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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, higher educational institutions worldwide switched to emergency distance learning in early 2020. The less structured environment of distance learning forced students to regulate their learning and motivation more independently. According to self-determination theory (SDT), satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and social relatedness affects intrinsic motivation, which in turn relates to more active or passive learning behavior. As the social context plays a major role for basic need satisfaction, distance learning may impair basic need satisfaction and thus intrinsic motivation and learning behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between basic need satisfaction and procrastination and persistence in the context of emergency distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cross-sectional study. We also investigated the mediating role of intrinsic motivation in this relationship. Furthermore, to test the universal importance of SDT for intrinsic motivation and learning behavior under these circumstances in different countries, we collected data in Europe, Asia and North America. A total of N = 15,462 participants from Albania, Austria, China, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Poland, Malta, North Macedonia, Romania, Sweden, and the US answered questions regarding perceived competence, autonomy, social relatedness, intrinsic motivation, procrastination, persistence, and sociodemographic background. Our results support SDT's claim of universality regarding the relation between basic psychological need fulfilment, intrinsic motivation, procrastination, and persistence. However, whereas perceived competence had the highest direct effect on procrastination and persistence, social relatedness was mainly influential via intrinsic motivation., Funding agencies:Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF)MEGA Bildungsstiftung COV20-025University of Vienna

Background: The initial preference task (IPT) is an implicit measure that has featured prominently in the literature and enjoys high popularity because it offers to provide an unobtrusive and objective assessment of self-esteem that is easy to administer. However, its use for self-esteem assessment may be limited because of weak associations with direct personality measures. Moreover, moderator effects of sample- and study-related variables need investigation to determine the value of IPT-based assessments of self-esteem. Methods: Conventional and grey-literature database searches, as well as screening of reference lists of obtained articles, yielded a total of 105 independent healthy adult samples (N = 17,777) originating from 60 studies. Summary effect estimates and subgroup analyses for potential effect moderators (e.g., administration order, algorithm, rating type) were calculated by means of meta-analytic random- and mixed-effects models. Moreover, we accounted for potential influences of publication year, publication status (published vs. not), and participant sex in a weighted stepwise hierarchical multiple meta-regression. We tested for dissemination bias through six methods. Results: There was no noteworthy correlation between IPT-based implicit and explicit self-esteem (r = .102), indicating conceptual independence of these two constructs. Effects were stronger when the B-algorithm was used for calculation of IPT-scores and the IPT was administered only once, whilst all other moderators did not show significant influences. Regression analyses revealed a somewhat stronger (albeit non-significant) effect for men. Moreover, there was no evidence for dissemination bias or a decline effect, although effects from published studies were numerically somewhat stronger than unpublished effects. Discussion: We show that there is no noteworthy association between IPT-based implicit and explicit self-esteem, which is broadly consistent with dual-process models of impli

Evidence-based interventions to promote lifelong learning are needed not only in continuing education but also in schools, which lay important cornerstones for lifelong learning. The present article reports evaluation results about the effectiveness of one such training programme (TALK). TALK aims to systematically implement the enhancement of lifelong learning in secondary schools by optimizing teaching in terms of developing pupils’ competencies for lifelong learning. TALK is conducted within the framework of a three-semester course of studies for secondary school teachers. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of TALK, a questionnaire study with 1144 pupils was conducted in the form of a pretest–posttest–posttest design for both training and control groups. Multivariate multilevel growth curve analyses showed the benefit of TALK in terms of both pupils’ perceptions of classroom instructions and their individual motivation. Finally, TALK’s contribution to promote lifelong learning in schools is discussed and implications are given.

Achievement goal orientations are important for students ongoing motivation. Students with a mastery goal orientation show the most advantageous achievement and motivational patterns. Much research has been conducted to identify classroom structures which promote students mastery goal orientation. The TARGET framework is one example of these efforts and provides six instructional dimensions (task, authority, recognition, grouping, evaluation, time), which should form a classroom structure that fosters a mastery goal orientation. The aim of this study was to examine the entire multi–dimensional TARGET framework and its impact on mastery goal orientation in a longitudinal study with 1680 secondary school students. CFAs confirmed the existence of one latent factor TARGET comprising the six proposed dimensions. This study also provides the first empirical evidence, based on longitudinal data, that TARGET has a positive impact on student mastery goal orientations.