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This study examined the cross-lagged relationships between students' autonomous motivations (intrinsic motivation and identified regulations) and approach goals (mastery and performance) in school. The sample included 449 students (52% girls) in Grades 7 and 8 (secondary 1 and 2). Results showed that intrinsic motivation (IM) positively predicted approach goals 20 months later, while mastery-approach goals (MAp) positively predicted autonomous motivations. A second objective was to test the contributions of autonomous motivations and approach goals to students' school functioning measured 32 months after the beginning of the study. Five main findings can be highlighted: IM contributed to (1) increased academic achievement (via high MAp and PAp), (2) increased social anxiety (via high PAp), and (3) decreased disruptive behaviours (via high MAp); MAp goals predicted (4) a decreased in disruptive behaviours (via high identified regulation) and (5) increases in achievement (via high IM). Implications for education stakeholders are presented.

School is where adolescents spend the largest share of their waking time. The present study focused on the factors that contribute to students' adjustment to school from a self-determination perspective. We tested the predictive value of parental behaviors (autonomy support, structure, and involvement) on the different dimensions of school adjustment (social, academic, and personal-emotional) and the mediating role played by psychological need satisfaction in school (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness). The sample included 663 adolescents (55% girls) surveyed over a 3-year period. Results supported the unique contribution of parental behaviors and psychological need satisfaction for different dimensions of school adjustment. Indirect effects suggested that the need for relatedness explains the relationship from structure to school adjustment, whereas competence explained the prediction of autonomy support on social adjustment. These findings can guide interventions for students by identifying the family and personal factors that contribute to their academic, social, and personal-emotional adjustment.

This 2-year prospective study aimed to examine the predictive role of students' achievement goals (mastery-approach and performance-avoidance) on socioemotional adjustment in high school by assessing the potential mediating contribution of academic motivations. A total of 407 high school students (46% boys) were surveyed each year in Secondary 2 (Grade 8), 3 (Grade 9), and 4 (Grade 10). Results indicated that mastery and performance-avoidance goals in Secondary 2 predicted emotional adjustment in Secondary 4, and that these links were mediated by introjected regulation and amotivation in Secondary 3. In addition, performance-avoidance goals predicted social adjustment in high school, without it being mediated by motivation types. Results are discussed with respect to their implications for teacher training programmes. Limitations and future research directions are also outlined.

There is abundant evidence to suggest that students' achievement goals (AGs) predict their motivation and performance. While it has been proposed that psychological need satisfaction (PNS) may affect AG, empirical support remains limited during the transition to secondary school. This prospective study addresses this gap by examining the link between students' PNS and AGs through their academic and social adaptation during this transition. A large stratified sample of 626 students completed a series of measures before and after the transition to secondary school. The results revealed that satisfaction of students' needs for autonomy and competence predicted the adoption of mastery goals through their academic adaptation. The satisfaction of needs for autonomy and relatedness also predicted lower adoption of performance-avoidance goals via their social adaptation. These findings highlight the importance of PNS in shaping adaptation and AG during the transition to secondary school. Practical implications for parents and teachers are discussed.

This longitudinal study builds on research addressing changes in achievement goal orientations (AG) across the transition to middle school. We had two objectives. The first was to identify and describe different development trajectories of AG (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) from the last year of elementary school (Grade 6) to the third year of middle school (Grade 9, or Secondary 3). The second was to determine whether these trajectories depend on individual dispositions such as anxiety, depression, aggressiveness, and inattention. A sample of 378 French-speaking students from the province of Quebec and their mothers participated in a 4-year longitudinal study. Results showed three trajectories for mastery goals (High, Moderate, and Moderate-declining) and four trajectories for performance-approach (High, Moderate-declining, Low-increasing, and Low) and performance-avoidance goals (High, High-declining, Moderate, and Low-declining). Individual dispositions in the sixth grade predicted trajectory group membership. Results are discussed in light of their implications for the literature on AG and education.

