Psychological flourishing is linked to numerous positive adolescent outcomes, yet reliable assessment tools remain limited. The EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-Being captures five flourishing dimensions: Engagement, Perseverance, Optimism, Connectedness, and Happiness. Although validated in several languages, further cross-cultural research is needed to clarify its applicability and enable international comparisons. This study aimed to validate the Croatian version of the EPOCH questionnaire and to introduce a revised Engagement subscale more closely aligned with Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory, emphasizing autotelic, flow-facilitating activities. Two adolescent samples participated. Sample 1 included 321 students (M = 16.27 years, SD = 1.64; 230 girls) who completed the EPOCH together with measures of life satisfaction, self-efficacy, depression, anxiety, and physical activity. These data were used to examine the factor structure via confirmatory factor analysis and to assess internal consistency, as well as convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. Sample 2 comprised 44 students (M = 16.80 years, SD = 0.39; 24 girls) who completed the EPOCH across three waves to assess test–retest reliability. CFA supported the expected five-factor structure, and the revised Engagement subscale demonstrated improved psychometric properties. All subscales showed satisfactory reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. Positive correlations emerged with life satisfaction and self-efficacy, and negative correlations with depression and anxiety. Measurement invariance across sex was confirmed, and the scale showed good temporal stability across retest intervals. The Croatian version of the EPOCH demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. The revised Engagement subscale showed improved psychometric performance and clearer alignment with flow theory.

The study examined the associations between perceived early-career teachers’ classroom management, emotional engagement, and students’ interest in STEM subjects. A total of 918 lower-secondary students rated classroom management and emotional engagement of their early-career STEM teachers (N = 56) and their interest in the subject. Data was analysed using doubly latent multilevel modelling, exploring the mediation climate effect. As expected, in classes where the teacher is perceived as more efficient in managing the class, the teacher is also perceived as more emotionally engaged, whereas students in those classes experience higher interest in the subject. Surprisingly, the direct effect of perceived classroom management was not significant, indicating that the relationship between perceived teachers’ classroom management and class-level students’ interest in the subject might be (fully) explained by perceived teachers’ emotional engagement. The results highlight the importance of fostering self-efficacy and emotional engagement among early-career teachers to support and enhance students’ motivation in STEM subjects.

Recent studies on teachers' occupational well-being and motivation strive to integrate different theoretical frameworks to explain the educational outcomes. However, findings regarding the association between teacher motivation and classroom behaviour remain inconclusive and often lack parallel perspectives from both teachers and students, suggesting that the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are still unclear. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the relationship between motivation for choosing a teaching career and both self- and student-assessed teachers' work engagement, considering the potential mediating role of teachers' goal orientations. The sample included 1725 students and their 109 early-career elementary school teachers. A multilevel analysis revealed the significance of specific motives for choosing a teaching career and achievement goals for teachers' work engagement from both teachers' and students' perspectives. These results provide a more nuanced understanding of teachers' occupational well-being, offering theoretical and practical implications that might be of a particular relevance for early-career teachers.

The present study explored motivation for teaching career choice within the FIT-Choice framework among different types of prospective teachers in Croatia. A total number of 634 prospective teachers enrolled in different initial teacher education programmes participated in this study (prospective preschool, classroom and subject teachers). Results revealed that the intrinsic value of teaching, the social value of teaching and perception of own teaching abilities were the most important motives for choosing a teaching career, while the fallback career motive had the lowest ratings across the groups. Analyses also revealed that the motivation of prospective preschool and classroom teachers is very similar and that the importance of intrinsic utility value and social utility value was somewhat less pronounced among subject teachers. Although all prospective teachers expressed a relatively high level of satisfaction with career choice, group comparisons revealed that prospective subject teachers’ satisfaction level was lower compared to the other two groups.

Interest in the motivation for the choice of the teaching profession has been growing in the last few decades. Although the literature recognizes the importance of exploring non-academic factors that affect the quality of teaching and teachers' well-being, studies exploring these factors within the context of the teaching career choice are rather underrepresented. The aim of this study was to explore the predictive value of personality traits, emotional competence, and life-satisfaction of prospective teachers in explaining prospective teachers' motivation for the choice of the teaching profession. A total of 591 prospective teachers participated in this study. The data were analyzed by the hierarchical regression analyses, and the results indicated that almost all personality traits and the ability to regulate and manage emotions predicted the importance of intrinsic value and the social utility value of teaching, whereby neuroticism was a negative predictor of these motives. Also, life-satisfaction was predictive of the importance of both of these motives and the importance of the personal utility value of teaching.

