The purpose of the current examination was to preliminarily suggest severity standards for the recently revised Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale–Second Edition (CTAS-2). Participants responded to the CTAS-2, Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), and FRIEDBEN Test Anxiety Scale. Using both latent class and cluster analyses, we were able to classify participants as belonging to one of the three distinct cognitive test anxiety profiles—low, moderate, and high. Comparison of the identified test anxiety profiles allowed us to generate a set of severity standards for the CTAS-2 that can be used to differentiate between individuals with differing levels of cognitive test anxiety. The validity of the severity standards was established through group comparisons of test-anxious students on the MSLQ–Text Anxiety, FRIEDBEN–Cognitive Obstruction, FRIEDBEN–Social Derogation, and FRIEDBEN–Physiological Tenseness scales. Discussion concerns the practical implications of establishing CTAS-2 severity standards for educators, student support staff, and learners.

Available evidence suggests that learners’ level of emotional intelligence and academic buoyancy are associated with components of behavioural and emotional engagement. Recent work has provided preliminary evidence that the relationship between emotional intelligence and student engagement is mediated by academic buoyancy. Therefore, the current study was designed to determine if the association between emotional intelligence, behavioural engagement, emotional engagement, behavioural disaffection, and emotional disaffection is mediated by academic buoyancy. A sample of 253 undergraduate and graduate students completed self-report measures of the primary constructs of interest. Results of an a priori path analysis indicated that emotional intelligence had a significant direct effect on behavioural and emotional engagement and behavioural and emotional disaffection. Our results also revealed academic buoyancy shared a direct relationship with behavioural and emotional engagement and emotional disaffection. Critically, our results provided additional evidence that the relationship between components of student engagement – behavioural engagement, emotional engagement, and emotional disaffection – was partially mediated by academic buoyancy. Discussion concerns the potential benefits of implementing interventions designed to enhance emotional intelligence in an effort to increase learners coping potential, engagement, and overall academic success.

To improve sub-standard retention and 4-year graduation rates, colleges and universities have tried to foster in students more social connections and a greater sense of belonging to the institution. Repeated positive interactions with faculty members are crucial for helping students develop this sense of belonging. Classroom-level belonging specifically is associated with increased self-efficacy and academic motivation compared to campus-level belonging. Additionally, a sense of belonging may support student success by reducing psychological distress and the risk of mental health problems. However, research about how to foster classroom-level belonging has been relatively scarce despite the demonstrated importance of this construct. To address this gap, we asked psychology and education college students to evaluate a course using the Teacher Behaviour Checklist (TBC), the Classroom Community Scale, and the Classroom Climate Scale in an online survey. We found that caring and supportive teacher behaviour (a TBC factor) predicted 1) a community of connectedness and 2) a climate of high instructor organisation and support, professional competency and communication (a TBC factor) predicted 3) a stronger community of learning and 4) a climate of higher academic expectations. Exploratory analyses also revealed that caring and supportive teacher behaviour predicted higher learning and academic expectations; professional competency and communication predicted higher connectedness and instructor organisation and support. It appears that high-impact teaching practices, in general, improve classroom belonging. Our results echo others, highlighting the importance of caring and professional competence to classroom-level belonging in higher education. Implications for student success and faculty development initiatives are also discussed.

Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Model makes a theoretical distinction between the contribution of dispositional anxiety and the transitory experience of anxiety to performance difficulties during testing situations. According to the State-Trait framework, state anxiety is viewed as the primary performance barrier for test-anxious students, and as such, educators and educational researchers have expressed interest in validated, state anxiety measurement tools. Currently, the most widely used measure of state anxiety is the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. However, evidence regarding the psychometric properties of this scale is relatively scarce. Therefore, the current study was designed to determine the structural validity, reliability, and concurrent/divergent validity of the instrument. Participants (N = 294) completed the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale 2nd Edition, and an exam task. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we tested the viability of one-, two-, and bi-factor solutions for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated a two-factor solution consisting of State Anxiety and State Calmness dimensions provided superior fit to the observed data. Results of a reliability analysis indicated that the State Anxiety and State Calmness factors demonstrated excellent internal consistency when applied to university students. Our discussion concerns the utility of the State Anxiety factor as a tool for the identification of test-anxious students.