School transitions are important phases in students' educational experiences. The current study aimed to explore the trajectories of academic and social motivation across the transition from elementary to middle school. Participants (N = 415) were sampled from six elementary schools; 55% transitioned after sixth grade (transition) and 45% remained…

An emerging body of research has evaluated the role of growth mindset in educational achievement, yet little work has focused on the unique role of mindset to standardized reading outcomes. Our study presents 4 key outcomes in a sample of 195 fourth-grade students. First, we evaluated the dimensionality of general and reading-specific mindset and…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that a nonlinear relationship exists between a performance-classroom climate and the reading achievement of adolescent students with learning disabilities (LD). Participants were 62 students with LD (Grades 5-9) from public elementary schools in northern Greece. Classroom climate was…

Academic cheating within the middle grades has become a prevalent schooling dilemma for teachers and administrators. Among the various contextual and cognitive factors that promote academic cheating is home-school dissonance, which has been shown to predict the phenomenon among high school students. The current study extends this line of research…

It is often argued that enhancement of self-beliefs should be one of the key goals of education. However, very little is known about the relation between self-beliefs and performance when students move from primary to secondary school in highly differentiated educational systems with early tracking. This large-scale longitudinal cohort study…

Contemporary models highlight the need to cultivate cognitive and psychosocial factors in developing domain-specific talent. This model was the basis for the current study where high ability youth with self-reported social difficulties (n = 28, 12 with a coexisting disability) participated in a social skills and talent development intervention…

The current study aimed to explore the concept of transition self-efficacy, which is defined as individuals' subjective evaluation of their ability to execute the actions required for a successful transition from elementary to middle school. The study followed a sample of 128 sixth-grade students for 2 consecutive years (before and after the…

Person-centered analyses of achievement goals have been scarce in studies of elementary school children. In this investigation, the authors examined the natural combinations of achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance) among 3rd grade students (N = 195) and how clusters differed in self-, teacher-, and peer-reported…

Although students' motivational frameworks (entity vs. incremental) have been linked to academic achievement, little is known about how early this link emerges and how motivational frameworks develop in the first place. In a year-long study (student N = 424, Teacher N = 58), we found that, as early as 1st and 2nd grade, children who endorsed an…

This study investigated early adolescent friendship selection and social influence with regard to academic motivation (self-efficacy and intrinsic value), engagement (effortful and disruptive behavior), and achievement (GPA calculated from report card grades) among 6th graders (N = 587, 50% girls at Wave 1; N = 576, 52% girls at Wave 2) followed…

Learning algebra is difficult for many students in part because of an emphasis on the memorization of abstract rules. Algebraic reasoners across expertise levels often rely on perceptual-motor strategies to make these rules meaningful and memorable. However, in many cases, rules are provided as patterns to be memorized verbally, with little overt…

Self-efficacy forecasts student persistence and achievement in challenging subjects. Thus, it is important to understand factors that contribute to students' self-efficacy, a key factor in their success in math and science. The current cross-sectional study examined the contribution of students' gender and math and science anxiety as well as…

This study investigated whether a diagnostic testing condition leads to stereotype threat effects for African American children (n = 198) at an urban elementary school. Results indicated that presenting a reading test as diagnostic of abilities hindered the performance of African American children aware of racial stereotypes but not of those…

The purpose of this study was to explore the learning strategies used by ethnically diverse learners and to investigate the relationships among the constructs of classroom goal structure, achievement goal orientation, motivation and self-regulated learning in an ethnically diverse population of fourth and fifth grade learners (n = 396). Goal…

The longitudinal study of the 2005-06 preschool in Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) found short-term gains during the preschool year, but limited impact by kindergarten and no average impact by the end of 3rd grade on achievement, retention rates, special education placements, or attendance. Small sample sizes limit conclusions that can be…