Open Access

Der Schul- und Unterrichtsalltag wird maßgeblich durch soziale Interaktionen geprägt. Sowohl Beziehungen mit Lehrer*innen als auch mit Schülern und Schülerinnen (Peers) tragen zentral zu Lehr-/Lernprozessen und persönlicher Entwicklung der Heranwachsenden bei. Bei Lehrkräften entscheiden sie über Erfolg und Misserfolg beruflichen Handelns und finden dementsprechend zunehmend auch in der Lehrer*innenbildung Berücksichtigung. Was lange Zeit als „Kuschelpädagogik“ belächelt wurde, entpuppt sich – auch durch aktuelle Befunde aus der Hirnforschung – als einer der wichtigsten Bausteine für erfolgreiche Lehr-Lernprozesse: die Qualität der sozialen Beziehungen – subsumiert unter dem Begriff der sozialen Eingebundenheit. In diesem Band werden sowohl theoretische Beiträge als auch aktuelle empirische Befunde zu Lehrer*innen-Schüler*innen-Beziehungen, Schüler*innen-Schüler*innen-Beziehungen und Beziehungen in der Lehrer*innenbildung vereint. Der Band richtet sich an Personen, die sich mit sozialen Beziehungen im Bereich Schule und Lehrer*innenbildung beschäftigen, sei es durch eigene Forschungstätigkeiten, das Studium oder eine Tätigkeit in ebendieser Praxis.

Background This study examines the relationship between adolescents’ biophysiological stress (i.e. cortisol, alpha-amylase and oxidative stress) and the development of grit and school engagement over one school year. Aims The study aims to identify how objective stress affects grit and three dimensions of school engagement. Based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the study considers lower- and higher-track school students and their genders. Sample The sample consists of secondary school students (N = 82; MAge = 13.71; SD = 0.67; 48% girls) from Germany. Methods Students participated in a questionnaire and a biophysiological study in the first semester (t1) of the school year and completed the same questionnaire at the end of the school year (t2). After conducting whole-sample analysis, a multi-group cross-lagged panel model was calculated to identify differences among students at lower- and higher-track schools. Results Whole-sample analysis reveals that students who exhibit high levels of cortisol report lower cognitive school engagement at t2, whereas students who exhibit high levels of alpha-amylase exhibit less grit at t2. Additionally, lower-track students who exhibited high cortisol levels reported lower cognitive and emotional school engagement throughout the school year. Furthermore, higher-track students with high oxidative stress levels reported lower grit and behavioural school engagement at t2. Conclusions Examining the relationship between biophysiological stress markers and grit and school engagement of students at lower- and higher-track schools indicates that the educational context and its specific subculture shapes physiological stress reactions, which are related differently to grit and engagement dimensions.

Introduction: The topics of bullying, school anxiety and school absenteeism are of steady interest for the scientific community in recent decades. However, it seems surprising that investigations into the combination of these constructs are rare, especially considering their interconnectedness. Due to the lack of joint investigation of these factors, it is hardly possible to compare results of these related, yet distinct factors across other studies, let alone the predictive power of specific factors. The goal of the current study is to investigate how bullying, school anxiety and school absenteeism are related, considering the variables gender and grade level. Methods: For this purpose, N = 195 secondary school children in the 7th–9th grades in northern Germany were surveyed via self-report questionnaires and additionally collecting their school records. We present complex descriptive analyses with scales and subscales of bullying, anxiety and absenteeism. Further, a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach is utilized to discover the interconnectedness of the constructs. Results: On the one hand, the descriptive statistics show significant gender and grade level differences regarding bullying and anxiety. On the other hand, the SEM reveals that high values on the bullying victim scale are accompanied by significantly higher school displeasure (anxiety). School displeasure—as well as high bullying offender values—are associated with significantly more days of absence from school. Discussion: We discuss how school environment improvement through specific interventions such as the cognitive-behavioral approach, could aid to ameliorate this issue.

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.

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.