Adolescence is a time in which peers gain in importance and more time is spent engaging in social interactions with them. Within these interactions, adolescents will also be confronted with moral dilemmas, in which moral decisions need to be taken. The aim of the current study was to examine two factors that may influence moral decisions, namely…

Stage-Environment Fit Theory underlines the role of learning environments and their match with students' needs as crucial for students' motivation and learning. This study explores the mediation role of goal orientations in the interplay of academic self-concept and achievement in mathematics and verbal domains in student-directed and…

Using the dual process theoretical framework (Brandtstädter & Rothermund, 2002), we examined whether the tendency to pursue goals tenaciously (TEN), in conjunction with the tendency to flexibly adjust one's preferences (FLEX), would be beneficial or detrimental for high school students' self-reported life satisfaction and achievement on tests…

Fostering adolescents' self-efficacy and positive emotions through learning contexts which induce beneficial achievement goals can prevent motivational decline in adolescents. Achievement goal theory states that the learning context and gender moderate the interplay of self-efficacy, emotions, and achievement goals. This study compared female and…

Studies on mentored learning to teach commonly focus on the quality of formally arranged mentoring relationships, leaving aside the informal sources of support that surround the mentor-mentee dyad. In this exploratory study, we broaden the scope and investigate how two distinct formal mentoring approaches interact with the informal support…

The operationalization of performance-approach goals (PAGs) was found to be an important moderator of the associations between different PAGs and several educational outcomes. To explore this aspect in more detail, we conducted two studies with school students (N[subscript 1] = 425, mean age = 16.6 years, SD = 0.61; N[subscript 2] = 310, mean age…

It is generally accepted and well documented that mastery goal orientation positively affects students' learning behavior. However, less is known about this association in self-directed learning during adolescence, which additionally promotes student's positive emotions. This study tested whether positive emotions mediate the association between…

Research has shown that there are positive associations between students' goals and learning behavior. However, less is known about these associations for adolescent students in competency-based learning compared to adolescent students in teacher-directed learning. The current study was conceptualized with the aim of getting more in-depth…

We studied the role of the valence of female teachers' perceptions in predicting various student outcomes. Using a prospective design, at the beginning of Grade 5 (T1), we assessed evaluations by 43 female teachers of either mathematics or German, belonging to 22 secondary schools in Germany. We combined a qualitative measurement by using an…

Adolescence is important for the development of achievement motivation, including achievement goal pursuit. Longitudinal research is scarce on adolescents' goal development and its implications for academic outcomes. In our research, we first present a systematic review of findings on achievement goals in adolescence. Then we report 2 longitudinal…

Given the great influence gender identity issues have in educational settings, it is critical to understand how students, especially in the K-12 context, are affected and how this contributes to their academic success. This article deals with the potential that lies in teaching topics of gender identity in the additional language classroom.…

Participation in science is unevenly distributed among secondary school students, depending on gender, social class, and ethnicity. In the present study, the influence of the home environment on students' chemistry self-concept is investigated as a factor for explaining participation in science. For this, the sociological lens of chemistry capital…

Achievement goal theory is one of the most widespread motivation models within education research. Strong empirical support exists for the trichotomous model, comprising mastery-approach, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals. However, research also indicates problems with model transferability between contexts. In this study,…

Juniorstudy is a concept of the University of Rostock, which can be used by school students before starting their time at the University. Thus, it is an instrument of supporting the choice of study direction. Moreover, we have been able to show in our last cohort, that using Juniorstudy courses also helps to significantly enhance the knowledge…

New students arriving from different countries present a challenge to school systems as language barriers prevent them from being placed in regular classes immediately. In Germany, these students are often enrolled in "international classes" before being placed with their fellow classmates. The project "Biology for Everyone"…