The aim of this study was to explore gender differences in motivation for choosing teaching as a profession and perceptions of men's demotivation for the choice of this profession. 279 preservice subject teachers from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, filled in the FIT-Choice Scale (Watt & Richardson, 2007) and the Demotivation of Men for Teaching Career Choice Scale. Results revealed that, regardless of their gender, preservice subject teachers were primarily motivated by the intrinsic and social utility values of teaching, while specific gender differences imply the importance of the role of social factors in men's choice of this career. Low status of the teaching profession was perceived as the dominant reason for demotivation of men to choose it. Women were more likely than men to assume that men are demotivated to choose teaching because it is a "women's profession". Policy implications of findings on men's (de)motivation for teaching are discussed.

Introduction: Changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the functioning of different social systems, including the educational one. Closing educational institutions and transferring the educational process to online platforms posed new challenges for students’ academic functioning and well-being in these unexpected circumstances. Aims: This study aimed to explore the role of university students’ academic functioning and personality in predicting their subjective well-being during the online studying implemented in Croatia due to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus. Methods: A sample of 505 university students from different Croatian faculties participated in the online survey, which included their ratings of adjustment to the online learning environment, related difficulties in learning and self-regulation, perception of the online education’s quality, the level of life disruption caused by the pandemic, personality traits, and subjective well-being measures (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect). Results: Results generally revealed that certain aspects of students’ academic functioning during online studying as well as their personality explained a significant proportion of the subjective well-being measures’ variance. Also, the perceived level of life disruption caused by the pandemic and neuroticism were the strongest predictors of students’ subjective well-being, followed by extraversion and conscientiousness. Conclusions: Obtained results indicate that some aspects of academic functioning upon the transition to online studying could contribute to students’ subjective well-being and should be considered when planning interventions to increase their well-being and enhance the quality of the online learning environment in these challenging times.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions and changes to the educational process worldwide, and higher education institutions rapidly shifted from onsite to online education. This study aimed to explore the association between a perceived lack of academic social interactions in the online learning environment and learning and self-regulation difficulties experienced during online studying. More specifically, the mediating role of students’ senses of life disruption caused by the pandemic and their general adjustment to online studying in the previously described association was explored. A total number of 464 university students from Croatia took part in an online questionnaire. The results revealed that students who perceive a greater lack of academic social interactions also report more learning and self-regulation difficulties during online studying. Further, the perceived lack of academic social interactions affects students’ perceptions of life disruption caused by the pandemic and adjustment to online studying. Both of these mediators, in turn, affect the level of experienced learning and self-regulation difficulties. The obtained results can be helpful for introducing certain measures that could support students’ learning and reduce the possibility of adverse effects of the pandemic.

Previous studies indicate that perception of peer norms and school norms regarding intergroup contact can significantly influence children and youth attitudes and behaviours towards outgroup members. Additionally, school climate can also play an important role in shaping quality of intergroup relations. The present study examines the role of peer and school norms regarding intergroup contact and school climate in explaining majority and minority pupils' self-reported prosocial outgroup behaviour in different types of public schools from four different multi-ethnic contexts in Croatia. Pupils (N = 1568; average age M = 15.04) attending ethnic majority, minority and mixed schools participated in this study. Results demonstrate that positive peer and school norms regarding intergroup contact as well as the lower level of ethnicity-based conflicts are associated with more self-reported outgroup prosocial behaviour. Furthermore, findings indicate a moderation effect of group status whereby the effect of quality of relationships and connectedness in school is observed for majority pupils only. The findings also indicate a moderation effect of school type and the stronger effect of peer norms on self-reported outgroup prosocial behaviour of pupils in mixed schools. The results are discussed from the perspective of current literature review and potential educational implications.

