This study investigated the significance of adult students' goals and perceptions in a first-year computer course, in relation to their study management and final performance. The relationship of goals to students' stable characteristics such as age, gender, levels of previous experience of computing and programs of study were examined. The results support the importance of personal goals with respect to achievement and the dynamic interactions between students' study goals and their subjective appraisals of their study. The best predictors of goals were students' perceptions of their interest in the course in the first half of the semester and of their competence in the second half. Background knowledge in computing was related to performance, but students' perceptions and goals were better predictors of performance. It is argued that students' cognitive and affective appraisals of their study and their individual goals are crucial factors in understanding individual differences in achievement in a first-year computer course.
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