In the last few decades, the assumption that the implementation of standardized tests might cause washback effects on language teaching and learning has become certainty. Researchers and practitioners report an increased use of 'teaching to the test' (TTT) practices, however, in current literature, consensus about which practices this includes is missing and operationalizations in studies vary greatly. Further, even though TTT is assumed to impair meaningful learning, no study so far examined students' perspective. The current study therefore used a multi-method approach to theoretically and empirically define TTT and develop a uniform measurement instrument, focusing on students' perspective of their English language teachers' practices. Results suggest that TTT is a multidimensional construct consisting merely of test preparation practices, but not changes in teaching style. Multilevel analyses showed adequate fit for two equally plausible models, good psychometric properties, and full measurement invariance of the instrument across gender, first language, and school type. The theory-based and empirically supported instrument therefore represents a valid and reliable measure for uniformly assessing perceived TTT in the language learning context. Our study paves the way for future research studying the effects that this specific type of washback might have on students' learning outcomes.

Adolescents spend most of their formative years in school, making it an important context to consider when investigating crises. A personal crisis that often has its onset during adolescence is depression. To gain a better understanding of depression in school, we explore possible individual and school-related risk factors and outcomes of depressive symptoms in line with current etiology models. First, we investigate the intersection of possible demographic risk factors of depression (female gender, immigration background, SES). Second, we explore school-related factors (conscientiousness, parental expectations, social inclusion) that might be associated with students’ depressive symptoms, and whether depressive symptoms mediate the effects of these school-related factors on school-functioning (grades, test anxiety). The representative data was collected in 30 Austrian secondary schools in a survey study with three waves. The sample consisted of 1874 12th-grade students from 93 classes. We used well-established self-report scales for all constructs that showed good reliability and students’ mean grades on the most recent tests. Analyses were pre-registered. In general, students experienced heightened depressive symptoms. More specifically, calculating a dummy-coded regression, we found female students with an immigration background and low SES to be the most burdened. The results of the mediation model showed depressive symptoms to partially mediate the association of conscientiousness, social inclusion, and parental expectations with test anxiety; this was not observed for grades. Furthermore, we only found conscientiousness to be positively associated with grades. Directions for future research and implications are discussed.

Despite widespread concerns that teaching to the test (TTT) as an (excessive) test preparation strategy undermines students' motivation, research has mainly focused on teacher statements and associations with achievement. Studies examining whether perceived TTT increases as exams approach and how this impacts students' motivation are lacking. Using Expectancy-Value Theory, this study longitudinally investigates changes in perceived TTT and academic motivation among N = 1855 secondary school students nearing graduation. Latent change score models revealed a significant increase in intrinsic motivation, importance, and grade selfefficacy but no influence of initial perceived TTT on motivational development. Perceived TTT increased significantly from grade 11 to 12, predicting changes in intrinsic motivation, importance, and utility but not perceived cost or self-efficacy. These findings challenge the belief that TTT inherently harms motivation, suggesting it may enhance some aspects of motivation when used strategically before exams. However, more studies are needed to understand the underlying mechanisms fully.

ZusammenfassungDie empirische Forschung liefert viele Hinweise auf Ansatzpunkte, um Herausforderungen an Schulen zu bewältigen und Bildungschancen zu erhöhen. Jedoch sind die Umsetzung dieser Erkenntnisse und vor allem der Transfer in die Fläche höchst anspruchsvoll, denn es müssen die Perspektiven und Möglichkeiten unterschiedlicher Akteur*innen aus den Bereichen Wissenschaft, Politik und Praxis sehr gut koordiniert werden. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurden in den letzten Jahren vermehrt Kooperationsprojekte mit dem Ziel gestartet, Kapazitäten unterschiedlicher Stakeholder und Akteur*innen aus schulischer Praxis, Wissenschaft sowie der politischen Ebene zu bündeln, um Schulen bei der Optimierung schulischer Prozesse zu unterstützen. In Anbetracht des komplexen Interaktionsfelds im Bildungssystem stellt sich die Frage, welche Bedingungen für ein Gelingen solcher Projekte bedeutsam sind. Der vorliegende Beitrag geht dieser Frage nach und erarbeitet Empfehlungen für die Durchführung von Projekten, in deren Rahmen Schulen durch ein Zusammenwirken von Wissenschaft, Politik und Praxis besser unterstützt werden können. Im Fokus steht dabei die Etablierung einer zielgerichteten und partnerschaftlichen Zusammenarbeit, die von der Projektkonzeption, über die Umsetzung und Implementierung und die Gestaltung der wissenschaftlichen Begleitung bis hin zur Dissemination von Erfahrungen und Ergebnissen reicht.

