Which learning techniques supported by cognitive research do students use at secondary school? Prevalence and associations with students' beliefs and achievement

Research in cognitive science has highlighted the effectiveness of several learning techniques, and a number of studies have analyzed their prevalence among university students and their relationship with academic achievement. In this study, we surveyed a large, heterogeneous sample of secondary school students to reveal how often they use research-supported techniques in comparison with other frequent techniques, and we analyzed the association between their study strategies and school achievement. We also assessed the associations between study techniques and several students' beliefs and attitudes toward learning (self-efficacy, goal orientation, control beliefs, growth mindset, and examination anxiety). Results showed that, except for distributed practice, only those techniques that are supported by previous research yielded an association with achievement, and they exhibited higher associations with self-efficacy, growth mindset, control beliefs, and learning goal orientation than non-supported techniques.

Mindfulness, self-efficacy, and self-regulation as predictors of psychological well-being in EFL learners

Introduction

Mindfulness, self-efficacy, and self-regulation play vital roles in shaping the psychological well-being of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. This study investigates the interconnections among these constructs and their implications for the psychological well-being of 527 Chinese EFL learners.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among Chinese EFL learners enrolled in a university in China. Participants were recruited through a non-probability convenience sampling method from English language courses. They completed validated self-report questionnaires assessing mindfulness, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and psychological well-being. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and mediation analysis were employed to explore the relationships among these constructs.

Results

The study found that mindfulness and self-efficacy independently and directly predicted psychological well-being among Chinese EFL learners. Additionally, self-regulation emerged as a significant mediator in the relationship between mindfulness and psychological well-being, suggesting that mindfulness enhances well-being indirectly through improved self-regulation skills.

Discussion

These findings underscore the critical roles of mindfulness practices, self-efficacy beliefs, and self-regulation skills in promoting psychological well-being among EFL learners. The implications of this study extend to mindfulness-based interventions and programs designed. However, the study's cross-sectional design limits causal inference, and the use of self-report measures may introduce biases. Moreover, the sample's limited diversity and homogeneous demographic profile, attributed to the convenience sampling from a single university, may constrain the generalizability of the findings. Future research could adopt longitudinal designs and diverse participant samples to further elucidate these relationships and enhance the robustness of the findings.

Medical students' general and radiology-specific motivation: Correlations, stability and associations with learning strategies and ability beliefs

PURPOSE

This study investigated general and subject-specific motivational beliefs from the perspectives of self-determination theory (i.e. intrinsic, identified, introjected, and extrinsic motivation) and achievement goal theory (i.e. mastery, performance-approach, and -avoidance goal orientation including the respective classroom goal structures), their interrelations, their stability over time, and their associations with desirable outcomes (i.e. deep-level learning strategies, self-concept of ability). It was hypothesized that motivational beliefs are interrelated but demonstrate a distinct correlational pattern depending on whether they were assessed as general or subject-specific motivation. In addition, motivational beliefs were hypothesized to relate to learning strategies and ability beliefs.

METHODS

Medical students (n = 146) participated in this longitudinal study with measurement points at the beginning and end of a semester. The questionnaire included established motivational scales to assess motivational beliefs and desirable outcomes. Measurement models were tested using confirmatory factor analyses; correlations of scale means were investigated to assess the nomological network of motivational beliefs.

RESULTS

As expected, intrinsic and identified motivation were associated with mastery goal orientation and with desirable outcome variables, such as the use of deep-level learning strategies. General and subject-specific motivation exhibited distinct correlational patterns. Motivation was relatively stable over time. Results did not confirm the factor structure of classroom goal structure.

CONCLUSIONS

The study emphasizes the benefit of a subject-specific conceptualization of motivation and the need for a careful adaptation of theoretical constructs from the secondary school context to make them fruitful for the promotion of medical students' motivation. Medical teachers can use established motivational interventions (e.g. using an individual frame of reference for feedback) to support students' adaptive motivational beliefs (e.g. self-determined motivation, mastery goals). Given the subject specificity of motivation, it seems beneficial to promote adaptive motivation in the respective medical specialty regardless of students' general motivational characteristics.

Learning-oriented motivation: Examining the impact of teaching practices with motivational potential

This study compares the predictive ability of nine different types of motivational practices on the motivational orientation toward learning. Given the nature of undergraduate studies, identifying the most predictive motivational variables on learning orientation allows us to focus our efforts on those motivational practices to guide students to deploy their cognitive resources by focusing on learning and not only on obtaining good grades. The study included Chilean university students from health (n = 398) and education (n = 365) programs. A Bayesian multiple regression was carried out in both groups. The results show strong evidence of a specific effect of motivational practices on motivational orientation towards learning. Although the impact on motivational orientation toward learning may vary slightly across different fields of study, the primary predictors consistently are practices that emphasize importance and foster autonomy. The effect of utility-focused motivational practices is observed only within the predictive model for the group of health students.

