Research suggests that motivated students and those with high academic self-concepts perform better academically. Although substantial evidence supports a reciprocal relation between academic self-concept and achievement, there is less evidence supporting a similar relation between achievement goal orientations and achievement. There is also a…

The impact of two types of written feedback (process-oriented, grade-oriented) on changes in mathematics achievement, interest and self-evaluation was compared -- with a particular focus on the mediating role of feedback's perceived usefulness. Participants, 146 ninth graders (aged 14 to 17?years), were assigned to either a process-oriented…

The purpose of this study was to assess how attachment dimensions (anxiety and avoidance), self-esteem, and three subscales of test anxiety--cognitive obstruction, social derogation and tenseness are related in two age groups: adolescents and college students. Participants (N?=?327) completed relevant questionnaires. Results showed that college…

Academic self-schemas are important cognitive frames capable of guiding students' learning engagement. Using a cohort of Year 10 Australian students, this longitudinal study examined the self-congruence engagement hypothesis which maintains that there is a close relationship among academic self-schemas, achievement goals, learning approaches,…

We tested the interaction between task value and self-efficacy on defensive pessimism, academic cheating, procrastination and self-handicapping among 574 Korean 11th graders in the context of English as a foreign language. We hypothesised that perceiving high value in tasks or domains for which self-efficacy was low would pose a threat to…

In the present study, we examined in Chinese society the association of school-based extracurricular activities (SBEAs) in both high school and college with students' career development skills in college, as well as with various personality characteristics and self-concept. Each of 281 college students administered the Lai Personality Inventory,…

Political scientists have found that one of the strongest predictors of political participation is political efficacy, the belief that individuals' actions can influence political processes. Prior research indicates that political efficacy increases through various experiences, such as discussions of public issues, but it does not explain why or…

The present study assessed the mediating role of expectancy for success and value beliefs in civic education in linking socio-academic factors (gender, ethnicity, school level and prior achievement) to desirable civic attributes. The sample comprised 1664 students in their Year-7-Year-12 (mean age = 14.79, range = 12-18). Structural equation…

The present study examines the dynamic relationship between academic performance of high school students and their respective learning and study strategies. Two hundred thirty-six high school students were recruited to participate in this study by completing a Chinese version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory--LASSI, to probe into the…

Despite concerns about declining interest and enrolments in mathematics, little research has examined change in a broad range of constructs reflecting mathematics motivation and engagement. The current study used an 11-factor model of motivation and engagement to evaluate levels of maths motivation compared to general academic motivation and to…

This study examined the impact of job satisfaction and organizational commitment on teachers' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in a structural equation model. The study was employed to a group of teachers and their supervisors. The results indicated that job satisfaction and commitment to the school had an impact on OCBs of the teachers…

Being aware of, monitoring and responding constructively to students' signals of motivation and to students' signals of engagement represent two important teaching skills. We hypothesised, however, that teachers would better estimate their students' engagement than they would estimate their students' motivation. To test this hypothesis, Korean…

Much of the research on achievement goal theory has focused on the roles of mastery and performance goals in academic engagement, thus the role of other goals such as social goals has mostly been neglected. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of different kinds of social goals (affiliation, approval, concern, responsibility and…

Adolescents struggle with setting and striving for goals that require sustained self-discipline. Research on adults indicates that goal commitment is enhanced by mental contrasting (MC), a strategy involving the cognitive elaboration of a desired future with relevant obstacles of present reality. Implementation intentions (II), which identify the…

In a sample of 466 Chinese high school students, we examined the relationships between Chinese high school students' stress in the school and their academic achievements. Regression mixture modelling identified two different classes of the effects of Chinese high school students' stress on their academic achievements. One class contained 87% of…