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The present study sought to investigate the friendship formation of ethnic in-and out-group friendships, as well as differences in stability and quality, while accounting for the network structure (such as the tendency to befriend friends of friends). We analyzed longitudinal data from 770 students from 42 Austrian primary school classes collected over the course of their last year of primary school. First, friendship prevalence, quality and stability were investigated using multiple regression quadratic assignment procedures. Then, friendship creation and stability were modeled over time using multilevel stochastic actor-oriented models. The results did not show significant differences between the creation of in-and out-group friendships; however, it was found that in-group friendships were more stable over time. The results further underscore the importance of considering network structure effects when analyzing intergroup friendship prevalence, creation, and stability.

Both self-regulation and external regulation are key to understanding adolescents' learning and positive development at school. However, evidence on the joint development of self-regulated learning and externally regulated learning during adolescence is lacking. In addition, the current knowledge on interrelations between the development of adolescents' self-regulated learning, externally regulated learning, behaviors of teachers and parents in terms of autonomy support and achievement pressure, and academic achievement is very limited. The present multilevel longitudinal analysis focusing on the domain of mathematics (N = 1,542 German adolescents; annual assessments from Grades 5 to 9; mean age at Grade 5 = 11.79 years, SD = 0.71, 51.75% female) addressed these gaps. Results from multilevel latent basic growth curve models showed that self- and externally regulated learning decreased over the 5 years at both the individual student and the class level. Changes in self- and externally regulated learning were linked: Classes with higher levels of self-regulated learning at Grade 5 showed a stronger decrease in externally regulated learning over time. Initial levels of and changes in student-reported teacher and parental autonomy support and achievement pressure were associated with self- and externally regulated learning at the individual student level; student-reported teacher autonomy support and self-regulated learning were also linked at the class level. Self-regulated learning related positively to standardized achievement test scores but not to adolescents' grades. This study adds to the scarce evidence base on different regulatory forms of adolescents' learning and can inform future research on adolescents' positive development and educational practice.

Students' engagement in class stems from academic and social motivations, which can be expressed through their academic and social achievement goals. Using a person-centered approach, we investigated the configurations of academic and social achievement goals and their relevance for aspects of students' academic (achievement, self-concept, goal structures) and social life (bullying, belonging). We relied on data from 1,759 Austrian secondary students. Latent profile analyses based on the students' academic mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals as well as social development, social demonstration-approach, and social demonstration-avoidance goals were conducted. Relations to aspects of students' social and academic life were investigated through structural equation modeling. We identified five profiles that were each differentially associated with these variables: (a) weak pursuit of all goals, (b) strong mastery and development but weak performance and demonstration goals, (c) strong mastery and development but moderate performance and demonstration goals, (d) strong mastery and strong performance goals paired with strong social development, demonstration-approach, and demonstration-avoidance goals. Findings from additional variable-centered analyses indicated that while profile analyses are helpful to explain how academic and social goals are combined within individuals, researchers primarily interested in explaining differences in students' academic and social functioning might derive clearer results through variable-centered approaches.

The purpose of this article is to report the development and implementation of a STEM teacher attraction intervention based on person-environment (and person-vocation) fit theory. Study 1 reports the administration of a 'realistic job preview' (RJP) intervention requiring participant responses, followed by experienced teacher feedback and a tailored fit message to 111 university students in STEM-related fields. Results showed a significant relationship between RJP performance and interest in a teaching career, even after controlling for prior career intentions. Study 2 reports the results from individual interviews with 14 university students studying STEM-related subjects on the factors contributing to career-decision making, especially regarding teaching as a career. The 16 codes were distilled into three themes: the role of personal reflection, critical influences on career decisions, and patterns of change. We conclude with suggestions for implementation of RJPs as a supplement to current attraction and recruitment approaches.

A central question in educational research is how classroom climate variables, such as teaching quality, goal structures, or interpersonal teacher behavior, are related to critical student outcomes, such as students' achievement and motivation. Student ratings are frequently used to measure classroom climate. When using student ratings to assess classroom climate, researchers first ask students to rate classroom climate characteristics and then aggregate the ratings on the class level. Multilevel latent variable modeling is then used to determine whether class-mean ratings of classroom climate are predictive of student outcomes and to correct for unreliability so that the relations can be estimated without bias. In this article, we adopt an optimal design perspective on this specific strategy. Specifically, after briefly recapping a prominent model in climate research, we show and explain (a) how statistical power can be maximized by choosing optimal numbers of classes and students per class given a fixed budget for conducting a study and (b) how the budget required to achieve a prespecified level of power can be minimized. Moreover, we present an example from research on teaching quality to illustrate the procedures and to provide guidance to researchers who are interested in studying the role of classroom climate. Also, we present a Shiny App that can be used to help find optimal designs for classroom climate studies. The app can be accessed at https://psychtools.shinyapps.io/optimalDesignsClassroomClimate