The relationship between university students' goal orientation and academic achievement. The mediating role of motivational components and the moderating role of achievement emotions

The present study aims to expand the understanding of the role played by achievement emotions in the learning process and academic achievement of university students. We investigated how achievement emotions moderate the direct and indirect associations between mastery and performance goal orientation and academic achievement. Also, we used as mediators the motivational components from Pintrich and De Groot's theoretical framework of motivation and learning strategies. 274 Romanian university students (Mage = 20.23, 84.7% women) participated in the study. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that self-efficacy was the only significant mediator, and this relationship was moderated by hope, pride and hopelessness. In addition, the links between mastery and performance approach goals and motivational components are stronger when the positive emotions are higher and the negative ones are lower. Mastery avoidance goals were linked with high scores of motivational components at higher levels of negative and lower levels of positive achievement emotions, whereas the association of avoidance goals with motivational components was moderated by two positive emotions (pride and enjoyment). The patterns derived from the moderating role of achievement emotions in the relationships between goal orientation, motivational components and academic achievement, alongside several inconsistent results and implications in theory and education, are discussed.

Achievement Goals: A Social Influence Cycle

Achievement goals have been defined as the purpose of competence-relevant behavior. In this respect they connect one of the basic human needs, i.e., competence, to one of society's core values, i.e., achievement. We propose to look at achievement goals through the lens of social influence. We review both the influence that cultural, structural, and contextual factors have on achievement goal endorsement and the influence that endorsing achievement goals allows people to have within their social space. The review allows us to propose a circular model of the influence on and of achievement goals: The culture, social structures, and contexts that are typical of a certain society shape the specific environments in which individuals develop their achievement goals, which in turn has an influence on the expression and circulation of these achievement goals into society, in a social influence cycle.

Deadlines make you productive, but what do they do to your motivation? Trajectories in quantity and quality of motivation and study activities among university students as exams approach

Introduction

Recent research has emphasized that achievement motivation is context-sensitive and varies within individual students. Ubiquitous temporal landmarks such as exams or deadlines are evident contextual factors that could systematically explain variation in motivation. Indeed, research has consistently found that university students increase their study efforts as exams come closer in time, indicating increasing study motivation. However, changes in study motivation for a specific exam as it comes closer have rarely been investigated. Instead, research on developmental changes in expectancy and value beliefs has consistently founds that achievement motivation declines over a semester. Surprisingly, declining motivation thus apparently coincides with increasing study efforts for end-of-semester exams.

Methods

The present research investigates this apparent contradiction by assessing how exam-specific motivation and study behavior change under equal methodological conditions as an exam draws closer. Using parallel growth curve models, we examine changes in expectancy-value beliefs, performance approach and avoidance motivation and study behavior as well as motivational want- and should-conflicts among 96 students over eight weekly measurement points.

Results and discussion

Results show that students study more for their exam as it comes closer and increase their use of surface learning strategies more rapidly than their use of deep learning strategies. However, even exam-specific expectancy and attainment value beliefs decline while performance-avoidance motivation increases over time, indicating that students increasingly study out of fear to fail as exams come closer. Consistent with these findings, students' experience of should conflicts decreases while their want conflicts increase over time. We discuss several possible mechanisms underlying our findings in addition to potential theoretical consequences and suggest future research opportunities to better understand students' changes in situative motivation and study behavior in the context of temporal landmarks.

Cognitive perspectives on maintaining physicians' medical expertise: V. Using a motivational framework to understand the benefits and costs of testing

We apply a motivational perspective to understand the implications of physicians' longitudinal assessment. We review the literature on situated expectancy-value theory, achievement goals, mindsets, anxiety, and stereotype threat in relation to testing and assessment. This review suggests several motivational benefits of testing as well as some potential challenges and costs posed by high-stakes, standardized tests. Many of the motivational benefits for testing can be understood from the equation of having the perceived benefits of the test outweigh the perceived costs of preparing for and taking the assessment. Attention to instructional framing, test purposes and values, and longitudinal assessment frameworks provide vehicles to further enhance motivational benefits and reduce potential costs of assessment.

A longitudinal person-centered representation of elementary students' motivation: Do perceptions of parent and teacher achievement goals matter?

This study utilized a longitudinal person-centered approach to investigate how children's achievement goals combine with the goals held for them by their parents and teachers to form unique achievement goal profiles among a sample of 619 elementary school students (Mage = 9.782; 52.5% female; 79.2% first- and second-generation immigrants) from low SES ethnically diverse neighborhoods. Our results revealed four distinct profiles that proved to be identical from one school year to the next: (a) Low on all Goals, (b) High on all Goals, (c) Mastery-Oriented, and (d) Low Mastery Goals. Students' membership in these profiles was moderate to highly stable over time. Moreover, all profiles were marked by a correspondence between student, parent, and teacher goals, suggesting that elementary students may come to develop a global understanding of the various goal-related messages present in their environment. Higher perceived competence in core academic subjects was associated with membership into profiles characterized by high levels of mastery goals. The Mastery-Oriented profile fared best in terms of academic achievement and anxiety, whereas the Low Mastery Goals profile fared the worst. This Low Mastery Goals profile was unique to our study and represented the largest profile, which could be related to the socioeconomic status of our sample. Our findings provide information regarding the nature and stability of achievement goal profiles among elementary school students and offer new insights into how children interpret goal-related messages in their environment.

Retrospective Report of Academic Motivation Among College Students With Elevated ADHD Symptoms

OBJECTIVE

Children with ADHD exhibit deficits in academic motivation compared to their peers. Yet conceptualizations of motivation according to prominent motivation theories connected to achievement have not been studied in college-bound youth with ADHD symptoms.

