Integration is a valuable yet underutilized process in scientific literatures, including the achievement motivation literature. In this piece, we advocate for and illustrate the benefits of giving integration a central place within the achievement motivation literature. We pay particular attention to the hierarchical model of achievement…

The relationship between students' subject-specific academic self-concept and their academic achievement is one of the most widely researched topics in educational psychology. A large proportion of this research has considered cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs), oftentimes synonymously referred to as reciprocal effects models (REMs), as the gold…

The meta-analytic evidence aligning aspects of instruction and critical individual differences with student achievement continues to mount. Scant research effort has, however, been invested in connecting these findings to and through substantive theory which might drive both further research and enhance classroom practice. The current…

Various theories from the field of educational psychology, including high expectation theory (HET) and self-determination theory (SDT), focus on the classroom conditions which facilitate students' motivation, learning, and well-being. In the current paper, we aimed to breech the theoretical division between HET and SDT through a synthesis of both…

Rubrics are widely used as instructional and learning instrument. Though they have been claimed to have positive effects on students' learning, these effects have not been meta-analyzed. Our aim was to synthesize the effects of rubrics on academic performance, self-regulated learning, and self-efficacy. The moderator effect of the following…

Students' achievement-related self-beliefs, as manifest in values, goal orientations, perceived efficacy, mindsets, and a sense of autonomy and self-determination, have been the centerpiece of motivation theories that describe learning and development. The premise of the current special issue is that these intrapersonal beliefs tell us only half…

Almost anything worth doing takes effort, so it is no surprise that effort has played such a central role in how researchers, theoreticians, instructors, and even students think about student learning and achievement. In this special issue, the authors of the target articles explore the importance of effort to students' self-regulated learning…

The question of what makes a good teacher has been asked by practitioners, policymakers, and researchers for decades. However, there is no guiding framework about which qualities are important for teachers. Thus, it is necessary to examine these qualities using a recognized framework and to summarize the previous literature on this topic. We…

Research studies looking into the effects of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) implemented in classrooms have yielded promising results, not only in terms of student well-being but also in terms of academic outcomes, school climate, and teacher well-being. However, a number of PPIs require relatively high levels of commitment from school…

In the last special issue devoted to this topic, Pintrich ("Educ Psychol Rev" 16:385-407, 2004) provided an in-depth critique of his conceptual framework on self-regulated learning (SRL), comparing and contrasting it to Biggs' student approaches to learning (SAL) perspective. Since then, there have been a number of advances in the study…

The construct of school climate has received attention as a way to enhance student achievement and reduce problem behaviors. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the existing literature on school climate and to bring to light the strengths, weakness, and gaps in the ways researchers have approached the construct. The central information in…

Spatial training has been indicated as a possible solution for improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) achievement and degree attainment. Advocates for this approach have noted that the correlation between spatial ability and several measures of STEM achievement suggests that spatial training should focus on improving…

Working memory training programs have generated great interest, with claims that the training interventions can have profound beneficial effects on children's academic and intellectual attainment. We describe the criteria by which to evaluate evidence for or against the benefit of working memory training. Despite the promising results of initial…

Research with adults suggests that contemplative practices such as meditation and yoga impart a variety of benefits, from improved attention to reduced stress. Increasingly, these practices are being adapted for use with children and introduced into childhood education in order to foster the development of key self-regulation skills required for…

The contributing role of stereotype threat (ST) to learning and performance decrements for stigmatized students in highly evaluative situations has been vastly documented and is now widely known by educators and policy makers. However, recent research illustrates that underrepresented and stigmatized students' academic and career motivations are…