This first-of-its-kind meta-analysis (N = 79 studies; 56,552 students; k = 640 effects) provides a comprehensive assessment of five cultural diversity climate approaches that capture different ways of addressing cultural diversity in K-12 schools. We examined how intergroup contact theory's optimal contact conditions, multiculturalism climate, colorblind climate, critical consciousness climate, and polyculturalism climate were associated with children's and adolescents' intergroup outcomes (intergroup attitudes, cross-group friendships, experienced discrimination), academic outcomes (academic achievement, motivation, engagement), and socioemotional outcomes (belonging, well-being). Results from meta-analytic random-effects models revealed the largest and most consistent effects for optimal contact conditions, with small-to-medium-sized effects and significant relationships with all outcomes. Multiculturalism climate was significantly and positively related to intergroup attitudes, achievement, motivation, and belonging (mostly, these were small effect sizes). Critical consciousness climate (small effect sizes) and polyculturalism climate (small-to-medium effect sizes) were correlated with both academic and socioemotional outcomes. Colorblind climate was not significantly associated with any outcomes. Moderator analyses revealed that contact conditions exhibited larger effects in secondary education compared with primary education and in the United States compared with Europe. The percentage of majority group members moderated some relationships (e.g., contact conditions had smaller effects when there were more majority group members in the sample). Significantly larger effects emerged for student-reported colorblind climate measures than for teacher-reported measures. Overall, this meta-analysis provides a highly nuanced view of the most robust evidence for the associations between cultural diversity climate and outcomes that are critical for positive child and youth development to date.

During puberty, children experience an increased need for autonomy in all areas of their lives, including school. However, teachers use different levels of autonomy-supportive teaching strategies, which might have detrimental effects on students’ perceived competence and—building on self-determination theory—motivation to learn. In this preregistered study, we investigated whether students could buffer the negative impact of little perceived autonomy support in the English-language classroom on their perceived competence and, consequently, two motivational outcomes (grade aspirations, intrinsic motivation) by using non-academic English-language ICTs in their free time. We calculated several (moderated) mediation models with a Bayesian estimator, using data from N = 1288 Austrian secondary school students who answered three online questionnaires between May 2022 and April 2023. The results showed that perceived competence predicts both types of motivation and is influenced by students’ use of non-academic English-language ICTs. However, the effects of autonomy-supportive teaching strategies depend on which variables are included in the models. Our study therefore highlights the importance of examining several aspects of autonomy-supportive teaching and including variables from outside the school to represent the complex environment in which students’ motivation is shaped.

Mindsets are crucial factors for individuals' adaptive behavior in educational contexts. In meaning systems, these associations between mindsets and behavior are mediated through motivational aspects. It is generally assumed that students should also benefit if teachers adopt a growth mindset. Even though many studies have investigated mindset processes of students, analyses of teachers' meaning systems are lacking. This study, therefore, examines relationships between teachers' mindsets, self-efficacy, achievement goals (mastery, performance-avoidance), and instructional practices (goal structure dimensions of task, autonomy, recognition, grouping, evaluation, time). The sample of the questionnaire study comprises 650 Austrian in-service teachers (69.6% female; mean age 45.1 years; SD = 11.3) with an average of 19 years of teaching experience. Data was analyzed using latent mediation modeling with fixed mindset as a predictor, self-efficacy, mastery goals, performance-avoidance goals as mediators, and six mastery classroom goal structure dimensions as outcomes. The results indicated positive relations between a fixed mindset with performance-avoidance goals and negative relations with self-efficacy and mastery goals. Mastery goals and self-efficacy negatively fully mediated the effects of fixed mindsets on five of six mastery goal structure dimensions. No mediation was found for performance-avoidance goals except for the fixed mindset-autonomy and fixed mindset-grouping links. To conclude, the study's findings support that a meaning system approach is also valid for teachers and provide insights into the associations between mindset, self-efficacy beliefs, achievement goals, and classroom practices.