METHOD

This study examined motivation according to these theories, differences in motivation by ADHD symptoms, and how the cross-sectional association between motivation and achievement varies by ADHD symptoms. The sample included 461 first-year college students retrospectively reporting their motivation and achievement in their last year of high school.

RESULTS

Results indicated differences in motivation by ADHD symptoms. Mastery achievement goal orientation was uniquely associated with achievement and exerted beneficial effects on achievement at moderate to high ADHD symptom levels.

CONCLUSION

Motivation may operate differently in association with achievement for college-bound youth with ADHD symptoms compared to youth with no to low symptoms.

The Sustained Effects of Achievement Goal Profiles on School Achievement across the Transition to Secondary School

Achievement goals play an important role in activating and sustaining students' ongoing motivation, emotional well-being, and achievement attainment over time. However, little is known empirically about the sustained effects of achievement goal profiles on students' subsequent school achievement, especially for early adolescents during the educational transition. Based on 1764 German students (M_age = 10.47, SD = 0.56; 50.6% female) who participated in a 3-year longitudinal study from Grade 4 to Grade 6, the present research aimed to examine the role of students' achievement goal profiles in the final year of elementary school in predicting their school achievement one year and two years after the transition to secondary school. Results of regression models showed that endorsing a mastery-oriented profile (vs. a high multiple profile or a low mastery profile) at the end of elementary school predicted higher German grades one year and two years after the transition to secondary school even after controlling for their prior achievement and basic cognitive abilities. Moreover, the sustained beneficial effects of a mastery-oriented profile (vs. a low mastery profile) on students' achievement gains can be explained by their higher joy of learning. These results indicate that a mastery-oriented profile in elementary school can be considered an important personal factor that facilitates students' smooth sailing after the transition to secondary school.

Theories of Motivation in Education: an Integrative Framework

Several major theories have been established in research on motivation in education to describe, explain, and predict the direction, initiation, intensity, and persistence of learning behaviors. The most commonly cited theories of academic motivation include expectancy-value theory, social cognitive theory, self-determination theory, interest theory, achievement goal theory, and attribution theory. To gain a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences among these prominent theories, we present an integrative framework based on an action model (Heckhausen & Heckhausen, 2018). The basic model is deliberately parsimonious, consisting of six stages of action: the situation, the self, the goal, the action, the outcome, and the consequences. Motivational constructs from each major theory are related to these determinants in the course of action, mainly revealing differences and to a lesser extent commonalities. In the integrative model, learning outcomes represent a typical indicator of goal-directed behavior. Associated recent meta-analyses demonstrate the empirical relationship between the motivational constructs of the six central theories and academic achievement. They provide evidence for the explanatory value of each theory for students’ learning.

Elucidating the Associations Between Achievement Goals and Academic Dishonesty: a Meta-analysis

Academic dishonesty is a pervasive problem undermining the effectiveness of educational institutions. From a motivational perspective, researchers have proposed achievement goals as antecedents of academic dishonesty. Empirical findings corroborate the notion that mastery goals (focus on learning and competence development) are negatively linked to academic dishonesty. However, even though theoretical considerations suggest positive links between performance goals (focus on competence demonstration) and academic dishonesty, empirical findings are mixed. To provide a better understanding of how goals matter for academic dishonesty, we conducted three-level meta-analyses encompassing 163 effect sizes from 33 studies and a total of 19,787 participants. We found a disproportional use of correlational designs (using self-report measures of academic dishonesty) and personal goal measures (opposed to surrounding goal structures). Evidence of publication bias was not found. Our results confirmed the expected negative associations between mastery goals and academic dishonesty and revealed heterogenous findings for performance goals, with indications of positive associations within behavioral and intentional dishonesty measures, but not within self-reports. To further clarify the associations between achievement goals and academic dishonesty, we call for more methodological rigor in the measurement of goals and dishonesty as well as multi-methods approaches when investigating their interplay.

Primary School Students with Reading Comprehension Difficulties and Students with Learning Disabilities: Exploring Their Goal Orientations, Classroom Goal Structures, and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

The aim of the present study was to investigate goal orientations and classroom goal structures and their relationship with strategies of self-regulated learning (SRL) in students with and without learning disabilities (LD) and reading comprehension difficulties (RCD). The sample consisted of 537 students attending the two last grades of primary school, fifth and sixth grade (Mage = 11.28 years, SD = ±0.59). Of these, 58 students were diagnosed with LD, and 70 students, after individually administered assessments in reading accuracy and reading comprehension, were assigned to the RCD group. Self-reported questionnaires were administered, assessing students' personal goal orientations, classroom goal structures, and strategies of SRL. The results showed that students with LD and students with RCD scored lower in mastery orientation and higher in performance avoidance compared to their peers without difficulties (ND). LD students reported lower scores of adaptive strategies than their peers. In addition, the results confirmed the adaptive character of mastery-approach goals and mastery goal structures and the negative effects of performance-avoidance goals and performance goal structures on the adaptive strategies of SRL. Performance-approach goals predicted adaptive behaviors for all students, confirming the argument of an adaptive type of motivation. The findings of the current study highlight the importance of goal orientations and classroom goal structures for students' SRL. Implications of the findings for enhancing motivation for students with LD and students with RCD are discussed.

