competitive academic situations when they don't perceive themselves as "measuring up" (Ames & Ames, 1984). In general, public evaluation that invites social comparison has been found to negatively affect motivation (Ames, 1992). Furthermore, research also suggests that male students more than females report that they thrive on classroom competition (Eccles, MacIver, & Lange, 1986). Evidence also exists that some minority groups also dislike competition and avoid it. Asian children tend to avoid competitive situations because drawing attention to oneself can bring considerable distress (Baruth & Manning, 1992). Given these gender and ethnic differences, the amount of competition which students perceive in the classroom could certainly affect motivation negatively. Although group differences in gender and ethnicity have been established, little is known about how these two factors interact. Our large sample size allowed us to test interactions between gender, ethnicity, and classroom perceptions, to examine their individual and joint effects on student motivation.Recent work has demonstrated that the environment of the classroom also affects the types of goals which students adopt (Ames & Archer, 1988). If students perceive that their teachers emphasize relative ability and competition, they are likely to adopt ability focused goals; when students feel that their teachers or classrooms value task mastery, they are likely to adopt task-focused goals. The goals adopted by students are related to many important psychological outcomes. For example, students who pursue task-oriented goals tend to use deep cognitive processing strategies, to be more creative, and to continue to be interested in a task after formal instruction is completed, while the opposite holds true for students who pursue ability goals (Graham & Golan, 1991; Pintrich & De Groot, 1989; Pintrich & Garcia, 1991). Studies indicate that teachers encourage female and Latino stude...
