Becke , Michael [H sg.]; Digna h, Cha lo e [H sg.]; Bihle , Lilly-Ma len [H sg.]; Gaspa d, Hanna [H sg.]; McEl any,
Nele [H sg.]
Socio-emo ional and cogni i e de elopmen in lea ning. Educa ional goals in
compe i ion?!
Müns e ; New Yo k : Waxmann 2026, 109 S. - (Do munde Symposium de Empi ischen
Bildungs o schung; 9)
Quellenangabe/ Re e ence:
Becke , Michael [H sg.]; Digna h, Cha lo e [H sg.]; Bihle , Lilly-Ma len [H sg.]; Gaspa d, Hanna [H sg.];
McEl any, Nele [H sg.]: Socio-emo ional and cogni i e de elopmen in lea ning. Educa ional goals in
compe i ion?! Müns e ; New Yo k : Waxmann 2026, 109 S. - (Do munde Symposium de Empi ischen
Bildungs o schung; 9) - URN: u n:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-345032 - DOI: 10.25656/01:34503
h ps://nbn- esol ing.o g/u n:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-345032
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Volume 9
Michael Becke , Cha lo e Digna h, Lilly-Ma len Bihle ,
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Socio-emo ional and cogni i e
de elopmen in lea ning
Educa ional goals in compe i ion?!
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Table o Con en s
P e ace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Pa 1: Designing socio-emo ional lea ning o he e ogeneous g oups
Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man
Socio-emo ional lea ning
P omising syne gies wi h academic de elopmen in ea ly adolescence . . . 15
Elsbe h S e n
Lea ning and pe o mance do no ha e o come a he expense o
socio-emo ional de elopmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Flo ian Schmiedek
Lea ning o a - isk s uden s
A dynamic pe spec i e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Pa 2: Emo ions, mo i a ion and well-being – he ole o
socio-emo ional aspec s in lea ning
Anne C. F enzel & Thomas Goe z
Lea ning and emo ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Ca men Zu b iggen
Well-being and lea ning
Taking inclusi e educa ion as a p ominen example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Rica da S einmay
Lea ning and mo i a ion
Which mo i a ion is impo an and how o os e i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
.
Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man
Socio-emo ional lea ning
P omising syne gies wi h academic de elopmen in ea ly
adolescence
1. In oduc ion
Pic u e Sp ing Middle School1, a school se ing you h be ween age 11 and 13
in a small no heas ci y in he Uni ed S a es. His o ically, he ci y was mos ly
popula ed by whi e, middle- and wo king-class amilies and hei child en.
Since 2000, he ci y expe ienced an in lux o immig an s and now oughly 1 in
10 people in he ci y a e immig an s (O ice o New Ame icans Repo , 2023).
Now, Sp ing Middle School has abou 480 s uden s wi h 32 % bo n ou side o
he U.S., ep esen ing 28 di e en home coun ies. 47 % o he s uden s speak
a i s language o he han English and his school has 21 home languages ep‐
esen ed. S uden s come om Gua emala, Bu undi, Angola, Sudan, E hiopia,
I aq, Hondu as, Namibia, Gabon, Rwanda among o he s (LeClai e, 2022).
Like mos U.S. middle schools, he school s i es o mee he needs o ea ly
adolescen s who a e expe iencing d ama ic de elopmen al changes in physical,
emo ional, cogni i e, and social domains. Wha makes Sp ing Middle School
pa icula ly unique is he emendous e hnic di e si y o s uden s and he a ‐
ied needs o you h and amilies who a e e y ecen immig an s. This scena io
calls a en ion o a ques ion: How can schools mee psychological needs and
p omo e academic g ow h among you h wi h such a wide ange o backg ounds
and expe iences?
