The present study aimed to examine the relations between physical self-concept, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as physical performance of 1,082 children aged 7–8 years. The central objective of this study was to contrast a mediation model assuming physical self-concept as a mediator of the relations between both types of motivation and physical performance to a mediation model assuming both types of motivation as mediators of the relations between physical self-concept and physical performance. Physical self-concept and both types of motivation were measured by using self-reported questionnaires, while physical performance was measured with 10 motor skill tests. All tests were carried out during regular school hours (8–12 A.M.) by qualified test personnel. Beyond correlation analyses, structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to find evidence for the predictive relations between the variables under study. Results showed that physical self-concept was significantly positively related to both types of motivation and physical performance (allp< 0.001). In contrast, results of SEM revealed that only physical self-concept (p< 0.001) and intrinsic motivation (p< 0.05) were significantly positively linked to physical performance. Furthermore, physical self-concept proved to significantly mediate the relations of both types of motivation to physical performance (p< 0.001), while only intrinsic motivation, but not extrinsic motivation, proved to significantly mediate the relation between physical self-concept and physical performance (p< 0.05). These results suggest that school-based or extracurricular interventions targeted at improving younger children's physical performance only by means of an increased level of physical activity or by external factors without supporting children's physical self-concept and intrinsic motivation may have less or no effects on their physical performance.

The present study aimed to examine the specific relations between five motivational regulation strategies (i.e., interest enhancement, environmental control, self-consequating, performance self-talk, mastery self-talk), academic self-concept, and three cognitive learning strategies (i.e., organization, elaboration, rehearsal) of 415 university students. A total of n = 238 students were in the first year of their university program, while n = 178 students were in the mid-term of their university program. Results of correlation analysis revealed that all five motivational regulation strategies were positively related to the three cognitive learning strategies. In contrast, regression analysis showed that organization was only significantly linked to interest enhancement, self-consequating, and performance self-talk, while elaboration was only significantly linked to self-consequating, and rehearsal was only significantly linked to interest enhancement and performance self-talk. Academic self-concept proved to interact with interest enhancement in predicting elaboration. Furthermore, the measurement separability of the three constructs (i.e., motivational regulation strategies, academic self-concept, cognitive learning strategies) and measurement invariance across sample for the five motivational regulation strategies were also supported.

Background: Numerous studies have explored pre‐service teachers’ motivation for choosing teaching as a career and the relations of pre‐service teachers’ motivation profile membership to long‐term consequences. In contrast, little is still known about certain predictors and the more proximal consequences of pre‐service teachers’ motivation profile membership. Aims: Using the conceptualization of motivation proposed by Pohlmann and Möller (2010, Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie , 24, 73–84), the present study aimed to identify pre‐service teachers’ motivation profiles for choosing teaching as a career and to explore the relations of those profiles to certain individual characteristics (i.e., gender, age, specific school type, number of semesters, scholastic grade point average, self‐concept concerning teaching subjects) as predictors and emotions pertaining to the teacher education programme (i.e., enjoyment, anger, anxiety) as outcomes. Sample: A total of 559 pre‐service teachers from a mid‐sized university in the North of Germany participated in this study. Methods: To identify pre‐service teachers’ motivation profile for choosing teaching as a career, latent profile analysis (LPA) with one to eight profile solutions was performed. Furthermore, to explore the specific relations of pre‐service teachers’ motivation profile membership to the predictors and outcomes under study, several multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: Results of LPA revealed four distinct motivation profiles labelled ‘Educationally Motivated’ (26.9%), ‘Utility Oriented’ (14.9%), ‘Motivationally Balanced’ (55.4%), and ‘Extrinsically Motivated’ (2.7%). Higher self‐concepts concerning teaching subjects increased almost twice the membership into the ‘Educationally Motivated’ profile relative to the ‘Utility Oriented’ and ‘Extrinsically Motivated’ profiles but decreased the membership into the ‘Utility Oriented’ profile relative to the ‘Motivationally Balanced’ profile. The ‘Educationally Motivated’ profile showed the highest level of enjoyment and lowest levels of anxiety and anger, while the ‘Utility Oriented’ profile exhibited the least enjoyment and highest levels of anxiety and anger.

By differentiating between five specific forms of cybervictimization (denigration, betrayal, social exclusion, cyberstalking, happy slapping), the present study examined the multifaceted structure of cybervictimization and specific relationships o these five forms of cybervictimization with students’ self-esteem and social relationships. Moreover, mediating effects of self-esteem were explored. Factor analyses supported the five-factor structure. Self-esteem and social relationships were negatively related to almost all five forms of cybervictimization. However, hierarchical regression analysis showed that only student–student relationships were negatively predictive of social exclusion, while only teacher–student relationships were negatively predictive of denigration, betrayal, and cyberstalking. Further, self-esteem appeared to be a negative predictor and mediator of denigration and social exclusion. Girls experienced more betrayal than boys. Older students reported lower social exclusion but more cyberstalking than younger students.

Background: Recent research on boredom suggests that it can emerge in situations characterized by over‐ and under‐challenge. In learning contexts, this implies that high boredom may be experienced both by low‐ and high‐achieving students. Aims: This research aimed to explore the existence and prevalence of boredom due to being over‐ and under‐challenged in mathematics, for which empirical evidence is lacking. Sample: We employed a sample of 1.407 students (fifth to ninth graders) from all three secondary school tracks (lower, middle and upper) in Bavaria (Germany). Methods: Boredom was assessed via self‐report and achievement via a standardized mathematics test. We used latent profile analysis to identify groups characterized by different levels of boredom and achievement, and we additionally examined gender and school track as group membership predictors. Results: Results revealed four distinct groups, of which two showed considerably high boredom. One was coupled with low achievement on the test (i.e. ‘over‐challenged group’, 13% of the total sample), and one was coupled with high achievement (i.e. ‘under‐challenged group’, 21%). Furthermore, we found a low boredom and high achievement (i.e. ‘well‐off group’, 27%) and a relatively low boredom low achievement group (i.e. ‘indifferent group’, 39%). Girls were overrepresented in the over‐challenged group, and students from the upper school track were underrepresented in the under‐challenged group. Conclusion: Our research emphasizes the need to openly discuss and further investigate boredom due to being over‐ and under‐challenged.

By focusing on the domains of math and German, the present study with 200 elementary school children investigated the specific relationships of self-reported grades with academic self-concepts and self-perceptions of effort within the competence-affective separation of academic self-concepts. In addition, possible mediator effects of academic self-concepts were explored. In both domains, self-reported grades positively predicted academic self-concepts of corresponding domains, which, in turn, positively predicted self-perceptions of effort of corresponding domains. However, there were no negative cross-domain achievement effects on academic self-concepts and no negative cross-domain self-concept effects on self-perceptions of effort. Both academic self-concepts mediated the effects from self-reported grades to self-perceptions of effort in corresponding domains. This research indicates that children’s self-perceptions of effort can be inferred by their competence and affective self-concepts.