L'effet de l'orientation envers les buts sur les conflits et les résultats scolaires des étudiantes et étudiants de niveau collégial impliqués dans un projet pédagogique
Project learning as a pedagogical method is an important teaching strategy in the cegep network in Québec, especially since the collegial Reform in 1993 (Piché & Lapostolle, 2009). However, studies on the efficiency of this pedagogical method, especially longitudinal studies, are rare in the collegial context. The present study analyses the role of many variables from organisational research in psychology. First, the role of two personality variables that are sensitive to task complexity are considered: goal orientations  (Dweck & Leggett, 1988) and conflict management style (Rubin, Pruitt, & Kim, 1994). Two processual variables are also studied: conflict types (Jehn 1995, 1997) and proactivity (Griffin, Neale, & Parker, 2007). With the help of mediation analyses (Preacher & Hayes, 2008), the results indicate that the goal orientation and conflict management style most useful in complex tasks are also useful in the project context in cegep, improving students’ proactivity. As for conflict types, an examination of their evolution brings the conclusion that their effect is generally negative because of the strong association between each type. A possible explanation is the presence of misattribution (Simons & Peterson, 2000), which is the false interpretation of conflicts concerning the task into interpersonal conflicts.
project learning pedagogy cegep goal orientations conflicts conflict management proactivity misattribution