This longitudinal study had three objectives: (a) to identify different profiles of second-year middle school students (Grade 8) in terms of academic, emotional, and social adjustment; (b) to test the contribution of worries at the end of Grade 6 to distinguish these profiles; and (c) to examine the moderating effect of mastery (MG) and performance goal (PG) structures in language arts class (Grade 7). A total of 342 mother-adolescent dyads participated in the study. Cluster analyses revealed three adjustment profiles: a well-adjusted group (WA), a socioemotionally adjusted group (SEA), and a socially adjusted group (SA). Hierarchical multinomial regression analyses showed that students who expressed worries had a lower probability of being in the WA. However, students who had a teacher who emphasized MG had a greater probability of being in the WA. Finally, worries about peers and teachers lowered the probability of being in the WA for students exposed to PG. Results are discussed in light of their implications for the literature on student adjustment, the elementary-to-middle school transition, and classroom goal structure. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Using Item Response Theory (IRT) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the goal of this study was to select a reduced pool of items from the French Canadian version of the Self-Directed Search--Activities Section (Holland, Fritzsche, & Powell, 1994). Two studies were conducted. Results of Study 1, involving 727 French Canadian students, showed that the psychometric qualities of the 66-item French Canadian version are equivalent to those of the original English version. Based on IRT and factor loadings derived from a CFA, 24 items were selected from the original 66 items. In Study 2 (n = 339 French Canadian young adults), we tested and obtained support for the construct validity of the 24 selected items using CFA and correlational analyses among interests' dimensions. We concluded that the selected pool of items accurately captured Holland's theoretical framework and showed adequate psychometrics qualities and construct validity. (Contains 7 tables.)

The goal of this study was twofold: first, to identify vocational exploration profiles in the second year of middle school (Grade 8), and second, to distinguish these profiles in terms of sociomotivational variables. The sample included 521 students (255 boys, 266 girls) attending middle schools in Quebec. Results revealed three vocational exploration profiles: high exploration, exploration through discussion, and low exploration. Students in the high exploration profile were distinguished by their perceptions of the classroom climate as performance-oriented, their personal achievement goals, and their personal motivations. Results are discussed in light of their implications for the vocational and motivational literature. (Contains 2 tables and 3 notes.)

Three conceptual models were tested to examine the relationships among academic self-concept, autonomous academic motivation, and academic achievement. This allowed us to determine whether 1) autonomous academic motivation mediates the relation between academic self-concept and achievement, 2) academic self-concept mediates the relation between autonomous academic motivation and achievement, or 3) both motivational constructs have an additive effect on academic achievement. A total of 925 high school students (404 boys and 521 girls) were asked to complete a questionnaire on two occasions separated by a year interval. Results from SEM analyses provided good support for the hypothesized model positing that autonomous academic motivation mediates the academic self-concept-academic achievement relation. Results are discussed in light of self-determination theory and self-concept theory. (Contains 5 figures and 3 tables.)

Background: There are two approaches to the differential examination of school motivation. The first is to examine motivation towards specific school subjects (between school subject differentiation). The second is to examine school motivation as a multidimensional concept that varies in terms of not only intensity but also quality (within school subject differentiation). These two differential approaches have led to important discoveries and provided a better understanding of student motivational dynamics. However, little research has combined these two approaches. Aims: This study examines young elementary students' motivations across school subjects (writing, reading, and maths) from the stance of self-determination theory. First, we tested whether children self-report different levels of intrinsic, identified, and controlled motivation towards specific school subjects. Second, we verified whether children self-report differentiated types of motivation across school subjects. Sample: Participants were 425 French-Canadian children (225 girls, 200 boys) from three elementary schools. Children were in Grades 1 (N=121), 2 (N=126), and 3 (N=178). Results: Results show that, for a given school subject, young elementary students self-report different levels of intrinsic, identified, and controlled motivation. Results also indicate that children self-report different levels of motivation types across school subjects. Our findings also show that most differentiation effects increase across grades. Some gender effects were also observed. Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of distinguishing among types of school motivation towards specific school subjects in the early elementary years.

This study examines how attachment to mother and father predicts worries about academic demands and relationships with teachers generated by the transition from elementary to middle school through its contribution to adolescents' emotional problems (depression and anxiety). The study sample includes 626 young adolescents (289 boys and 337 girls) in sixth grade who completed the Security Scale to assess security of attachment to their mothers and fathers. The results of analyses based on structural equation modeling showed that attachment to mother predicts adolescents' teacher-academic worries about the middle school transition through anxiety symptoms. These results are discussed in light of the literature on attachment theory, emotional problems during adolescence, and the context of the middle school transition. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

The authors investigated students' profiles regarding autonomous, controlled, and amotivated regulation and tested whether profile groups differed on some academic adjustment outcomes. Studies 1 and 2 performed on high school students revealed 3 profiles: (a) students with high levels of both controlled motivation and amotivation but low levels of autonomous motivation, (b) students with high levels of both controlled and autonomous motivation but low levels of amotivation, and (c) students with moderate levels of both autonomous and controlled motivations but low levels of amotivation. These first 2 studies revealed that students in the high autonomous/high controlled group reported the highest degree of academic adjustment. Study 3 performed on college students revealed 3 profiles: (a) students with high levels of autonomous motivations but low levels of both controlled motivation and amotivation, (b) students with high levels of both autonomous and controlled motivation but low levels of amotivation, and (c) students with low to moderate levels of the various motivational components. Study 3 indicated that students in the autonomous group were more persistent than students in the other groups. Results are discussed in light of self-determination theory (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985).