Assessing Writing Motivation: a Systematic Review of K-5 Students' Self-Reports

For attaining success in writing, motivation is essential. Crucially, instruction is dependent on knowing the student's capabilities and inner drives. To date, research on writing has yet to establish a consistent framework for assessing writing motivation, and often fails to acknowledge students' self-reports, rather favoring evaluations of students' writing motivation made by others, such as teachers and researchers. This limbo state originates partly from a general skepticism towards the trustworthiness of elementary students' self-reports. Nonetheless, the validity of such self-reports has been acknowledged in adjacent fields, such as reading. Aiming to establish a knowledge base from studies addressing students' voices, the present study adopts the method of a systematic review and investigates how writing motivation has been assessed in empirical studies (1996-2020) through K-5 students' self-reports. Of the 7047 studies identified through database search, 56 met the inclusion criteria and are examined in this review. Results indicate that (a) storytelling is the genre most used to operationalize writing in the investigations, (b) surveys and interview questions measuring students' attitude towards writing are the most common type of self-report used, and (c) students' voices are weighted differently across the studies. Findings suggest that future research should (1) work to counteract existing biases in writing tasks, (2) provide a rationale for their choice/design of measure of motivation, and (3) report clearly whose voices are being heard (e.g., students', teachers', or researchers') and the appropriateness of this choice regarding study purpose, design, and findings.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10648-023-09732-6.

Individual Strivings in Social Comparison Processes: Achievement Motivation Goals in the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect

In school settings, adolescents recur to different sources of information to create their beliefs about future possibilities. Social comparison processes and personal goals related to achievement play an important role in shaping these beliefs. Drawing upon literature concerning the Big-Fish-Little-Pond effect and the Achievement Goal Theory, the present study aimed at understanding how adolescents attending the last year of secondary school (n = 689; M_age = 18.15; SD = 0.57) perceive their possibilities of potentially having a better future than their classmates. In particular, we sought to understand in what way this perception is influenced by students’ perceived relative position in their class—which accounts for the social comparison process—and its interaction with different types of achievement goals (mastery-approach goals, mastery-avoidance goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals). Results showed that perceived relative position mediated the relationship between the predictors (classmates’ average achievement and individual achievement) and future expectations. Furthermore, analyses of moderated mediation showed that both performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals reduced the impact of a low perceived relative position on future expectations, while mastery-approach and mastery-avoidance goals did not moderate its effect.

Motivational Profile, Future Expectations, and Attitudes toward Study of Secondary School Students in Spain: Results of the PISA Report 2018

During the secondary school stage, students' motivation to study may decrease and affect their future expectations, which are exclusively directed toward the search for employment, with the consequent abandonment of academic training. The main objective of the present paper was to examine the sources of motivation to study and the future expectations of secondary school students, as well as to develop a predictive model of their future expectations based on the variables studied. The sample consisted of a total of 35,943 students from different Spanish high schools, with an average age of 15.83 (SD = 0.28). The instrument used was the placement tests referring to the PISA 2018 report. On the one hand, the results showed that the main source of motivation for secondary school students to study responds to some kind of imposition either from the surrounding environment or internally, which appears to be represented by identified or controlled extrinsic motivation. In terms of future expectations, important factors included the fundamentally expression of their intention to continue studying rather than to stop studying, facts or economic support which they considered as influential to their capacity to study, and the opinions of others such as parents and friends. On the other hand, sex showed some significant differences in terms of future expectations but did not predict them. The regression model explained 20.9% of the variability of future expectations based on variables such as grade repetition, reasons that discourage studying (not being interested in the contents and never studying), and the influences on future expectations (school grades and subject mastery). Finally, the structural equation model revealed that grade repetition predicts the reasons that discourage studying and these in turn impact future expectations which are influenced by school grades, performing well in a specialty, and having talent. Likewise, there was a negative correlation between repeating a course and school grades, performing well in a specialty, and having talent. Based on these results, it would be advisable to improve the intrinsic motivation of secondary school students by means of educational actions that contribute to the adjustment of their future expectations and attend to the students' own interests, desires, and competencies, all with the main purpose of contributing to meaningful learning and facilitating professional orientation, and above all, attending to diversity to reduce school failure.

Students’ Performance in Physical Education: The Role of Differential Achievement Goals and Self-Regulated Learning

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between differential achievement goals and self-regulated learning, as well as motivational mechanisms’ consequences for performance in physical education. This was done by using the 2 × 2 achievement goals framework, and the cyclical model for self-regulated learning. The participants (N = 571, 51.7% girls) were physical education students in grades 11–13 from two upper secondary schools in Norway. A cross-sectional questionnaire was conducted, and data were analysed with a multiple-regression-based structural equation model. The modified structural model yielded an adequate fit (X2 = [df = 124] 429.79, p < 0.01; RMSEA = 0.07; CFI = 0.93), and results revealed that achievement goals have consequences for students’ self-regulation in physical education. More specifically, mastery goals have a positive association with self-regulation, whereas performance avoidance is found to have a negative association. Further, the results support claims that self-regulated learning plays a role in students’ performance. Finally, the model showed that self-regulation mediates the relationship between mastery approach goals and performance avoidance goals in relation to performance.

