This study explores relations between students' perceptions of the classroom goal structures, their personal goal orientations, mathematics anxiety, and help-seeking behavior in mathematics classes. The respondents were 309 Norwegian middle school students. The data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling (SEM). The analyses…

Recent research shows that teacher support is predictive of student outcomes, such as engagement and effort. In this study, we explored the relation between students' perceptions of teacher instrumental support in mathematics lessons and their effort in mathematics. We also tested whether this relation was mediated through students' perception of…

Students' self-efficacy expectations (SEE) in mathematics are associated with their engagement and learning experiences. Going beyond previous operationalisations of SEE we propose a new instrument that takes into account not only "facet-specificity" (expectations related to particular competences or skills) and "strength"…

This article presents a review of extant research on student dropout in Norway, originally undertaken as part of a systematic review. The article contextualizes the foundational principle of equality as championed by the welfare state and identifies the significance of dropout in upper secondary education in Norway. The article then assesses…

The present study was aimed at investigating the relationships between students' perceived classroom achievement goals, school engagement and substance use in terms of smoking and drinking, and at investigating gender differences regarding these issues in a sample of 1,239 Norwegian 10th grade students. A multivariate analysis showed that…

Research has shown that how principles and tools related to Assessment for Learning (AfL) are taken up by teachers can significantly impact how assessment initiatives are realised. However, questions remain about how teachers develop new resources for use in local contexts, and what these processes entail. This article examines such processes in…

The primary aim of this study was to investigate how students' perceptions of relationships with peers at school and teachers' classroom management are associated with school refusal-related reasons and truancy-related reasons for school non-attendance. The study included controls for emotional stability and relevant parental variables. A student…

The experience of meaning in a learning situation is a stated goal of Knowledge Promotion Reform in Norway. This study, guided by self-determination theory, examines how pursuing intrinsic and extrinsic life goals relates to the experience of meaning in vocational education. The study also examines how learning support, perceived competence, and…

Social support and socioeconomic status (SES) have received considerable attention in explaining academic achievement and the achievement gap between students with ethic majority and immigrant background, and between boys and girls. Using a Structural Equation Modeling approach we examine (1) if there exist a gap in school achievements between…

The purpose of this study was to examine factors predicting lower secondary school students' digital competence and to explore differences between students when it comes to digital competence. Results from a digital competence test and survey in lower secondary school will be presented. It is important to learn more about and investigate what…

We explored whether students' perceptions of emotional and instrumental support provided by their mathematics teacher constitute separate dimensions of teacher support and how they are related. We also analyzed how students' perceptions of emotional and instrumental support in math lessons relate to math anxiety, intrinsic motivation, help-seeking…

This article focuses on the comparison of organizational antecedents of teachers' fostering of students' effort in two quite different accountability regimes: one management regime with an external-accountability system and one with no external accountability devices. The methodology involves cross-sectional surveys from two different management…