Empirical research has provided a wide range of indications and starting points for addressing the challenges faced by schools and for improving educational opportunities. However, implementing these findings and, above all, transferring them more broadly is highly challenging as the perspectives and capabilities of different stakeholders from the fields of science, politics and practice need to be very well coordinated. Against this background, an increasing number of cooperation projects have emerged in recent years with the aim of pooling the capacities of different stakeholders and actors from educational practice, science, and the political level to support schools in optimizing educational processes. In view of the educational system's complex field of interaction, an important question concerns the conditions for success of such projects. This article addresses this question and presents recommendations for the implementation of projects aimed at better supporting schools through cooperation between science, politics, and practice. The recommendations focus on the establishment of a goal-oriented and partnership-based cooperation, ranging from project conception, implementation and realization, the design of scientific accompaniment, and the dissemination of lessons-learned and results.

BackgroundDespite broad theoretical consensus on the direct and indirect relevance of teacher emotions for instructional behavior and student outcomes, empirical evidence is inconclusive. Moreover, there is limited research in this area involving disadvantaged and younger student populations, and addressing students’ school well-being as an outcome explicitly.AimsThis study investigates associations between teacher emotions (joy, anger, anxiety), teacher-reports of instructional behavior (cognitive and motivational stimulation, classroom management, and social support), and students' reported school well-being (positive emotions and intrinsic motivation experienced at school), hypothesizing effects of teacher emotions on student school well-being, mediated via teachers’ instructional behavior.SampleParticipants were 1550 primary school students and their 134 homeroom teachers from 50 Austrian disadvantaged schools.MethodsData were collected using written online questionnaires and analyzed applying Bayesian multilevel mediation analysis.ResultsTeachers' joy positively related to aspects of all assessed dimensions of instructional behavior. Anger and anxiety related negatively only to aspects of classroom management. No associations were identified between teachers' instructional behavior and student school well-being, or teachers’ joy or anxiety and student school well-being, rejecting the mediation assumption. Surprisingly, teacher anger positively related to student intrinsic motivation.ConclusionsThis study supports theoretical assumptions on the role of teacher emotions for instruction but did not replicate theorized indirect effects of teacher emotions via instructional behavior on student outcomes. In contrast, the identified direct association between teacher anger and student intrinsic motivation represents a valence-incongruent link which evokes interesting perspectives and stimulates a further differentiation of established theoretical assumptions.

Although adolescence is characterized by increasing individuation, parental support represents an important resource especially in early adolescence. This multi-informant study examined the role of parental self-efficacy in providing emotional and instrumental support when early adolescents partially learned from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a resources model of coping, we examined effects of parental self-efficacy on early adolescents' reports of self-regulated learning (SRL), learning self-efficacy, and positive emotions, mediated via early adolescents' problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. Assumptions were tested among 263 Austrian parent-child dyads. While the mediation assumption was rejected, we identified positive associations between emotional support and SRL, and between problem-focused coping and SRL, learning self-efficacy, and positive emotions. Instrumental support negatively related to SRL, suggesting benefits of emotional over instrumental support.

Previous studies have found that pride is a frequent and important emotion in achievement contexts although it is under-researched in the second/foreign language (FL) context. Therefore, the aim of this research was to explore pride in the context of FL learning. For this purpose, we proposed a conceptual model of FL pride, drawing on previous theoretical frameworks, which distinguishes four types of pride: self-based, social comparison-based, praise-based, and help-based. Then, to test this model, we conducted two studies. In Study 1, we asked participants to recall events that they felt pride during the FL process. In Study 2, we developed and validated foreign language pride scale (FLPS). Results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that FL pride is best represented by a higher-order model. We further investigated its criterion-related validity by examining the relations between FL pride and theoretically relevant constructs and found that it is related to several motivational, emotional, and outcome measures.