Exploring Behavioral Patterns for Data-Driven Modeling of Learners' Individual Differences

Educational data mining research has demonstrated that the large volume of learning data collected by modern e-learning systems could be used to recognize student behavior patterns and group students into cohorts with similar behavior. However, few attempts have been done to connect and compare behavioral patterns with known dimensions of individual differences. To what extent learner behavior is defined by known individual differences? Which of them could be a better predictor of learner engagement and performance? Could we use behavior patterns to build a data-driven model of individual differences that could be more useful for predicting critical outcomes of the learning process than traditional models? Our paper attempts to answer these questions using a large volume of learner data collected in an online practice system. We apply a sequential pattern mining approach to build individual models of learner practice behavior and reveal latent student subgroups that exhibit considerably different practice behavior. Using these models we explored the connections between learner behavior and both, the incoming and outgoing parameters of the learning process. Among incoming parameters we examined traditionally collected individual differences such as self-esteem, gender, and knowledge monitoring skills. We also attempted to bridge the gap between cluster-based behavior pattern models and traditional scale-based models of individual differences by quantifying learner behavior on a latent data-driven scale. Our research shows that this data-driven model of individual differences performs significantly better than traditional models of individual differences in predicting important parameters of the learning process, such as performance and engagement.

Does a Person-Environment-Fit Promote the Academic Achievement of Hearing-Impaired Students in Malaysian Polytechnics? The Mediating Effects of Satisfaction and Adjustment

(1) This study investigates the influence of a person-environment-fit on academic achievement and examines mediating effects of adjustment and satisfaction on this relationship; (2) Methods: Data were collected from a sample of 195 hearing-impaired students from five polytechnics in Malaysia that offered the Special Skills Certificate program; (3) Results: Results revealed that the two constructs of the person-environment approach: personality-major fit and needs-supplies fit were positively associated with academic achievement. The adjustment was found to mediate this relationship. Taken together, these results signal that the person-environment constructs contribute to the academic achievement of hearing-impaired students and that adjustment is instrumental in elucidating this relationship; (4) Conclusions: The finding adds to the data, indicating that the person-environment-fit is a possible model of inclusion for hearing-impaired students and also provides initial data about the functioning of hearing-impaired students in Malaysian polytechnics.

Zusammenhänge zwischen Zielorientierungen, Einstellungen gegenüber Hilfesuche und Belastungserleben bei angehenden Lehrkräften im Verlauf des Vorbereitungsdienstes

Zusammenfassung. Der Vorbereitungsdienst gilt als belastende, aber auch für die professionelle Entwicklung wichtige Phase in der Ausbildung angehender Lehrkräfte. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die längsschnittlichen Zusammenhänge zwischen Zielorientierungen (Annäherungs- und Vermeidungsleistungszielorientierung, Lernzielorientierung, Arbeitsvermeidung) und Einstellungen gegenüber Hilfesuche (Nutzen, Bedrohung, Aufwand) sowie deren Effekte auf das Belastungserleben im Verlauf des Vorbereitungsdienstes bei N = 991 angehenden Lehrkräften. Die Ergebnisse von Strukturgleichungsmodellen zeigen, dass die Einstellungen gegenüber Hilfesuche zu Beginn des Vorbereitungsdienstes zwar die Zielorientierungen nach etwa sechs Monaten erklären, die Zusammenhänge jedoch nicht mehr bedeutsam werden, wenn im späteren Verlauf die längsschnittlichen korrelativen Stabilitäten beider Konstrukte kontrolliert werden. Stattdessen lassen sich bekannte Befunde u.a. von Dickhäuser, Butler & Tönjes (2007) auch im Längsschnitt replizieren, wonach bestimmte Zielorientierungen bedeutsam sind zur Erklärung bestimmter Einstellungen gegenüber Hilfesuche: Vermeidungsleistungszielorientierung geht positiv, die Annäherungsleistungszielorientierung negativ mit einer Zunahme der Wahrnehmung von Hilfesuche als bedrohlich einher. Die Lernzielorientierung hat positive Effekte auf die Wahrnehmung von Hilfesuche als nützlich und Arbeitsvermeidung auf die Wahrnehmung von Hilfesuche als aufwändig. Für die Entwicklung des Belastungserlebens am Ende des Vorbereitungsdienstes erwiesen sich die Vermeidungsleistungszielorientierung und alle drei Facetten der Einstellungen gegenüber Hilfesuche als bedeutsam. Die Ergebnisse werden vor dem Hintergrund der multiplen Anforderungen im Vorbereitungsdienst diskutiert.

A Tool for Designing and Studying Student-Centered Undergraduate Field Experiences: The UFERN Model

Undergraduate field experiences (UFEs), where students learn and sometimes live together in nature, are critical for the field-based science disciplines. The Undergraduate Field Experiences Research Network (UFERN) brings together UFE educators and researchers to improve and broaden participation in field education. Integrating research on UFEs and general STEM education and the expertise of the UFERN community, we present a model and evidence that describes the impact of intended student outcomes, student context factors, and program design factors on UFE student outcomes. The UFERN model is relevant for a diversity of UFE formats and the diverse students potentially engaged in them, and it supports the field science community to consider a range of ways students can engage with the field. The UFERN model can be applied to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation of student-centered UFEs and to guide research on the mechanisms underlying outcomes across UFE formats and disciplines.

