed by Child Trends for the Templeton Foundation, as part of the Flourising Children Project. It includes seven items that measure goal orientation in teenagers. Goal orientation is defined as an adolescent’s motivation and ability to make viable plans and take action toward desired goals. Adolescents with goal orientation tend to be more cognitively engaged and act out less than their peers with lower levels of goal orientation. This scale has been tested with a nationally representative sample of teenagers aged 12-17. It has been found to have excellent reliability and concurrent validity (associated with better grades and a lower likelihood of smoking, fighting, and depressive symptoms).

Constructs Being Measured
Primary: 
Agency
How to Access and Cite

Measure developed by Child Trends for the Flourishing Children Project, funded by the Templeton Foundation. For more information on positive indicators, search the Child Trends web page at www.childtrends.org.

http://www.childtrends.org/indicators/measures-of-flourishing/

Outcome Families
Well-being
Connectedness
Awareness
Agency
Mastery
Programmatic Purpose
Classroom-level data and feedback
Program-level monitoring and evaluation
Instrument Characteristics
Type of items: 

Likert scale

Original target population: 

Secondary students

Format: 
Self-report
Applicable Grade Levels
Pre-primary
Primary
Secondary
Post-secondary
Supporting Research

http://www.childtrends.org/indicators/measures-of-flourishing/

Rationale

Focuses very specifically on goal setting and to some extent on one's own ability to set goals and work towards it therefore aligning Agency.

Points to Consider

For more guidance on measuring student learning and best practices in adapting measurement tools to your contexts, check out the Portal page on Monitoring and Evaluation. You can also contact Alvin Vista (Knowledge Lead, Student Outcomes) and Robbie Dean (Director of Research) for specific questions.