One of the ways in which schools try to improve students' motivation is through making learning meaningful for students. The concept of meaningful learning, however, has been defined in various ways in the literature. This small-scale in-depth study focused on meaningful learning in mathematics in upper-primary education. We investigated what…

School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about increases in educational inequality. We examined the magnitude of the impact of the first school closure for vulnerable student groups in particular. This study was conducted among 886 Grade 3-5 students in the Netherlands in schools serving a high percentage of students from…

Although previous research has shown the potential of innovative learning for enhancing motivation and learning outcomes, further understanding is needed on which aspects of IL are most effective and whether these are equally motivating for different types of students. The present study investigated how developments in students' motivation and…

Background: The multiple goal perspective posits that certain combinations of achievement goals are more favourable than others in terms of educational outcomes. Aims: This study aimed to examine longitudinally whether students' achievement goal profiles and transitions between profiles are associated with developments in self-reported and…

This study's aim was to examine the prevalence, development and domain specificity of fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school students' achievement goal profiles. Achievement goals were measured for language and mathematics among 722 pupils at three points in time. These data were analysed through latent profile analysis and latent transition…

To gain insight in developmental trajectories of motivation during upper primary school, the present study focused on how different aspects of students' motivation, i.e., task-orientation, self-efficacy, and school investment develop from grade three to six of primary school and how these developments differ for boys and girls, and students with…

The present study investigated the effects of socioeconomic and ethnic classroom composition on developments in students' motivation, sense of classroom belonging, and achievement. A sample of 722 primary school students completed questionnaires from 3rd to 6th grade. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that the reading comprehension scores of…

The present study examined teacher attitudes toward dyslexia and the effects of these attitudes on teacher expectations and the academic achievement of students with dyslexia compared to students without learning disabilities. The attitudes of 30 regular education teachers toward dyslexia were determined using both an implicit measure and an…

In the present study it has been examined how children's creative writing tasks may contribute to teachers' understanding of children's values. Writings of 300 elementary school children about what they would do if they were the boss of The Netherlands were obtained and seemed to reflect different types of values. Most children were concerned with…