The Reciprocal Effects Model (REM) posits that academic self-concept and corresponding achievement measures are reciprocally related over time. Although there is considerable support for the REM based on short-term, narrowly focused educational accomplishments, little research evaluates the long-term implications of this reciprocal pattern of…

Although studies have demonstrated a relationship between working memory and achievement in math and reading, it is still unclear why working memory might be related to these abilities. In the present article, we examined the viability of several possible theories in 2 separate analyses of math and reading. In each case, we contrasted the…

Student motivation research seeks to uncover greater understanding of when, how, and why students succeed or fail in school settings. Self-determination theory has been at the forefront of helping educational stakeholders answer questions on student motivation. This study investigates the motivation mediation model proposed by self-determination…

Enjoyment is one of the most relevant and frequently experienced discrete emotions for both teachers and students in classroom learning contexts. Based on theories of emotion transmission between interaction partners, we propose a reciprocal effects model linking teachers' and students' enjoyment in class. The model suggests that there are…

In this paper, we develop an information distortion model (IDM) of social class differences in self-beliefs and values. The IDM combines psychological biases on frame-of-reference effects with sociological foci on ability stratification. This combination is hypothesized to lead to working-class children having more positive math self-beliefs and…

School-average achievement is often reported to have positive effects on individual achievement (peer spillover effect). However, it is well established that school-average achievement has negative effects on academic self-concept (big-fish-little-pond effect [BFLPE]) and that academic self-concept and achievement are positively correlated and…

Models of irregular word reading that take into account both child- and word-level predictors have not been evaluated in typically developing children and children with reading difficulty (RD). The purpose of the present study was to model individual differences in irregular word reading ability among 5th grade children (N = 170), oversampled for…

This study examined achievement trajectories in mathematics and reading from school entry through the end of middle school with linear and nonlinear growth curves in 2 large longitudinal data sets (National Longitudinal Study of Youth--Children and Young Adults and Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten Cohort [ECLS-K]). The S-shaped…

Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,364) and 2-level hierarchical linear models with site fixed effects, we examined between- and within-child associations between teacher-child relationship closeness and conflict and standardized measures of children's…

Background: The Internal-External frame of reference (IE) model suggests that as self-concept in one domain goes up (e.g., English) self-concept in other domains (e.g., mathematics) should go down (ipsative self-concept hypothesis). Aims: To our knowledge this assumption has not been tested. Testing this effect also provides a context for…

Students' cognitive and motivational profiles have a large impact on their academic careers. The development of such profiles can partly be explained by the reciprocal internal/external frame of reference model (RI/E model). The RI/E model predicts positive and negative longitudinal effects between academic self-concepts and achievements within…

While the roles of student misbehavior and teacher self-efficacy in teacher burnout have been investigated, there is still a pressing need to determine the processes involved and the degree to which these generalize across early career teachers. The present research integrates findings on teacher self-efficacy, occupational stressors, and…

The present study revisited the unresolved issue of the long-term effects of part-time working intensity during high school on students' achievement, participation in postsecondary education, time allocation, and work-related values and expectations. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (N = 14,654), the effects of part-time…

Background: A four-wave longitudinal study tested the demands-resources model in the school context. Aim: To examine the applicability of the demands-resources to the school context. Method: Data of 1,709 adolescents were gathered, once during the transition from comprehensive to post-comprehensive education, twice during post-comprehensive…

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…