Students’ Interest and Self-Efficacy and the Impact of Changing Learning Environments

Adolescents' enjoyment and effort in class: Influenced by self-directed learning intervals

Based on the control-value theory, the present study examined the development and change of enjoyment and effort among adolescents during a school year. The study analyzed 754 adolescent students (M_Age = 13.56; SD = 1.2; 49.7% female) who twice participated in a 1-week intervention of self-directed learning (SDL). The results of the bivariate latent neighbor change model showed that-contrary to previous study results-a positive development of enjoyment and effort was generally recorded over the school year and that particularly the two 1-week self-directed learning interventions were beneficial for this increase. Furthermore, the results show that enjoyment and effort were reciprocally linked over time, but only when self-directed learning was experienced first. In other words, by enlarging instruction via self-directed learning intervals, it is possible to counteract the tendency of enjoyment and effort to exhibit a downward spiral. This tendency is especially pronounced during students' entry into secondary school and the onset of adolescence.