This work refined the complex associations between aggression (aggressive behavior and victimization) and school functioning in terms of school liking, interest, achievement, and social class climate. First, using longitudinal multilevel structural equation modeling, it was shown that aggressive behavior and victimization preceded lower school liking, achievement, and social class climate at the individual student level over 1 year (Sample 1: 665 Austrian preadolescents, 46.62% girls, first wave: M[subscript age] = 11.68 years, SD = 0.84). Second, the results from multilevel latent profile analysis revealed relations between aggression and school functioning profiles and allowed identifying distinct latent classes at the classroom level based on the relative frequency of these profiles (Sample 2: 1,639 Austrian preadolescents, 47.59% girls, M[subscript age] = 11.70 years, SD = 0.86). Aligned with cumulative risk perspectives, aggressor-victims belonged significantly more often to the least adaptive school functioning profile and the less adaptive latent class at the classroom level than uninvolved youth.

This integrative review aims to render a systematic account of the role that teachers' psychological characteristics, such as their motivation and personality, play for critical outcomes in terms of teacher effectiveness, teachers' well-being, retention, and positive interpersonal relations with multiple stakeholders (e.g., students, parents, principals, colleagues). We first summarize and evaluate the available evidence on relations between psychological characteristics and these outcomes derived in existing research syntheses (meta-analyses, systematic reviews). We then discuss implications of the findings regarding the eight identified psychological characteristics--self-efficacy, causal attributions, expectations, personality, enthusiasm, emotional intelligence, emotional labor, and mindfulness--for research and educational practice. In terms of practical recommendations, we focus on teacher selection and the design of future professional development activities as areas that particularly profit from a profound understanding of the relative importance of different psychological teacher characteristics in facilitating adaptive outcomes.

The Marland Report included many correct observations about gifted education. Some findings, for example, were based on Project Talent, a large-scale population representative longitudinal study of the US high school population. This paper uses the intersection of cognitive aptitudes and gifted education as a framework and synthesizes studies using prospective longitudinal data from numerous sources. Additional retrospective data on US high achievers are reviewed, as are longitudinal findings from other countries. All these sources will be used to reevaluate a selected set of claims made in the Marland Report. Specifically, we explore (a) the definition and understanding of gifted students; (b) the identification of and longitudinal research on gifted students; and (c) we briefly discuss the context of the Marland Report in the wider history of education policy and reform in the US, including how to best support talented students using information from the field of education policy.

The field of personality psychology could contribute to the aims of educational research, but several misconceptions may hold back this synthesis. We address three "misconceptions" about personality psychology that are surprisingly pervasive outside of that field: that there are personality types, that personality is fixed, and that the existence of personality implies that situations are unimportant. We then cover four ways that personality psychology can assist educational aims: personality can be used to (1) boost our ability to accurately predict educational outcomes, (2) inform educational interventions, (3) support the academic development of all learners in personalised learning interventions, and (4) be employed as target outcomes for education. In the process, we show how personality relates to important educational outcomes, outline theoretical links with educationally relevant concepts like socio-emotional skills, and include an overview of current personality scales that can be used when getting started. Through this paper, we hope to stimulate and enthuse researchers to advance synthesis between the disciplines.

While personal performance-approach goals (PAp goals) have already been successfully bifurcated into normative and appearance PAp goals, the same distinction has not yet been applied to performance-approach goal structures (PAp goal structures). The present study therefore aimed to (a) test the factorial two-level structure of PAp goal structures to establish whether a distinction between normative and appearance components is empirically supported, and (b) explore relations to achievement and approach-oriented achievement goals (mastery-approach goals, normative and appearance personal PAp goals). This study relied on a sample of 1,004 secondary school students (53.38% females, 49 classes). Results from multilevel confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a model with two separate normative and appearance PAp goal structure factors on the individual student level, and one overall PAp goal structure factor on the classroom level fit the data best. On the individual student level, normative PAp goal structures positively predicted achievement, whereas appearance PAp goal structures negatively predicted achievement. Each PAp goal structure type showed the strongest relation to the matching personal PAp goal, but no relations to mastery-approach goals were found. On the classroom level, the high associations between the overall PAp goal structure and personal PAp goals raised concerns on their empirical distinctiveness.