Cognitive and metacognitive, motivational, and resource considerations for learning new skills across the lifespan

Across the lifespan, learners have to tackle the challenges of learning new skills. These skills can range from abilities needed for survival, such as learning languages, learning to walk during infancy, and learning new software for a job in adulthood, to abilities related to leisure and hobbies. As the learner progresses through novice to expert stages, there are cognitive and metacognitive, motivational, and resource considerations for learning new skills. In terms of cognitive considerations, fluid and crystallized abilities as well as executive functions interact to help the learner process and retain information related to the skills. In terms of metacognitive considerations, knowing what to learn and how to learn are important for novel skill learning. In terms of motivational considerations, changes in individuals' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation throughout the lifespan impact their pursuit of novel skill learning, and declines in motivation can be buffered through the cultivation of grit, growth mindset, self-efficacy, and other personal factors. In terms of resource considerations, there are many tools that learners can use to acquire new skills, but allocation and availability of these resources differ based on life stage and socioeconomic status. Taken together, these considerations may provide learners with the best chance at acquiring new skills across the lifespan. Further research investigating these three factors, particularly among older adult learners, and their interactive effects could help increase our understanding of their impacts on skill learning and inform future cognitive interventions that can be tailored to learners' unique needs. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Cognitive Development Psychology > Development and Aging Psychology > Learning.

Examining Approach and Avoidance Valences of the 3 X 2 Achievement Goal Types on an Engineering Student Sample: A Validity Approach

Development of the 3 × 2 achievement goal questionnaire (AGQ) advanced approach and avoidance goals in three goal types within the achievement goal framework: task-, self-, and other-based. The purpose of the present study was to examine empirical support for the construct validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of factors on the questionnaire and compare model fit of the 3 × 2 configuration to other alternatives. In addition to validating some of the findings reported in earlier studies, especially the inclusion of task-based goal orientations, the study highlights a limitation and potential boundary of the 3 × 2 AGQ. While the 3 × 2 model was found to be structurally valid, we found multiple validity supports for a definition-based model of the AGQ scale, which does not differentiate between goal approach or avoidance. The study provides some indications that approach and avoidance goals can be indistinguishable to some respondents. Nonetheless, the scale was invariant across multiple groups making group comparison possible.

Promoting Pro-Environmental BEEhavior in School. Factors Leading to Eco-Friendly Student Action

Many insects, including numerous species of wild bees, are currently threatened with extinction. Environmental education in schools is a suitable starting point to draw attention to this problem, to raise awareness of biodiversity, and to highlight potential actions to protect wild bees and other insects. This study examined the relationship between pro-environmental behavior intentions and knowledge, attitude, fear, interest, and enjoyment of learning in a school intervention involving hands-on activities with living bumblebees. In total, 188 German 10- to 14-year-old high-school students participated in the project and took care of bumblebee colonies. Environmentally friendly behavioral intentions increased significantly between the pretest and posttest; however, no significant increase was found between the pretest and follow-up test. Bumblebee-friendly, pro-environmental behavior intentions correlated highly with attitude and interest, and correlated with knowledge and learning enjoyment with a medium effect size.

Predict or describe? How learning analytics dashboard design influences motivation and statistics anxiety in an online statistics course

Based on the achievement goal theory, this experimental study explored the influence of predictive and descriptive learning analytics dashboards on graduate students' motivation and statistics anxiety in an online graduate-level statistics course. Participants were randomly assigned into one of three groups: (a) predictive dashboard, (b) descriptive dashboard, or (c) control (i.e., no dashboard). Measures of motivation and statistical anxiety were collected in the beginning and the end of the semester via the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale. Individual semi-structured interviews were used to understand learners' perceptions of the course and whether the use of the dashboards influenced the meaning of their learning experiences. Results indicate that, compared to the control group, the predictive dashboard significantly reduced learners' interpretation anxiety and had an effect on intrinsic goal orientation that depended on learners' lower or higher initial levels of intrinsic goal orientation. In comparison to the control group, both predictive and descriptive dashboards reduced worth of anxiety (negative attitudes towards statistics) for learners who started the course with higher levels of worth anxiety. Thematic analysis revealed that learners who adopted a more performance-avoidance goal orientation approach demonstrated higher levels of anxiety regardless of the dashboard used.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11423-021-09998-z.

The Curvilinear Relationships Between Top Decision Maker Goal Orientations and Firm Ambidexterity: Moderating Effect of Role Experience

Ambidextrous firms are those that can simultaneously manage exploitative and explorative innovation, which is why ambidexterity is key for firms that desire to pursue strategic entrepreneurship. Researchers have explored many of the reasons why some firms are more ambidextrous than others. However, little attention has been devoted to understanding how attributes of top decision makers can influence their firms' ambidexterity. By drawing on upper echelons theory and goal orientations research, we explain how firms' ambidexterity can be affected by top decision makers' motivations in achievement situations (i.e., goal orientations). Testing our hypotheses on a sample of 274 top decision makers of firms in the United States, we find that top decision makers' learning goal orientation - their desire to take risks and maximize learning-has an inverted U-shaped relationship with ambidexterity while top decision makers' performance prove goal orientation - their desire to demonstrate competence with existing skills - has a U-shaped relationship with ambidexterity. These effects are weaker for top decision makers who have greater role experience.