Abstract Background To master the secondary–tertiary transition into fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), academic self-beliefs play a pivotal role, especially those related to learning mathematics. The framework of expectancy-value theory has been used widely in primary and secondary education and partly in tertiary education to assess the self-beliefs of students in terms of expectancy of success and perceived value of mathematics. Based on this framework, we measured how the intrinsic value, the attainment value, the utility value, and the cost of learning mathematics as well as the expectancy of success when learning mathematics developed during the secondary–tertiary transition of students into STEM fields. Data were collected in a quantitative repeated-measures questionnaire study with two measurement points (measurement point 1: n = 710, measurement point 2: n = 487, listwise: n = 409). We conducted a latent profile analysis to identify the prevalent patterns of mathematics self-beliefs, called profiles, at each of the two measurement points. We studied the relation of these profiles to prior education, achievement at school, and achievement at university. By performing a latent transition analysis, we determined the probabilities of transitioning from the initial profiles to the posterior profiles. Results Our analysis revealed four distinct prevalent profiles at each measurement point, ranging from highly favorable (i.e., high expectancy, high value, low cost) to highly unfavorable with respect to learning mathematics. The profiles with favorable manifestations remained stable over time, while those with undesirable manifestations deteriorated further. We observed a sharp increase in cost across all profiles. Prior achievement correlated strongly with profile membership. Conclusions The expenditure of time and energy increased sharply during the secondary–tertiary transition, independently of the students’ initial motivational patterns. The perceived utility of mathematics for potential future careers was shown to be a significant source of motivation. The role of mathematics in future careers should thus be made visible in university teaching. Keeping the detrimental development of initially undesirable motivational profiles in mind, university teachers should create ample opportunities for students to gain a sense of accomplishment.

The spread of COVID-19 led to an interruption of physical school attendance for around 1.6 billion students worldwide. During the school closures, schools switched to digital teaching which created a unique situation for all students but especially for groups disadvantaged in the (virtual) classroom. The current study is theoretically based on the situated expectancy-value theory that argues that an individual's motivation is shaped by their social identities. Following the intersectionality framework, the impact of gender and first language on motivation is examined simultaneously. The chapter presents an empirical study of motivation and perceived teacher support for digital learning among 19,337 secondary school students from Austria, shortly after the first pandemic-induced school closures in spring 2020. Results show differences in perceived teacher support, competence beliefs, intrinsic value, and engagement regarding digital learning between students of different gender and first languages. Practical and theoretical implications of the study's findings are discussed.

In a constantly changing world, schools need to adapt. Difficulties, successes, and experienced challenges can be important driving forces for school improvement. This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the situation and decision-making processes related to school improvement strategies in socially disadvantaged areas, where schools face particularly challenging circumstances. The study comprises data from 100 Austrian schools, that is, answers to open-ended questions in a survey. A mixed-methods approach was applied. The qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The data were processed, frequencies of themes were determined, and latent profile analysis was applied. The results show the diversity of challenges, difficulties, strengths, and development perspectives reported by schools. The results of the latent profile analysis indicate that there are different underlying profiles in the orientation of development perspectives towards strengths, difficulties, challenges, and/or not identified factors.

The process of radicalization is often discussed and investigated without a clear outcome definition, as is the similar concept of extremism; moreover, research is usually conducted on adults, despite studies pointing to adolescence as the crucial time during which radicalization processes develop. Building upon previous literature, we propose three possible outcomes of the radicalization process: benevolent radicalism, malevolent radicalism, and extremism. To operationalize these outcomes, we develop a questionnaire measuring four constructs, namely political violence legitimization, political and religious (in-)tolerance, political system preference, and ingroup superiority beliefs. We developed an instrument specifically suitable for adolescents, using n = 1260 German-speaking adolescents (13-20 years) in item development and n = 622 in scale testing and validation. The resulting 61 items and five scales were developed and validated through a combination of item analysis, cognitive interviewing, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Support was found for each of the five scales in terms of reliability, discriminant and concurrent validity. We therefore found the Adolescent Radicalization Outcomes Questionnaire to be a valid and reliable instrument.

