The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a simple motivational treatment (consisting of immediate feedback, goal setting, and positive reinforcement) on the reading performance of an 11-year-old boy with learning difficulties. We applied an ABAB reversal design to test the impact of our approach. The dependent measure was the…

This study investigates students' motivation during experimentation in geography lessons by implementing a newly developed experimental kit on soils (GeoBox) in Germany. The study focuses on a first evaluation by means of a one-group pretest/posttest design. Fifth-grade students (N = 166) answered a questionnaire pertaining to regular geography…

Studies have shown that teacher perceptions of student achievement influence teacher-student interactions, subsequently affecting student outcomes. However, teachers may also take note of and respond to the motivation and engagement of their students in a differential way, which could affect student outcomes as well. In the present study, we thus…

Students' intrinsic motivation to read, which is relevant to all forms of learning, tends to decline throughout secondary school. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), this study examines whether this downward trend is slowed when students perceive greater autonomy support in the classroom. We used large-scale panel data from the NEPS…

To examine developmental processes, intervention effects, or both, longitudinal studies often aim to include measurement intervals that are equally spaced for all participants. In reality, however, this goal is hardly ever met. Although different approaches have been proposed to deal with this issue, few studies have investigated the potential…

Although several longitudinal studies have confirmed that need-supportive teacher behaviour shapes intrinsic motivation in school, longitudinal studies on its role for intrinsic reading motivation are lacking. To fill in this gap, this study investigated whether changes in selected aspects of student-perceived teacher need-supportive behaviour in…

This paper presents evidence how pupils choose different types of non-monetary rewards for educational attainment. These rewards are external to the learning process, but unlike cash-for-grades rewards internal to the practice of schooling. We collected data from a non-incentivized survey and an incentivized survey, which was part of a larger…

Expectancy-value theory (EVT) is a popular framework to understand and improve students' motivation. Unfortunately, limited research has verified whether EVT predictions generalize to students with low levels of cognitive ability. This study relies on Grade 5 and 8 data from 177 students with low levels of cognitive ability and a matched sample of…

The aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of private tutoring on parental involvement and the parent-child relationship. Seventy-six students voluntarily participated in the longitudinal study (38 students newly signed up for private tutoring and a matched control group). Data were collected with a student questionnaire that was…

Plants have an enormous importance for life on earth but are often overlooked. This phenomenon called plant blindness is reinforced as students prefer to spend their recreation time with modern media rather than in nature. Mobile devices have become an omnipresent part of students' everyday lives. Nevertheless, direct experiences with plants are…

Research on learning from errors gives reason to assume that errors provide a high potential to facilitate deep learning if students are willing and able to take these learning opportunities. The first aim of this study was to analyse whether beliefs about errors as learning opportunities can be theoretically and empirically distinguished from…

The observation of living animals in school laboratories provides authentic views of biological research. Various studies stress the importance of primary experiences in biology classes. However, educational films may serve as an alternative in some cases. The aim of this study was to investigate student motivation before and after treatments,…

School motivation and attachment typically decline after the transition to middle school. According to the stage-environment fit approach, extracurricular activities are supposed to promote motivation. However, research has shown that the effects depend on the quality of the activities, which usually is measured by assessing students' individual…

Previous research has found conflicting evidence in studies where students participate in the selection of their course topics in educational settings. Katz and Assor (2007), for example, have argued that the increase in student motivation is probably not due to the mere act of choosing, but to the value of the options with respect to personal…

During the transition from elementary school to secondary school, in Germany, students are assigned to different school tracks, academic or non-academic, that differ markedly in compositional and institutional characteristics, e.g., the level of cognitive activation and performance standards are higher in academic tracks than in non-academic…