This study aimed to examine the psychosocial predictors of peer bullying among middle school students. For this purpose, structural equation modeling (SEM), including peer bullying, school culture, parental rejection, basic psychological needs, and social emotional learning (SEL) skills, was tested. The data were collected from 565 middle school…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand teacher and administrator perspectives regarding how a ninth-grade transitional course that began during the fall of 2019 meets student needs during the transition from middle to high school. The high school in which this study was conducted, is referred to as "Midwestern High"…

This qualitative multi-case study engaged the "testimonios" of three educators who openly shared their social and emotional experiences from their middle school years. The central inquiry, "What valuable insights can you offer from your middle school experiences to help other educators recognize and respond to the social and…

Unlike many types of educational crises, the COVID-19 pandemic was a crisis leaders could not have prepared for. But research is only starting to examine how leaders' responses and organisational context have played a role. This mixed-methods study accordingly examines how leaders have mitigated challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and…

Previous research identifies instructional program coherence as a school condition that has positive effects on student performance. This study investigates how instructional program coherence (IPC) operates as a social mechanism that supports teachers' psychological needs. We hypothesized that IPC would be positively related to teacher perceived…

Students' adaptive motivation to study tends to decrease over time. However, the reasons for this decline are not fully understood. Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), we investigated whether changes in teachers' motivating style and students' associated need-based experiences could explain the motivational decline documented in the…

This study examined relations of affinity for solitude with social-behavioral, academic, and psychological adjustment in Chinese children and adolescents. The participants included 3,417 students (1,714 boys) in fourth, sixth, and eighth grades (M[subscript ages] = 10, 12, and 14 years, respectively) in China. Data on affinity for solitude were…

A sample of 108 highly gifted middle school students participated in a study of the relationships between Big Five factors and overexcitabilities. Students completed the NEO-FFI and Overexcitabilities Questionnaire-II (OEQ-II). A cutoff score applied to the OEQ-II created a threshold for overexcitability, ensuring only extreme responses. Analysis…

Purpose: To test a structural equations model that analyzes the effects from satisfaction and frustration of the basic psychological needs on motivation types and the same effects on engagement and disaffection in physical education class, and to validate invariance among gender groups. Method: The participants were 1,470 fifth- and sixth-grade…

Our research attempts to explore the learning motivation patterns of Hungarian pupils from a low SES environment in order to develop an innovative foreign language teaching application. Pupils aged 10-14 were selected from 11 schools in a disadvantaged, low SES region of Hungary (N = 523). We used online questionnaires: a demographic…

We explored the relationship between the fulfillment of students' psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness; student engagement; and student outcomes related to environmental literacy at a residential environmental education (EE) center. We surveyed diverse groups of middle school students (N = 1,278) following the completion of…

Secondary English education in Japan, despite widespread policy reform, has been identified as a context in which problems with learner motivation are commonplace and persistent. Numerous quantitative studies have highlighted student dissatisfaction with a range of pedagogical factors including a disproportionate focus on rote memorization for…

This study explored the relationship between social interaction anxiety (SIA) and problematic smartphone use (PSU) among Chinese adolescents. Further, the roles of online basic psychological needs satisfaction (online BPNS), nature connectedness (NC), and related differences between urban and rural adolescents were examined. We recruited 840…

Peer relationships play important roles in middle-school students' individual development. Peer support is indispensable in computer-supported learning contexts. This study is designed to explore the connection between perceived peer support and deeper learning, while examining the mediating role of computer self-efficacy and perceived classroom…

This study investigates the racial-mathematical identity profiles of Black American adolescents. Survey data were collected in five schools across one U.S. urban school district at two time points (spring 2018 [n = 197] and spring 2019 [n = 210]). Based on extant research regarding psychological response patterns to racialized school stress, we…