Students’ mental health has been an increased concern since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, academic outcomes have received very little attention. In this study, changes in students’ achievement motivation are investigated using an expectancy–value framework. Participants (n = 90) were high school students (grades 9 and 10) who reported on their expectancy and value perceptions in regard to learning before and during the pandemic (i.e., January and November 2020). Changes over time and as a function of extraversion/introversion were analyzed using repeated measures multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs). Most perceptions were found to be stable with the exception of interest in learning, which increased as a function of extraversion. Results are discussed in light of relevant pre-pandemic evidence.

This study used the instructional humor processing theory to test how different humor subtypes employed by teachers (course-related, course-unrelated, self-disparaging, other-disparaging) relate to students’ well-being, sense of belonging, and engagement. The participants comprised 395 students (boys = 106; girls = 270; other = 8; NA = 11) (secondary school students = 291; primary school students = 97, NA = 7) from five public school boards located in rural areas, and one private secondary school situated in an urban area (M_age = 14.11) with a proportion of 93% speaking French at home. Correlational and structural equation modeling methods were used to analyze these relationships. Results showed that only humor related to course content (positive association) and other-disparaging humor (negative association) were significantly associated with the sense of belonging, which, in turn, was positively associated with a cognitive, affective, and behavioral engagement. Results also showed that only course-related humor (positive association) and unrelated humor (negative association) were significantly associated with students’ emotional well-being, which, in turn, was positively associated with cognitive and affective engagement. As far as this study is concerned, humor in the classroom should be course-related when it comes to supporting students’ emotional well-being, sense of belonging, and engagement.

For many years, studies have explored the relationship between school belonging and engagement, two concepts that are associated with several positive outcomes. However, the relative influence that school climate may have on these components has received little attention. Based on the theoretical perspective of Janosz et al (1998), school belonging and engagement were examined as a function of multiple dimensions of school climate, and were tested across genders. The research took place in Morocco, and participants were 238 students from 9th grade (101 males, 137 females; Mage = 15.1) living in the cities of Casablanca and Témara. Students completed a questionnaire aimed at measuring school belonging, school engagement, and school climate. Correlational and structural equation modeling methods were used to analyze the aforementioned relationships. Results showed that only the climate of justice had a positive effect on school belonging, which, in turn, had a positive effect on the three types of school engagement. The multigroup analysis revealed the relation between school belonging and behavioral engagement to be partially invariant across genders. These results highlight the benefits of creating a positive school climate which can support students' belonging and engagement.

Both personality and motivational characteristics can be considered to estimate individuals’ potential for adjustment and development. That said, these characteristics are rarely studied in conjunction. In this study, we examine how personality and motivational characteristics relate one to the other and influence how students approach learning. More precisely, we analyzed the additive and interactive effects of two intimately related traits (extraversion and emotional stability) from the Big Five model of personality on five motivational dimensions reflecting academic expectations (sense of competence) and values (interest, utility, and mastery and performance goal orientations). Data was collected from a sample of 303 students in tenth and eleventh grade (108 boys and 195 girls; Mage = 16.275 years, SD = 1.149) in a French-Canadian public high school in the greater Quebec City area. Primary analyses included both bivariate correlation and hierarchical regression analyses. Correlations indicated that emotionally stable students were more interested in learning. Hierarchical regression showed that emotionally stable students were more likely to exhibit a performance goal orientation, especially when they were extroverted. These analyses also revealed that emotionally stable students were more interested in learning, especially when they had a strong sense of competence. Results are discussed in light of the limited but relevant existing literature.

Introduction. As it plays an important role in students' adjustment, and positively impacts their motivation and academic success, school belonging seems to be a pivotal determinant of the overall quality of a school experience. However, measuring such a belonging and estimating its contribution to the overall quality of school adjustment remain a challenge for the scientific community. Method. Thus, the French version of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) questionnaire was tested to determine its latent structure, validity, and capacity to predict dropout among at-risk students. In Study 1, the French version of the PSSM scale was thoroughly analyzed for validity while performing exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis on self-reported data provided by a sample of high school students. In study 2, answers of a particular sample of at-risk students were carefully analyzed with ANOVAS to determine the potential of the PSSM to predict high school dropout. Results. The exploratory factor analysis and the confirmatory factor analysis revealed four predominant dimensions: (1) teacher-student relationships; (2) peers' relationships; (3) sense of acceptance; and (4) sense of attachment, while the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis revealed the PSSM to be partially invariant with regards to the gender of the participants. In Study 2, we found that the PSSM can be used as a tool to help identify students who are at risk of dropping out of school. Conclusion. Strategies to develop students' school belonging are discussed.

Teacher assessment in higher education is a widely used strategy in Western countries, but it is not common practice in Moroccan academia. In consequence, the establishment of a new assessment policy in higher education creates a new dynamic in teaching practices, teacher assessment, and professional career development. This type of major change, however, is likely to generate anxiety among staff regarding the learning of new practices, and uncertainty regarding their involvement in the process of teacher assessment. The objective of the present study was thus to explore the perceptions of professors concerning the implementation of teacher assessment in Moroccan universities through a survey and interviews carried out among the professors. The majority of professors expressed a positive attitude toward the usefulness of teaching evaluations. According to them, teacher assessment helps them identify strengths and weaknesses in their teaching. In contrast, there is a recurring issue among the respondents, namely the crisis of trust toward the parties involved in the evaluation process and apprehension regarding consequences of these evaluations’ results on faculty status and rank progression. The majority were very suspicious of using student assessment for administrative purposes.