This study investigated the proposal that social dominance goals are an important, but overlooked, aspect of social goals for young adolescents' academic adjustment. Self-reports of social goals (dominance, intimacy, and popularity goals) early in the school year were used to predict subsequent engagement (self-reports and peer nominations of…

Motivational influences on help-seeking behavior in mathematics were studied with 203 seventh and eighth graders. Perceived benefits and threats were important influences on avoidance of help-seeking behavior, but only benefits predicted adaptive help seeking. Social competence had an indirect effect on avoidance of help seeking. (SLD)

Student motivation is a cause of great concern for educators at all levels, but perhaps never more so than during the middle school years. Teachers' observations about declines in student interest and confidence in academic tasks are borne out by a number of large-scale empirical studies. In this article, the author examines how teachers create…