Abstract
The present study attempted to identify the achievement goal orientation of grade 12 Physical
Sciences students from disadvantaged communities, and thereafter explain goal orientation
by investigating its interaction with teacher, school and parent goal emphasis. The research
adopted a mixed methods design involving first a quantitative survey of 300 students from 6
schools using an achievement goal questionnaire developed by Vedder-Weiss and Fortus
(2010), followed by interviews with 12 students that served to explicate the trends revealed
from the survey. A finding of this study was that disadvantaged Black students have a much
stronger performance goal orientation in comparison to a mastery goal orientation. It was
also revealed that students perceive the teacher, school and their parent to emphasize such a
goal orientation.