The purpose of the study was to investigate relationships among 7th grade students&rsquo / personal goal orientations, perceptions of classroom goal structure, and learning related variables of efficacy, self-handicapping strategies, cheating behavior, and science achievement. This study was carried out during 2006-2007 spring semester at 12 public elementary schools in Ke&ccedil / i&ouml / ren, Ankara. A total of 1950 seventh grade students from 62 classrooms participated in the study. Data were collected through Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales and Science Achievement Test. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analyses were conducted due to the nested structure of data. Results revealed that students who demonstrated high efficacy, high science achievement, low cheating behavior, and low self-handicapping strategies, which were all adaptive learning patterns, had higher mastery goal orientations. Findings regarding performance-approach goal oriented students, focusing on demonstrating their ability, however, were not as straightforward. Performance approach goals were associated with high efficacy and high demonstration of cheating behavior. Class level analyses, on the other hand, revealed that students&rsquo / perception of the classroom goal structure was a significant predictor of personal goal orientations they adopted. While learning environments emphasizing understanding of the material and self-improvement promoted students&rsquo / adoption of mastery goals / learning environments focusing on performance and relative ability of students promoted students&rsquo / adoption of performance-approach goals. The current study, thus, demonstrated the influence of goal structure of the learning environment on students&rsquo / personal goal orientations which in turn found to be related with various learning related variables.

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