The Mediating Role of Stress Perception in Pathways Linking Achievement Goal Orientation and Depression in Chinese Medical Students

Mental health problems are frequent obstacles in medical students’ careers as doctors. Given that previous studies overlook the mediation of stress perception, the current study expanded previous goal orientation researches by addressing an unexplored mechanism. This study aims to examine the mediational roles of stress perception (perceived stressors and stress-related cognition) on the relationship between achievement goal orientation and depression in medical students. A total of 1,015 Chinese 2-year medical students completed a multi-section questionnaire. Hypotheses were examined by structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that performance-avoidance goal orientation and perceived stressors both demonstrated direct facilitative effects on depression, whereas stress-related cognition demonstrated direct obstructive effects on depression. Both perceived stressors and stress-related cognition mediated the relationship between achievement goal orientation and depression. The findings spark a new perspective on motivational intervention that assist students in adopting mastery-approaching strategy as well as ways of coping with stressful academic situations. Identifying students with achievement goal orientation and providing them with the appropriate supportive services may help them to manage stress and mitigate or prevent depression.

Implicit Theories of Intelligence and Achievement Goals: A Look at Students' Intrinsic Motivation and Achievement in Mathematics

The present research seeks to utilize Implicit Theories of Intelligence (mindsets) and Achievement Goal Theory to understand students' intrinsic motivation and academic performance in mathematics in Singapore. 1,201 lower-progress stream students (596 males, 580 females, 25 missing data), ages ranged from 13 to 17 years (M = 14.68 years old, SD = 0.57), from 17 secondary schools in Singapore took part in the study. Using structural equation modeling, results confirmed hypotheses that incremental mindset predicted mastery-approach goals and, in turn, predicted intrinsic motivation and mathematics performance. Entity mindset predicted performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Performance-approach goal was positively linked to intrinsic motivation and mathematics performance; performance-avoidance goal, however, negatively predicted intrinsic motivation and mathematics performance. The model accounted for 35.9% of variance in intrinsic motivation and 13.8% in mathematics performance. These findings suggest that intrinsic motivation toward mathematics and achievement scores might be enhanced through interventions that focus on incremental mindset and mastery-approach goal. In addition, performance-approach goal may enhance intrinsic motivation and achievement as well, but to a lesser extent. Finally, the study adds to the literature done in the Asian context and lends support to the contention that culture may affect students' mindsets and adoption of achievement goals, and their associated impact on motivation and achievement outcomes.

Achieving a good impression: Reputation management and performance goals

Whether a student wants to improve their ability (i.e., has learning goals) or demonstrate it (i.e., has performance goals) plays an important role in their learning and motivation; students focused on the latter tend to avoid taking on challenges and seeking help when they need it. In the achievement literature, these different goals are thought to result primarily from holding different mindsets about whether one's ability is malleable or fixed. We argue, however, that this traditional framework has largely overlooked the powerful role that reputational concerns play in influencing which achievement goals students pursue. Specifically, reputational concerns may drive students to pursue performance goals and "prove" their ability to others, irrespective of their mindsets. We argue that closely investigating these concerns may help uncover new mechanisms by which performance goals are fostered and maintained as well as new strategies for developing interventions aimed at encouraging learning goals. Finally, we offer suggestions for how the achievement and reputation management literatures can be productively brought to bear on one another in future research. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Reasoning and Decision Making Psychology > Emotion and Motivation Psychology > Development and Aging.

Performance-approach goals: the operationalization makes the difference

The operationalization of performance-approach goals (PAGs) was found to be an important moderator of the associations between different PAGs and several educational outcomes. To explore this aspect in more detail, we conducted two studies with school students (N1 = 425, mean age = 16.6 years, SD = 0.61; N2 = 310, mean age = 14.91, SD = 1.72). In study 1, we mainly focused on the associations between achievement goals and school grades. In study 2, we additionally assessed several motivational variables (academic self-concept, school values), as well as test anxiety and school well-being. All variables were assessed for school in general, mathematics, and German (mother tongue). The results of confirmatory factor analyses replicated and extended the finding on the different facets of PAGs. Besides a normative-based PAG component (the aim is to perform better than others) and an appearance-based PAG component (the aim is to demonstrate one’s ability), an additional proving PAG component (the aim is to demonstrate one’s ability toward significant others) was found. Contrary to earlier findings, both normative and appearance-based PAGs were positively correlated with school grades, whereas the proving component showed smaller associations. Moreover, differential associations with self-concept, school values, and school well-being emerged regarding the different facets of PAGs. The results are discussed with regard to the operationalization of PAGs.

Motivation to learn in middle school and association with individual and contextual aspects

PURPOSE

To verify the association between motivation to learn, quality of life, health self-perception, and environmental, school and behavioral resources of students in a private middle school.

METHODS

This is an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study conducted with 124 adolescents using the following instruments: Participant Characterization, Learning Motivation Scale (LMS), Self-perceived Health Questionnaire, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL) (Self-report) - conducted with the students, and Brazilian Criteria of Economic Classification Questionnaire, PedsQL (Parent Proxy-report) and Home Environment Resources Scale (HERS) - responded by the parents and/or legal guardians. School performance was assessed by the average scores of students in the period investigated. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the association between response and explanatory variables.

