There is a heated debate about the efficacy of growth mindsets in predicting achievement and other key learning-related outcomes with some studies supporting and others failing to find evidence of growth mindset's adaptive effects. Moreover, past studies on mindsets have mostly examined it as a psychological variable with little attention to how…

Unlike organized activities such as sports and arts, civic activities in adolescence (e.g., volunteering, student government) have been less studied in relation to school success and almost all existing evidence consists of cross-sectional findings. In a longitudinal study, 1035 pupils (64% females, 20% nonwhite, M[subscript age] = 14.21 years)…

A growing body of research demonstrates that school climate is associated with adolescent mental health. Much of the extant literature have focused on identifying risk factors for adverse mental health outcomes, whereas much less work has been done examining factors that are important to foster adolescents' strengths and thereby increase the…

Multiple previous studies in language learning have examined the static effect of various independent variables on Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA), but little attention has been given to the dynamic features of these two learner emotions. The present study is based on a pseudo-longitudinal design to…

The tripartite of motivation- affect- cognition indicates the need for more efforts to uncover the complex nature of the interplay of self-efficacy, anxiety as well as motivation. In this study we measured the longitudinal association between adult English a foreign language (EFL) students' self-efficacy and anxiety and the role of ideal self as…

This study examined relationships between language learning motivation and the longitudinal development of second language (L2) pronunciation. Twenty-six English-speaking learners of Spanish recorded a simplified picture description task 5 times over a year-long period spanning their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th semesters of Spanish language instruction.…

In this paper, we investigate the role of metacognitive postdiction skills, intrinsic motivation and prior proficiency in mathematics as Propensity factors within the opportunity-propensity (O-P) model of learning. We tested Belgian children from Grade 1 till 6 in January and June. The study revealed overlapping yet different predictors for…

In Switzerland, every student graduating from grammar school can begin to study at a university. This leads to high dropout rates. Although students' motivation is considered a strong predictor of performance, the development of motivation during students' transition from high school to university has rarely been investigated. Additionally, little…

Can mastery and performance-approach goals predict distance learners' learning and achievement in different learning situations over an academic year? Using a prospective longitudinal design, the current study examined this research question using a cohort of distance learners in Hong Kong. Two hundred and seventy-two distance learners completed…

The present study examined the relation between the amount of years of study and the perception of skill acquisition through indicators of students' satisfaction with the course program. It was hypothesized that the more years students spend at the university, the higher their perception of skill acquisition and that factors related to the course…

This study examined change in Chinese students' autonomous learning motivation in the first three years of college and how this change is accounted for by intra- and inter-individual variables. The sample included 633 (328 female) college freshmen. Results showed that students' autonomous learning motivation decreased over years in college.…

Existing research from Western countries has consistently shown that the learning environment is an important factor for academic motivation. Self-determination theory, which serves as a theoretical foundation of the present study, suggests that teachers' involvement is an important element of students' learning, regardless of the cultural…

Online learning may be particularly sensitive to self-regulatory trade-offs between maintaining interest and performance. Undergraduates in online or on-campus sections of the same course rated strategies used to motivate studying for the first exam, and interest after the first exam and at semester's end. First exam and final class grades were…

Much research has investigated maternal and child predictors of educational attainment. This longitudinal study builds on past research by examining how everyday mother-child conversations about decision-making in early adolescence predict adolescents' decisions to drop out of high school, terminate their education with a high school degree, or…

The engagement of young Australians with school and individual and school-level influences on student engagement (defined as participation in extracurricular activities) were examined by analyzing data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. Being female, being from a higher socioeconomic background, and having professional parents were…