An analysis of the relationship among structured goal setting, goal achievement, motivation, and academic performance of novice adult learners at the schools of banking

As a whole, associations are considered the largest and most diverse providers of adult education services in the United States; however, little to no research has been conducted that examines methods for enhancing the professional development experiences of the individuals participating in these programs. This study utilized a goal setting intervention to determine if structured goal setting (individually or collectively with a supervisor) prior to participating in a professional development program would have a significant impact on goal achievement, beliefs about goal setting, beliefs about goal setting with a supervisor, overall expectations, overall program evaluations, and final examination scores. Participants for the study were drawn from two banking schools designed for novice learners. The banking schools were conducted by the Schools of Banking, Inc. The Schools of Banking is a not-for-profit corporation that has been jointly-owned by the Kansas and Nebraska Bankers Associations for 40 years and conducts up to 14 curriculum-based, residential banking schools annually. Depending upon the specific school, students attend for three, five, or six consecutive days. As designed, each of these schools serves as a training and development resource to financial institutions, financial related organizations, and government entities who wish to educate their employees. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a series of t tests. Results indicated that structured goal setting did have a positive impact on goal achievement. Point estimates on error bar graphs related to mean scores by group were also utilized to illustrate the theory related to goal setting and goal achievement. Correlations between goal orientation (mastery or performance) and the dependent variables were not significant. Implications of the study as well as future research directions are discussed