Second-language (L2) learner motivation has been a thriving subfield within L2 acquisition research for decades, particularly since the development of the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), a multi-faceted motivational theory. This survey-based study examines (1) whether L2MSS facets differ between students intending to continue (or discontinue)…

What motivates high school students to persist with challenging mathematics? The current investigation examined this important question using the concept of mathematics self-schema, that is, students' cognitive generalizations of their selves in learning mathematics. Mathematics self-schemas are important sources of motivation. It was hypothesized…

To test whether a growth mindset intervention could improve the academic performance of adolescents, the National Study of Learning Mindsets (NSLM) implemented a low-cost growth mindset intervention specifically designed for ninth-graders in a nationally representative sample of regular high schools during the 2015-2016 school year. The national…

This article reports on the final phase of a three-phase project and investigates the characteristics of high-achieving students at a university. It also reports student evaluations of a low-cost program aimed at supporting them, assesses their levels of satisfaction, and evaluates the applicability of the program across three institutions in the…

Mental time travel lies at the frontier of research into motivational persistence in language learning (Dörnyei, 2020). This article introduces the theory of episodic future thinking (D'Argembeau, 2016, 2020), and examines the key components of autobiographical knowledge and personally important goals. With findings on the long-term goals and…

Focusing on five initially committed learners of Chinese who decide to quit the language during their college freshman year, this study is a critique of the institutional structure that disengages foreign language education in American postsecondary schools. The findings reveal three structural issues that may contribute to the declining…

This study analyzes the possible influences of some individual variables related with the attendance of specific online laboratory activities on the academic retention and achievement of a group of freshmen attending the first year of the Bachelor of Education. Online platforms allowed students both to use a supporting network and autonomously…

A study investigated tenacity of adult students who have once again made their way back to academia. The specific purpose was to discover how these students understood their own history of college enrollment and their perceptions of themselves as persisters. Participants were 63 "tenacious persisters" in three sections of an orientation class at a…