Background: Situational judgement tests (SJTs) measure non-cognitive attributes and have recently drawn attention as a selection method for initial teacher education programmes. To date, very little is known about adverse impact in teacher selection SJT performance. Aims: This study aimed to shed light on adverse effects of gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status (SES) on SJT scores, by exploring both main effects and interactions, and considering both overall SJT performance and separate SJT domain scores (mindset, emotion regulation, and conscientiousness). Sample: A total of 2,808 prospective teachers from the United Kingdom completed the SJTs as part of the initial stage of selection into a teacher education programme. Methods: In addition to SJT scores, the variables gender (female vs. male), ethnicity (majority group vs. minority group), and home SES background (higher SES status vs. lower SES status) were used in the analyses. Regression models and moderated regression models were employed. Results and conclusions: Results from the regression models revealed that gender effects (females scoring higher than males) were restricted to emotion regulation, while ethnicity effects (ethnic majority group members scoring higher than ethnic minority group members) emerged for SJT overall scores and all three domains. Moderated regression modelling results furthermore showed significant interactions (gender and ethnicity) for SJT overall scores and two domains. Considering the importance of reducing subgroup differences in selection test scores to ensure equal access to teacher education, this study's findings are a critical contribution. The partially differentiated results for overall vs. domain-specific scores point towards the promise of applying a domain-level perspective in research on teacher selection SJTs.

A cultural pluralism climate values differences between groups and fosters learning about different cultures. This study investigated the relation between four facets of cultural pluralism climate (learning about multicultural topics, learning about intercultural relations, interest shown by teachers, interest shown by non-immigrant students) and immigrant students' self-esteem, academic self-concept, achievement and perceived discrimination. We furthermore tested whether academic self-concept, self-esteem, and perceived discrimination mediated the relation between the four facets and achievement. Relying on a sample of 700 immigrant students (M[subscript age] = 12.62 years; SD = 1.12; 45.4% female) from 87 Austrian secondary school classes, all effects were estimated at two levels (L1, individual student level; L2, classroom level) in multilevel mediation models. It was shown that learning about multicultural topics and intercultural relations, and interest shown by teachers positively predicted academic self-concept and self-esteem at L1. Learning about intercultural relations negatively predicted discrimination at L1. At L2, learning about intercultural relations positively predicted academic self-concept and negatively predicted perceived discrimination. None of the facets predicted achievement at L1 and L2. However, academic self-concept (positively) and self-esteem (negatively) fully mediated the effect of learning about multicultural topics, learning about intercultural relations, and interest shown by teachers on achievement at L1.

Recent years have witnessed a burgeoning interest in the study of teacher motivation. Although links between teacher motivation and teacher well-being, commitment to the profession, and other teacher-related outcomes are well-documented, prior research on associations between teacher motivation and student outcomes has been less consistent. This article focuses on teacher motivation as situated within two prominent frameworks: self-determination theory and achievement goal theory. First, two systematic reviews of research on self-determination theory and achievement goal theory are conducted to examine whether, when, how, and why teachers' motivation may influence--or at least relate to--which student outcomes. The processes by which teacher motivation is associated with student outcomes, such as via specific instructional strategies, are also taken into account. Second, the question of why research on teacher motivation often fails to find consistent effects on student outcomes is considered, including where in the complex chain of events from teacher motivation to student outcomes the signal gets lost. Third, the need to study the reverse ordering of effects, reciprocal effects, and the dynamic interplay between teacher motivation and student outcome variables is discussed.

For national education systems, the goal of an effective teacher recruitment strategy is not simply to attract more applicants, but to attract high-quality applicants who are well suited to teaching and are likely to remain in the profession. The goal of this article is to examine teacher recruitment strategies in England and to propose new models to understand and improve these strategies. We began by reviewing personnel recruitment theories and research from education and related fields. Next, we analysed publicly available teacher recruitment strategies and messages from two key education organisations in England: the Department for Education (DfE) and Teach First. We then compared teacher recruitment strategies with strategies and models developed in health professions (as presented by the National Health Service). The findings highlight that recruitment strategy documents for DfE and Teach First emphasise administrative/system changes and personal utility messages, whereas the public-facing advertisements focus on personal utility, social utility, and to a lesser extent, the personal attributes deemed to be important for teaching. We conclude by proposing how teacher recruitment strategies in England could be more strongly grounded in relevant theoretical and empirical work.

