Exploring the congruence between perceived parent–teacher achievement goals and student academic outcomes: A study using polynomial regression with response surface analysis

Background: The achievement goals set by parents and teachers play a crucial role in shaping students' personal goal orientation and academic performance. Previous studies have revealed discrepancies between achievement goals set by parents and teachers. However, limited research has examined how the congruence of perceived parents' and teachers' achievement goals is associated with students' academic performance. Aims: The current study sought to investigate the impact of congruence and discrepancy between students' perceptions of teachers' and parents' achievement goals, including mastery goals and performance goals, on students' academic performance in mathematics and language. Sample and Methods: Data were collected from a sample of 4944 Chinese students from Grades 3 to 8 using self-reported questionnaires. Polynomial regression with response surface analyses were employed to analyse the data. Results: The results indicated that students' performance in both mathematics and language improved when congruence levels were high in perceived teachers' and parents' mastery goals. Conversely, the congruence level between perceptions of teachers' and parents' performance goals was only related to students' mathematics performance. Conclusions: The findings underscore the significance of congruence between perceived teachers' and parents' achievement goals in influencing students' academic performance.