A structural Model of the Relationship between Achievement goals, Attitude to Plagiarism and Academic Performance in Students

In recent decades educational science and psychology researchers focus on plagiarism. The purpose of this study was to present a structural model of the relationship between achievement goals, attitude to plagiarism, its frequency rate and academic performance in graduate students of Industrial University of Isfahan. 300Students (M.A and PhD students) were selected by using randomized categorical sampling method. The research instruments consisted of two questionnaires: Midgleyet AL's achievement goals questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaire: attitudes to plagiarism. Using path analysis data were analyzed. The results indicated that performance-approach goal orientation and performance-avoidance goal orientation had direct and positive effects on attitude to plagiarism and its frequency rate. Mastery goal orientation had direct and negative effects on attitude to plagiarism and its frequency rate. Also attitude to plagiarism and its frequency rate had a mediator role in relation between achievement goals and academic performance of the students. We can conclude that development of mastery goals in university classrooms could be a preventing factor for plagiarism.