RESULTS

The study sample was composed mostly of socioeconomic class A female students who evaluated their health as good or excellent. The Learning Goal domain of the LMS presented higher average results compared with those of the other domains. Most students performed well or very well in the PedsQL and presented positive self-ratings in the three dimensions (physical, emotional and social functioning) of this instrument. Motivation to learn was associated with the quality of life, learning strengths, and self-perceived health of adolescents.

CONCLUSION

Considering the peculiarity of adolescence and the complexity of the learning process and its consequences, parents and educators play a fundamental role in learning motivation.

Academic Achievement and Failure in University Studies: Motivational and Emotional Factors

Universities are committed to offering quality education; however, a high rate of academic failure is often observed in the first year of studies. Considering the impact that motivation and emotional aspects can have on students’ commitment to study and therefore on their academic performance, achievement, and well-being, this study aims to identify the factors associated with academic success or failure in 1071 students entering the National Polytechnic School (Quito, Ecuador). The data were compiled from the existing computer records of the university with the permission of the responsible administrative staff. A predictive model has been used and a binary logistic regression analysis was carried out through the step-forward regression procedure based on the Wald statistic to analyze the predictive capacity of the variables related to emotional intelligence, motivational and self- regulated socio-cognitive skills, goal orientation, and prior academic achievement (measured by university entrance marks and through a knowledge test carried out at the beginning of the university academic year). To determine the cut-off point for the best discriminatory power of each of the variables, a Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve analysis has been used. The results indicate that the variables that are significant in the prediction of academic success or failure are the two academic performance measures: the emotional attention variable, and the performance-approach goals and the motivational self-efficacy variable. Additionally, the highest predictive power is displayed by the prior academic performance measure obtained through the knowledge test conducted at the beginning of the university course.

Psychometric Properties of Achievement Goal Constructs for Chinese Students

In Chinese schools, classes are organized with special monitors and teachers contributing to the achievement goal structure for students. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of perception of teachers' achievement goal structure constructs with 3,149 Chinese students from grades 3-8. The results showed that the internal consistencies of the whole scale and subscales were low to marginal. Eight models were examined to check the constructs of the achievement goal structure (mastery, performance, and performance avoidance). Two-factor structures proved to be the best fit. Additionally, a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis proved that the achievement goal structure existed at the same time in the class student levels. Our findings supported the hypothesis that achievement goal structures are different for students with different cultures, which implies that teaching approaches should be adapted in consideration of culturally distinct learning.

Triguna (three qualities) personality model and two-factor conceptualization of self-compassion: a new insight to understand achievement goal orientations

Background

Although the three-dimensional Vedic personality model (Triguna) and self-compassion have been linked with a variety of life outcomes, little is known about their interplay in shaping goal orientations. We explored the interrelationships and interplay of the Triguna (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) with positive and negative self-compassion in shaping the goal orientations of Indian students.

Participants and procedure

Using convenience sampling, 190 males (M = 20.13, SD = 2.21) and 187 females (M = 19.88, SD = 1.81) were assessed on self-report measures. Data were analysed using correlational statistics, factor analysis and path analysis.

Results

Factor analyses supported our speculation that the Self-Compassion Scale is best represented by a two-factor model (positive and negative). Positive self-compassion and Sattva Guna showed positive correlations with mastery and performance goals while negative self-compassion showed an opposite pattern. Rajas and Tamas Gunas were negatively correlated with mastery and positively with performance goals. Gender, Sattva Guna and positive self-compassion accounted for significant variance in mastery while gender, Sattva and Rajas Gunas and negative self-compassion contributed to performance-approach. Sattva Guna and self-compassion (positive and negative) contributed significantly to performance-avoidance. Path analysis revealed direct as well as indirect effects of the three Gunas on the goal orientations through positive and negative self-compassion.

Conclusions

The Triguna personality and two-factor conceptualization of self-compassion evinced their relevance in understanding the goal orientations of Indian students. Re-conceptualization of the Self-Compassion Scale and its interplay with Triguna personality dimensions in shaping the goal orientations of students need further verification in diverse and cross-cultural populations.

Implicit Theories of Emotion, Goals for Emotion Regulation, and Cognitive Responses to Negative Life Events

Why do some people routinely respond to emotional difficulty in ways that foster resilience, while others habitually engage in responses associated with deleterious consequences over time? This study examined relations between emotion controllability beliefs and goals for emotion regulation (ER) with peoples' multivariate profile of cognitive ER strategy use. Cluster analysis classified 481 university students (81% female) as adaptive, maladaptive, or low regulators based on their multivariate profile of engagement in five adaptive and four maladaptive cognitive ER strategies. A discriminant function analysis predicting the multivariate profiles supported that lower emotion controllability beliefs and lower performance-avoidance goals for ER significantly distinguished maladaptive regulators from adaptive regulators. Moreover, lower learning, performance-avoidance, and performance-approach goals for ER significantly distinguished low regulators from maladaptive and low regulators. Taken together, findings support that emotion-related beliefs and goals may help to clarify why some people habitually engage in more adaptive patterns of cognitive ER in response to negative life events than others.