This longitudinal study had 2 goals. The 1st goal was to describe trajectories of academic and emotional adjustment in college science programs. The 2nd goal was to determine whether these trajectories differed as a function of students' self-reports of the quality of their relationships with parents and teachers. The sample consisted of 498 students recruited during their last year of high school. Assessment of adjustment continued until the end of the 2nd year of college. For a number of students, the authors observed a significant decline in both academic and emotional adjustment. Moreover, it was possible to identify an at-risk profile characterized by poor academic and emotional adjustment. In examining the students' perceptions of their family and school environments, the authors found that poorly and well-adjusted students differed from each other on the basis of parental but not teachers' relationship quality.

The present study strove to better understand the associations between the development of late adolescents' self-efficacy beliefs toward science, and vocational and academic adjustment (i.e., career decidedness, scientific interests, science achievement, and persistence in science), while considering the potential moderating role of gender. Participants were 411 late adolescents, all admitted in a science-related field in college. Notable developmental heterogeneity in science self-efficacy beliefs was found across the transition to college with 50% of students reporting high stable self-efficacy beliefs, 20% of students experiencing an increase in self-efficacy beliefs, and 30% a decrease. Girls enrolled in technological programs (biology and physics) were more likely than boys to experience increasing self-efficacy beliefs toward science. Overall, students with high stable or increasing self-efficacy trajectories reported the most positive academic and vocational outcomes. Evidence for a gender moderating effect was found for career decidedness, where experiencing increasing and high stable self-efficacy beliefs toward science was associated with a gradual clarification of one's vocational choice for girls but not for boys. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Career indecision can be divided into two categories: developmental and chronic indecision. The former is generally viewed as a developmentally normal problem resulting from a lack of information on the self and on the world of work, whereas the latter is defined as a pervasive inability to make a decision about one's career. The goals of the present study were to test the validity of this typology of career indecision and to explain these types of indecision as a function of self-efficacy, autonomy, and support from parents and friends. Based on a 3-year longitudinal design with college students (N = 325), results provided validity for this typology by revealing the presence of two indecision groups (chronically undecided and developmentally undecided) and a group of students who are decided. In addition, results indicated that self-efficacy and autonomy are important dimensions that make it possible to distinguish between these three groups. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)

The present study examined whether academic motivations, conceptualized from the stance of self-determination theory, fluctuate over time in a homogeneous or heterogeneous fashion during a school transition. Three objectives were pursued: First, motivational trajectories were studied using the conventional, homogeneous approach. Second, the group-based, semiparametric approach to developmental trajectories was used to study heterogeneous motivational trajectories. Third, family factors were compared across trajectory groups for each type of motivation. Results suggested that most types of motivation tend to fluctuate differently over time for distinct groups of individuals. Furthermore, students characterized by problematic motivational trajectories perceived their parents to be less involved in their scholastic work and less autonomy supportive than those of other students. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for research and theories on motivation and parenting

The association between work values and key motivational variables has been repeatedly supported in previous studies. However, little attention has been devoted to understanding intraindividual patterns of work values and how combinations of work values relate to other motivational variables. This study aimed to identify profiles of work values based on a four-factor model (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic, social, and status). It also investigated how profile membership relates to basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration at work using a self-determination perspective. A sample of French Canadian adults (N = 476) participated in this study by filling out an online questionnaire. Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct work values profiles. Results showed that participants in more positive profiles (i.e., high level of intrinsic, social, and status work values) generally reported higher level of need satisfaction and lower level of need frustration at work than participants belonging to more negative profiles (i.e., low level of intrinsic, social, and status work values). These results support the importance of considering work values in organizational and career development interventions, and to do so using a person-centered approach, to better understand need satisfaction and frustration at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the mediating role of basic psychological needs at work in the association from work values to job satisfaction. Using a four-factor model of work values, we tested how each work value factor was related to basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration at work. The sample included 228 workers (72% female) surveyed twice over a 7-week interval. Results showed that need satisfaction at work was positively predicted by intrinsic and social work values and negatively predicted by extrinsic work values. Need frustration at work was positively predicted by extrinsic and status work values and negatively predicted by intrinsic work values. Also, need satisfaction fully mediated the relationship from intrinsic, extrinsic, and social work values to job satisfaction. These findings suggest that organizational and career development interventions aiming to enhance employees need satisfaction at work should aim to promote growth-oriented work values endorsement rather than instrumental work values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]