Do Teachers’ Achievement Goals and Self-efficacy Beliefs Matter for Students’ Learning Experiences? Evidence from Two Studies on Perceived Teaching Quality and Emotional Experiences

Although teacher motivation is posited to matter for students’ learning experiences, this remains largely uninvestigated, particularly in higher education. In two studies, we analyzed the role of higher education teachers’ achievement goals and self-efficacy for students’ learning experi-ences. In Study 1 (k = 166 teachers, n = 2,106 students), we assessed teachers’ motivations at the semester start, and students’ course-specific perceptions of teaching quality (overall rating, learning) and emotions (joy, boredom) at the semester end. Latent multilevel modeling indicat-ed favorable associations for teachers’ self-efficacy, but not for their goals. In Study 2 (k = 96 teachers, n = 16,009 students), we assessed the same constructs and measured students’ learn-ing experiences weekly regarding 828 specific course sessions. Additionally, we included teach-ers’ session-specific motivations. Results replicated the effects of self-efficacy on the teacher-level and suggested that performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals primarily matter on the level of specific sessions. This affirms the relevance of teacher motivations and il-luminates the importance of their specificity.