Achievement goal theory includes both personal motivational features (achievement goals) and contextual features (goal structures). The theory holds that the prevailing goal structures in learning environments (such as the classroom) influence the achievement goals students adopt. This meta-analysis (k = 68, N = 47,975) examined the strength of the relationships between student ratings of goal structures (mastery-approach goal structures, mastery-avoidance goal structures, performance-approach goal structures, and performance-avoidance goal structures) and achievement goals (mastery-approach goals, mastery-avoidance goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals) as well as moderating variables. Results indicated that each achievement goal was most strongly related to its contextual counterpart. Educational level and world region moderated some of the relations, and for most combinations of goal structures and achievement goals, measures framing goal structures as a climate produced higher correlations than measures using the teacher as referent. Challenges and promising routes for future research and theory building are discussed.

This study investigates the effects of contextual and motivational factors as well as, crucially, their interaction in predicting university students' dropout intentions. We focus on context-related problems in students' degree program as contextual factors and students' personal best goals (PB goals) as motivational factors. The sample of this study comprised 432 university students (74.3% female) enrolled in master's degree programs at Austrian universities. Data was analyzed by means of structural equation modeling and latent moderated structural equation modeling. The results indicated that PB goals were negatively associated with dropout intentions, while context-related problems were positively associated with dropout intentions. In addition, the context-related problems × PB goals interaction effect proved significant and negatively predicted dropout intentions. By showing that the positive relation between context-related problems and dropout intentions can be reversed by increasing PB goals, we provide empirical evidence of the buffering effect of PB goals in the face of context-related problems.

This study investigated the gender-specific effects of social achievement goals -- i.e., social development goals, social demonstration approach goals, and social demonstration avoid goals -- on bullying perpetration in a sample of 788 adolescents (53.3% girls), taking into account the mediating role of sense of belonging and non-inclusive group norms. Two-group structural equation modeling results indicated that social demonstration approach goals positively predicted bullying perpetration for both genders. For girls, higher social development goals and for boys, higher social avoidance goals decreased bullying perpetration. Gender-specific effects of belonging and non-inclusive group norms on bullying perpetration occurred. For boys, non-inclusive group norms mediated the relation between all social achievement goals and bullying perpetration. Implications for future research and (gender-sensitive) bullying interventions are discussed.

The present article focuses on classroom climate effects in the context of multi-level structural equation modelling. We first discuss the need to appropriately model classroom climate as a classroom-level construct. We then analyse the effects of classroom climate (academic goal structures and social goal structures) on students' motivation in terms of achievement goals (mastery goals) in an empirical demonstration. This study relies on doubly latent multi-level structural equation modelling and draws on a sample of 1,645 Austrian secondary school students (52.8% girls, mean age = 14.32 years, SD = 1.42) from 83 mathematics classes. In addition, we address the question of whether and to what extent the results and interpretation differ if single-level analyses that solely account for the nested data structure by correcting standard errors are employed. Comparing the multi-level structural equation modelling results to the single-level results underlines the necessity of adequately disentangling effects at different levels. Our work is intended to raise awareness of how methodological choices affect substantive interpretations in classroom climate research, and to inform and provide guidance to (applied) researchers interested in studying the effects of classroom climate using multi-level structural equation modelling.

Background: Within-class consensus on mastery goal structures describes the extent to which students agree in their perceptions of mastery goal structures. Research on (work) teams suggests that higher levels of consensus within a group indicate a well-functioning social environment and are thus positively related to beneficial socio-emotional outcomes. However, the potential of within-class consensus to predict socio-emotional outcomes has not yet been explored in research on mastery goal structures. Aims: This study aimed to test whether within-class consensus on the three mastery goal structures dimensions of task, autonomy, and recognition/evaluation has predictive power for socio-emotional outcomes in terms of classroom climate, negative classmate reactions to errors, and cooperative learning. Sample: A total of 1,455 Austrian secondary school students (65.70% female) in 157 classrooms participated in this study. Methods: Students responded to items measuring their perceptions of mastery goal structures, classroom climate, error climate, and cooperative learning. Items assessing mastery goal structures, error climate, and cooperative learning referred to the subject of mathematics and items assessing classroom climate referred to positive classmate relations without focusing on a subject. Results: Results from multilevel structural equation models revealed that within-class consensus on all mastery goal structures dimensions predicted a less negative error climate. Additionally, consensus regarding task and autonomy predicted more frequent use of cooperative learning strategies, and consensus regarding task predicted a more positive classroom climate. Conclusions: Our findings show that higher levels of within-class consensus on mastery goal structures enhance beneficial socio-emotional outcomes. Moreover, the results emphasize the value of expanding the scope of educational research to the study of within-class consensus.