Open Access

This two-wave longitudinal study examined how developmental changes in students’ mastery goal orientation, academic effort, and intrinsic motivation were predicted by student-perceived support of motivational support (support for autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in secondary classrooms. The study extends previous knowledge that showed that support for motivational support in class is related to students’ intrinsic motivation as it focused on the developmental changes of a set of different motivational variables and the relations of these changes to student-perceived motivational support in class. Thus, differential classroom effects on students’ motivational development were investigated. A sample of 1088 German students was assessed in the beginning of the school year when students were in grade 8 (Mean age = 13.70, SD = 0.53, 54% girls) and again at the end of the next school year when students were in grade 9. Results of latent change models showed a tendency toward decline in mastery goal orientation and a significant decrease in academic effort from grade 8 to 9. Intrinsic motivation did not decrease significantly across time. Student-perceived support of competence in class predicted the level and change in students’ academic effort. The findings emphasized that it is beneficial to create classroom learning environments that enhance students’ perceptions of competence in class when aiming to enhance students’ academic effort in secondary school classrooms.

Abstract Introduction Using the situated expectancy–value theory, it becomes possible to explain motivational functioning across alternating learning conditions not only at a particular moment but also over time. The situated expectancy–value theory provides evidence for the critical role of context. The present research examines how adolescents' success expectancies, task values, and effort develop when the conditions of the academic environment change. It also evaluates whether adolescents adopt more adaptive expectancy–value profiles in response to the need‐based nature of self‐directed learning as an extension of regular instruction. Within the self‐directed learning approach under investigation, adolescents take responsibility for their own learning processes. Methods The present research offers insights into the expectancy–value profiles of 754 German adolescents (Mage = 13.56; SD = 1.2; 49.4% female). A four‐wave study was used to examine perceptions of self‐efficacy, intrinsic value, utility value, and effort. Latent profile analyses and latent transition analyses were employed. Results Notably, the results provide evidence that expanding instruction via self‐directed learning intervals that occur for 1 week per semester contributes to more favorable expectancy–value profiles within a student's favorite subject. A mixed profile (highly confident, hardly interested) disappeared. Instead, success expectations aligned more closely with adolescents' task values and effort. All profiles settled at a higher level. Conclusions The findings indicate that instruction that is expanded via self‐directed learning intervals has positive consequences for motivational profiles over time. An initial self‐directed learning episode led to a shift to more interested profile groups. The continuation of a positive trend even after a self‐directed learning interval indicates that adolescents are able to continually adapt their learning to their needs during teacher‐directed instruction. This study provides clues about how to design curricula in a way that counteracts the downward trend in students' motivation to learn.

Research has shown that parental pressure is negatively whereas parental support is positively associated with various scholastic outcomes, such as school engagement, motivation, and achievement. However, only few studies investigate boys' and girls' perception of mother and father pressure/support in detail. This might be particularly essential when it comes to girls' and boys' achievement in STEM subjects, as girls and boys might profit differently from parental pressure/support regarding their achievement in STEM and vice versa. This study aims to shed light on this topic and explores potential within—and over time associations between students' perception of parental pressure/support and grades in mathematics and biology. Using self-report data from 1,088 8th grade students at T1 (Mage = 13.70, SD = 0.53, 54% girls) from Brandenburg, Germany, multigroup cross-lagged models were conceptualized with Mplus. The results indicate that there are gender differences in the interplay of students' grades in mathematics, biology, and their perception of parental pressure and support: Whereas, mother support plays a central beneficial role for girls' achievement in STEM subjects as well as for the other parental variables over time, for boys mother support is negatively associated with math performance over time. Within-time associations further show that boys—in contrast to girls—do not benefit from any parental support regarding their performance in mathematics or biology. Finally, results suggest that the relationship between adolescents' STEM achievement and parental pressure/support is rather mono-directional than bi-directional over time.

The current cross-national study investigates the potential buffering role of socio-motivational relationships for the association of achievement drive (AD) and test anxiety (TX) in secondary school students from Canada and Germany. One thousand and eighty-eight students (54% girls, Mage = 13.71, SD = 0.53, age span 12–15 years) from the state of Brandenburg and 389 students from Quebéc (55.9% girls, Mage = 13.43, SD = 0.82, age span 12–16 years) were asked about their socio-motivational relationships with their teachers and peers, their drive for achievement, and TX. Multigroup latent moderated structural equations were conducted to test for the moderator role of socio-motivational relationships that would buffer feelings of TX related to the drive for achievement. The analyses revealed the two-sided role socio-motivational relationships can have for students with different levels of AD; intensifying or mitigating feelings of TX. Thereby, the results of this study extend the buffering hypothesis by Cohen and Wills (1985). Cross-national differences between Canada and Germany were found concerning the studied moderators on the association of AD and TX: While for German students teacher–student relationships acted as moderator, for Canadian students student–student relationships and teachers acting as positive motivators displayed a moderator role.

According to the conservation of resources theory, social support provides resources to help overcome challenges. Although some empirical findings have emphasized the pivotal role of teacher support and/or peer support for students’ stress and academic achievement, multilevel analyses that consider contextual class and individual student effects are scarce. The current study addresses this gap and further includes gender, socio-economic status, and neuroticism as covariates. Multilevel analyses in Mplus were conducted. All measures were taken at the student level and then aggregated to the classroom level to estimate class-level relationships. Results revealed that on the individual level, teacher support was related to higher ability to cope and lower levels of helplessness, while on the class level, peer support by classmates was related to higher ability to cope and academic achievement. The context effects also show that in classes with higher peer support, students are more likely to benefit in terms of coping ability and achievement, whereas in classes with higher teacher support, students tend to show less coping ability.