Adolescents' academic achievement goals are associated with their perceptions of teacher and peer goals. Earlier research focused on perceived teacher goals, mostly disregarding perceived peer goals' effects. However, since peer-group influence becomes prominent during adolescence, research on students' perceptions of both peer and teacher goals…

Questions about purpose, life meaning, and life satisfaction drive central debates about what good education should look like in schools. This study compares adolescent purposes, life meaning, social support and life satisfaction in Singapore and Israel. Meaning in life refers to finding one's significance; purpose uses this significance in ways…

This study investigates the association between mentoring and future expectations of youth in residential placements in Israel, and how family engagement during care and sense of belonging mediate this relationship. The participants included 213 adolescents (16-19 years old). Structural equation modeling revealed that mentoring contributed to the…

This study explores the experiences of homosexual teenagers who are members of the Israeli lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth organization called Israel Gay Youth. Through an interview-based study with members and counselors, this study reveals how although various therapeutic practices take place during the weekly meetings, all…

As one key element of establishing a superhero persona, many superhero myths are based on the principle of experiencing parental loss at an early age. This study examined the impact of group bibliotherapy using superhero stories with children and adolescents who have experienced parental absence. The 187 participants who resided in foster care…

Perfectionism consists of personal predispositions and attitudes toward performance. Although there is some disagreement in the field regarding how to best define and measure perfectionism, most studies have supported a distinction between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism. The current study examines a model in which students' perceptions of…

In recent years young people's lives have been characterized by postponement of developmental timetables, inconsistencies of transitions, and loss of direction in life. Data from a longitudinal study of Israeli young adults show that the capacity for setting realistic work and love goals reflects inner strengths and is associated with adaptive…

Achievement goal theory distinguishes between mastery goals (the goals of developing competence) and performance goals (the goals of demonstrating competence) [Ames [1992] "Journal of Educational Psychology" 84: 261-271]. In this study, we employed this theory aiming to better understand why adolescents' motivation to learn science…

This is a mix methods follow-up study in which we reconfirm the findings from an earlier study [Vedder-Weiss & Fortus [2011] "Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(2)", 199-216]. The findings indicate that adolescents' declining motivation to learn science, which was found in many previous studies [Galton [2009] "Moving to…

There is a growing awareness that science education should center not just on knowledge acquisition but developing the foundation for lifelong learning. However, for intentional learning of science to occur in school, out of school, and after school, there needs to be a motivation to learn science. Prior research had shown that students'…

It is widely accepted that conflict-related goals, skills, and strategies are linked. Yet it is rarely explored how these factors relate to each other and how they jointly promote or inhibit aggressive behaviors. The aim of this study is to provide answers to these questions. Data were derived from a structured questionnaire administered to 660…

A one-year follow-up study examined the role of developmental challenges, personality (dependency, self-criticism, and personal efficacy), and support systems in adaptation among Israeli emerging adults (N = 236) participating in a preparatory academic program. Participants were assessed during their enrollment in the preparatory academic program…

Over the past decade Israel has experienced dramatic change in the legitimization of same-sex relationships. In recent years the LGBT social movement has succeeded in mobilizing public support not only for the rights and well-being of adults, but also for the younger generation-LGBT youth. Using a large-scale survey of the Israeli LGBT community…

This study investigated the relations between early adolescents' academic motivational orientations and an aspect of quality of friendship: intimacy. Two-hundred and three Jewish-Israeli seventh grade students responded to surveys asking them about their academic achievement goals and about characteristics of their friendships. Variable-centered…

This study examined the effect of loneliness, gender, and two dimensions of prospective life domains on adolescent future orientation. Future orientation was studied in four prospective domains: social relations, marriage and family, higher education and work and career. These domains are described in terms of two dimensions: theme (relational vs.…