The aim of this study was to examine age differences of minority and majority adolescents regarding ethnic identity, in-group bias (as a form of ethnic attachment), and constructive and blind patriotism (as a form of national attachment). The study was conducted in four multi-ethnic contexts in Croatia: Croatian-Czech, Croatian-Hungarian, Croatian-Serbian and Croatian-Italian. The results of N = 924 students of primary (sixth, seventh and eighth grade) and secondary (second, third and fourth grade) schools were analysed. The average age was M = 14.99, SD = 2.17 years. Younger pupils express higher levels of ethnic identity and blind patriotism, whereas constructive patriotism was more expressed in older students. There were no age differences in in-group bias. Minority pupils exhibit lower levels of bias, while majority members are more prone to bias in the Croatian-Serbian and Croatian-Hungariancontexts. Furthermore, majority pupils are more willing to express constructive, but also blind patriotism.

In this study we examined the relationship between the preference of minority educational models and attitudes towards multiculturalism and assimilationism in four multiethnic communities in Croatia. A sample of 1568 students, aged 11 to 19, members of the Croatian majority and four national minorities (Czechs, Hungarians, Serbs and Italians) enrolled in model A of minority education (all classes are taught in the minority language), and 2000 of their parents participated in the research. Additionally, this is the first paper describing the major socio-demographic characteristics of students in minority education model A, as well as aspects of their language competence in Croatian and minority languages, the use of language in their families and their intentions to continue education in Croatia as opposed to their country of origin. The results have shown that the preferences of minority education models are slightly related to attitudes towards multiculturalism and assimilationism, but also that group status (minority or majority) and the multiethnic context the study has been conducted in are important determinants of attitudes towards multiculturalism and assimilationism.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227512.].

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between young women’s personality traits, perceived parental behavior of their parents, and the dimensions of attachment to close friends. Results generally indicated significant effects of personality traits and parental behavior on attachment to close friends. More specifically, agreeableness was a negative predictor of attachment anxiety, and neuroticism was a positive predictor of the same attachment dimension. Both agreeableness and extraversion were negative predictors of attachment avoidance. Parental behavior was predictive for attachment avoidance in close friendship, while there were no effects of parental behavior on attachment anxiety. Mothers’ supportiveness and restrictive control were negative predictors of attachment avoidance, whereby fathers’ support was a positive predictor of this attachment dimension. The results imply the importance of both personality and parental behavior as determinants of attachment to close friends and also suggest the need for further research of specific associations within the context of these broad theoretical constructs.

The literature recognises the importance of teachers’ emotional competence for various aspects of the teaching profession, as well as the importance of attracting motivated and quality prospective teachers and retaining them in the profession. However, studies relating to the motivation to teach and some personal characteristics of prospective teachers are still relatively scarce. Therefore, this study aimed at contributing to this field of research by exploring the association between prospective teachers’ emotional competence and their motivation for the choice of a teaching career as proposed by the Factors Influencing Teaching (FIT)-Choice model. This study used a quantitative methodological approach. Prospective teachers who were enrolled in a primary school initial teacher education programme (N=423) participated in this study. The data were analysed using cluster analysis and multivariate analysis of variance. The results obtained revealed that the importance of almost all motives for the decision to pursue a teaching career, and the perception of demandingness of the teaching profession are rated higher by pre-service teachers with higher emotional competence. Finally, pre-service teachers with higher emotional competence also expressed a higher level of satisfaction with their career choice compared to those with a moderate level of emotional competence.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether overt and relational aggression of adolescent boys and girls can be predicted based on the behaviour of their mothers and fathers, and whether the role of parental behaviour in explaining aggressive behaviour depends on the gender of the child and parent. The study included 605 participants (273 girls and 332 boys), third grade secondary school students. Data on overt and relational aggressive behaviour of adolescents was collected by administering the Peer Conflict Scale questionnaire (Marsee i Frick, 2007), while data on the perception of parental behaviour was collected administering the Parental Behaviour Questionnaire (Kereste et al., 2012). The results show that boys generally exhibit higher degrees of overt aggression and that they perceive fathers as more supportive and less permissive compared to girls. As regards overt aggression of boys, regression analysis has shown that a significant predictor is higher mother's restrictive control, while predictors of overt aggression of girls included higher mother's restrictive control and permissiveness and less father's parental support. The important predictors of relational aggression in boys and girls are higher mother's and father's restrictive control, lower father's support and higher mother's permissiveness. The results of the study contribute to understanding of the complex relationship between parental behaviour and aggressive behaviour of adolescents, they can be useful to various specialists working with adolescents and their parents, and can be applied in designing and implementing programmes to raise awareness of the importance of parental behaviour and how parent and child behaviour are interrelated, both generally and in the context of gender differences.