In March 2020 schools in Austria temporarily closed and switched to distance learning to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The resulting situation posed great challenges to teachers, guardians and students (Huber and Helm 2020). Research has shown that perceived competence (Deci and Ryan 2000) affects selfregulated learning (SRL), intrinsic motivation and procrastination, however few studies have considered these variables in context of distance learning among adolescents. This study investigated differences in students who perceived themselves as high vs. low in competence with respect to these constructs. In an online questionnaire, 2652 Austrian secondary school students answered closed questions regarding SRL, intrinsic motivation and procrastination as well as open-ended questions about challenges, successes and need for support in distance. Structural equation modeling was applied for the quantitative analysis which was complemented by thematic analysis for the qualitative questions (Braun and Clarke 2006). Results showed that students who experienced themselves as highly competent use SRL strategies (goal setting and planning, time management, metacognitive strategies) more often and are more intrinsically motivated than students with lower perceived competence. They also procrastinate less. Furthermore, qualitative analysis revealed that although all students face similar challenges (e.g., independent learning, time and task management, learning on the computer, lack of contact with teachers and peers), students who perceived themselves as highly competent seemed to cope better, and have less need for support. Implications for distance learning and future research are discussed.

In the wake of COVID-19, university students have experienced fundamental changes of their learning and their lives as a whole. The present research identifies psychological characteristics associated with students’ well-being in this situation. We investigated relations of basic psychological need satisfaction (experienced competence, autonomy, and relatedness) with positive emotion and intrinsic learning motivation, considering self-regulated learning as a moderator. Self-reports were collected from 6,071 students in Austria (Study 1) and 1,653 students in Finland (Study 2). Structural equation modeling revealed competence as the strongest predictor for positive emotion. Intrinsic learning motivation was predicted by competence and autonomy in both countries and by relatedness in Finland. Moderation effects of self-regulated learning were inconsistent, but main effects on intrinsic learning motivation were identified. Surprisingly, relatedness exerted only a minor effect on positive emotion. The results inform strategies to promote students’ well-being through distance learning, mitigating the negative effects of the situation.

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.

This study contributes to explaining psychological barriers in female university careers by examining the relation between the impostor phenomenon and research self-efficacy in the university context. The impostor phenomenon refers to people who are objectively competent but feel the opposite and therefore fear being unmasked. So far, there have been no data from German-speaking countries concerning the impostor phenomenon at universities; thus, the impostor phenomenon was examined in a sample of 631 (389 female) Austrian doctoral students. One-third of the sample reported moderate to strong impostor feelings. Female doctoral students both suffer more from impostor feelings and show lower research self-efficacy than male doctoral students do. Furthermore, the impostor phenomenon and research self-efficacy are associated with faculty membership. The most important finding is that the impostor phenomenon is negatively related to research self-efficacy. Research self-efficacy is an important indicator for successful university careers; hence, the impostor phenomenon was shown to be a psychological barrier for female university careers. Implications for support programs for female doctoral students are discussed.