Background: Previous work suggests that the expectation of failure is related to higher test anxiety and achievement goals grounded in a fear of failure. Aim: To test the hypothesis, based on the work of Elliot and Pekrun (2007), that the relationship between perceived competence and test anxiety is mediated by achievement goal orientations.…

Background: Although instructional development for teachers has become an important topic in higher education, little is known about its actual impact. In particular, evidence regarding the impact of teachers' instructional development on students' perceptions of the teaching-learning environment is scarce. Aims: The impact of an instructional…

Background: Assigning students to different school tracks on the basis of their achievement levels is a widely used strategy that aims at giving students the best possible learning opportunity. There is, however, a growing body of literature that questions such positive effects of tracking. Aims: This study compared the developmental trajectories…

Background: In the studies of acceleration conducted so far a multidimensional perspective has largely been neglected. No attempt has been made to relate social-emotional characteristics of accelerated versus non-accelerated students in perspective of environmental factors. Aims: In this study, social-emotional characteristics of accelerated…

Background: Student learning theory (SLT) has established associations between students' approaches to learning and their perceptions of the learning environment. SLT may provide a useful framework for researching student learning within the Japanese tertiary sector. Aims: The study aims to explore and validate the Course Experience Questionnaire…

Background: Self-determination theory posits that informational versus controlling interpretations of intra-personal events have positive and negative implications, respectively, for well-being. Self-talk represents an intra-personal event that could be interpreted as informational or controlling and may attenuate or exacerbate the negative…

Background: Students in higher education are known to vary in their conceptions of learning, their approaches to studying, and the personal development and personal change that result. Aims: This study aimed to explore the relationships among these four aspects of students' experience; to examine whether there were variations across academic…

Background: Consideration of motivation in higher education has often been drawn upon theories and research that were based upon school or workplace studies. Aims: This paper reports an open naturalistic study to better characterize the motivational orientation of students in higher education. Method: Open semi-structured individual interviews…

Background: A programme of construct validity research is necessary to clarify previous research on self-regulation and to provide a stronger basis for future research. Aim: A multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) analysis was conducted to assess convergent and discriminant validity of three self-regulation measures: the Learning and Study Strategies…

Background: The Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) was developed to explore the relationship between students' approaches to learning, and teachers' approaches to teaching, in the physical sciences in higher education. It is increasingly being used in other contexts. Aim: To analyse the factor structure of the ATI. Method: Confirmatory factor…

Background: The Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) is structured as two main scales, reflecting a teacher-centred information-transmission approach versus a student-centred conceptual-change approach, each subdivided into intention and strategy subscales. Its use in higher education investigations is increasing and, by default, it is assuming…

Background: It has long been hypothesized that children with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, may be highly vulnerable to emotional consequences such as anxiety. However, research has centred on school-aged children. Aims: The present study aimed to clarify these findings with dyslexic students in higher education. Samples: Sixteen…

Background: Recent research on student learning in higher education has identified clear associations between variations in students' perceptions of their academic environment and variations in their study behaviour. Aims: This research investigated a general theoretical model linking students' demographic characteristics, perceptions and study…

Background: More empirical work is needed to examine the dimensionality of personal epistemology and relations between those dimensions and motivational and strategic components of self-regulated learning. In particular, there is great need to investigate personal epistemology and its relation to self-regulated learning across cultures and…

Background: Self-managed learning groups are increasingly used in higher education. There is a need for more systematic investigation of university students' perceptions of the processes and outcomes of this learning method. Aims: This study aimed to identify the domains of process issues that students perceive as relevant to their participation…