Background: The control-value theory of achievement emotions postulates that it is possible to affect achievement emotions by decreasing or increasing control and value appraisals. This implies that changes in the latter should result in changes in the former. However, the assumption has been rarely tested. Aims: This study aimed at verifying…

Background: Adaptability regulates individuals' cognitive, behavioural and emotional responses to new, unexpected and uncertain situations, but to date no study has analysed whether adaptability contemporarily favours cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of learning. Aims: This study aims to address this gap by examining (i) the direct…

Background: Adaptive expertise is a highly valued outcome of mathematics curricula. One aspect of adaptive expertise with rational numbers is adaptive rational number knowledge, which refers to the ability to integrate knowledge of numerical characteristics and relations in solving novel tasks. Even among students with strong conceptual and…

Background: When exposed to evaluative situations, up to 40% of students develop test anxiety, reflected, namely, by extensive worry, intrusive thoughts, and physiological arousal. Though the negative influence of test anxiety on later school performance is well documented, the role of students' initial achievement in the development of later test…

Background: Writing is a particularly demanding activity, which poses unique motivational challenges for students. Despite the wealth of research on the relation between writing motivation and writing performance, little is known about the role of students' writing frequency in writing motivation and writing performance. Aims: We aimed to: (1)…

Background: Although many studies have suggested that students' externalizing (aggressive and rule-breaking) behaviour is detrimental to their academic achievement, the underlying mechanisms have rarely been investigated. Aims: We conducted a longitudinal investigation of whether the negative relation between externalizing behaviour and academic…

Background: Children with dyslexia often show second-language reading and writing difficulties, but the cognitive mechanisms connected to this impairment need to be clarified. Aims: The present study examined the neuropsychological mechanisms underlying learning English as a foreign language in 4th- to the 8th-grade Italian students showing…

Background: The multidimensionality of the academic self-concept in terms of domain specificity has been well established in previous studies, whereas its multidimensionality in terms of motivational functions (the so-called affect-competence separation) needs further examination. Aim: This study aims at exploring differential effects of enjoyment…

Background: The reciprocal I/E model (RI/EM) combines the internal/external frame of reference model (I/EM) with the reciprocal effects model (REM). The RI/EM extends the I/EM longitudinally and the REM across domains. The model predicts that, within domains, mathematics and verbal achievement (VACH) and academic self-concept have positive effects…

Background: It is well established that the activity of producing a text is a complex one involving three main cognitive processes: Planning, translating, and revising. Although these processes are crucial in skilled writing, beginning and developing writers seem to struggle with them, mainly with planning and revising. Aims: To trace the…