Higher education institutions in Austria switched to emergency distance learning in March 2020 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Due to the sudden change, students and instructors scarcely had time to adjust to the new demands. Initial cross-sectional studies pointed to the risks of emergency distance learning for students' intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, and learning behavior. We investigated the longitudinal effects between the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy, and social relatedness), intrinsic motivation, and self-regulated learning, applying a cross-lagged panel model. A sample of N = 3,286 students answered four online questionnaires between April 2020 and July 2021. All measured constructs remained stable during that time span. The satisfaction of the basic needs was cross-sectionally related to intrinsic motivation. We found no cross-lagged effects on intrinsic motivation. Self-regulated learning showed small but significant cross-lagged positive effects on intrinsic motivation at all time points. Implications and future research perspectives are discussed.

The transition from secondary to tertiary education is an exciting and yet challenging event in the educational biography of students. During this transition, students often meet with unexpected challenges, which may cause them to drop out from their degree program. Many universities offer bridging courses or longer-term interventions to support their incoming students in this period. To examine the effect of a bridging course designed to reduce gaps in prior mathematical knowledge, promote social-emotional well-being, and foster learning skills, we implement a repeated-measures intervention study. We analyze the outcomes of the intervention, which features tutors with special training, autonomous choice of topic areas, peer learning, and materials for self-directed learning. We measure the development of motivational beliefs reflecting the will to learn (achievement goals, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, implicit theories, self-efficacy) and the skills to learn (reactions to errors, self-regulated learning) at the secondary-tertiary transition. These aspects are captured at multiple measurement points among students (N = 679) who participate in the bridging course (intervention group) and those who do not (control group). The intervention boosts motivational beliefs related to social embeddedness and learning skills in the short term. The observed decrease in autonomy, competence, and self-efficacy might be explained by higher standards that students use for their self-assessment in the new peer group. In the long term, all aspects of the will to learn, except for social relatedness, show stable to strongly negative developments in both groups. Among those students who do not participate in the bridging course, mostly strongly negative developments are observed. The results suggest that the peer tutoring strategy is highly effective and the need for longer-term interventions to uphold the positive short-term effects.

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted the educational sector on a global front. A plethora of research has been conducted to better understand the effects that the pandemic had on education as a whole, including investigations into different topics (e.g., school closures, e-teaching and learning, mental and physical health), populations (e.g., students, teachers), and levels of education (e.g., school, higher education). To summarize the available literature on ed-ucation during the pandemic both qualitatively and quantitatively, many systematic reviews and meta-analyses have begun to emerge. With the present systematic meta-review, we aimed to synthesize and combine this existing database to derive broader and more comprehensive in-sights that can aid educational stakeholders. We summarize and evaluate 43 systematic re-views, 4 meta-analyses, and 8 combined systematic reviews and meta-analyses published until November 2022 to provide a comprehensive narrative of how this crisis affected education and what can be learned moving forward.

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted the educational sector on a global front. A plethora of research has been conducted to better understand the effects that the pandemic had on education as a whole, including investigations into different topics (e.g., school closures, e-teaching and learning, mental and physical health), populations (e.g., students, teachers), and levels of education (e.g., school, higher education). To summarize the available literature on education during the pandemic both qualitatively and quantitatively, many systematic reviews and meta-analyses have begun to emerge. With the present systematic meta-review, we aimed to synthesize and combine this existing database to derive broader and more comprehensive insights that can aid educational stakeholders. We summarize and evaluate 43 systematic reviews, four meta-analyses, and eight combined systematic reviews and meta-analyses published until November 2022 to provide a comprehensive narrative of how this crisis affected education and what can be learned moving forward.