The solu ion o his school has been complex. Ins ead o ocusing on aca‐
demic achie emen as he sole ocus, hey b oadened hei goals o ad ance a
h ee-dimensional ision o s uden achie emen ha includes mas e y o skills
and knowledge, cul i a ion o cha ac e a ibu es, and high-quali y s uden
wo k on opics ha a e ele an and engaging o hei s uden s (Be ge e al.,
2021). Engaging in C ew – daily mee ings wi h abou 15–20 s uden s and one
adul —is one p ac ice ha con ibu es o his mul i ace ed ision o s uden
1 Sp ing Middle School is a pseudonym.

16 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man
success. C ew c ea es an oppo uni y o s uden s o de elop posi i e ela ion‐
ships wi h adul s and o he s uden s, ha e cou ageous con e sa ions abou is‐
sues in s uden s’ li es, c ea e a sense o communi y, expe ience belonging, and
e lec on he pu pose o school lea ning (Be ge e al., 2021).
This anecdo e se s he s age o a con e sa ion abou how schools can cul‐
i a e social and emo ional compe encies and c ea e meaning ul academic ex‐
pe iences. This chap e desc ibes he basic de ini ions o social and emo ional
lea ning (SEL), explo es ypical ajec o ies o g ow h o social and emo ional
compe encies (SEC), and examines he ways in which meaning ul lea ning c e‐
a es class oom expe iences ha op imize academic lea ning while also mee ing
he psychological needs o you h. The pape closes wi h implica ions o educa‐
o s s i ing o mee he needs o ea ly adolescen s.
2. Wha is social and emo ional lea ning?
The Collabo a i e o Academic, Social and Emo ional Lea ning (CASEL) is
an o ganiza ion a he Uni e si y o Illinois-Chicago ha is he cen al-mos
hub in he U.S. o SEL esea ch, p ac ice and policy. The CASEL de ini ion
o SEL is “ he p ocess h ough which all young people and adul s acqui e and
apply he knowledge, skills, and a i udes o de elop heal hy iden i ies, manage
emo ions and achie e pe sonal and collec i e goals, eel and show empa hy o
o he s, es ablish and main ain suppo i e ela ionships, and make esponsible
and ca ing decisions” (CASEL, 2025). The e a e wo a ibu es o his de ini ion
ha equi e ca e ul a en ion. The de ini ion poin s ou ha all young people
and adul s can expe ience SEL. This is impo an because many people assume
ha SEL is jus o child en and you h. In ac , SEL also occu s in adul s. Fo
example, when educa o s lea n and apply new in e cul u al skills o wo king
wi h s uden s o colo o ecen immig an s, ha ep esen s an aspec o adul
SEL.
A second a ibu e o his de ini ion e e s o wha people lea n and can ap‐
ply – SEL in ol es he de elopmen o mo e han skills. SEL also in ol es new
knowledge and a i udes ha people acqui e. Fo ins ance, in he U.S. he e has
been a mo emen o inc ease cul u al esponsi eness o SEL. To achie e his
goal, educa o s ha e had o lea n and apply new skills, de elop new knowledge
abou cul u es, and change hei a i udes abou people who we e un amilia o
hem in he pas (Wanless e al., 2023). All his is necessa y be o e eache s a e
eady o apply hese compe encies in hei class ooms.
By de ini ion, SECs occu as a p oduc o SEL. SECs all in o h ee b oad ca ‐
ego ies: sel -skills, social skills, and decision-making (CASEL, 2025), as shown
in Figu e 1. The b oad ca ego y o sel -skills co esponds o he in ape sonal
Socio-emo ional lea ning 17
Figu e 1: CASEL model showing he de elopmen o social and emo‐
ional compe encies
compe encies o sel -awa eness and sel -managemen . Sel -awa eness e e s o a
pe son’s abili y o unde s and hei own alues, hough s, and emo ions and he
ways hese ideas link o hei beha io . Sel -awa eness in ol es iden i ying one’s
own emo ions, hei pe sonal and cul u al asse s, examina ion o one’s own
p ejudices and biases, de eloping sel -e icacy, a g ow h mindse and a sense
o pu pose. When an eigh h g ade desc ibes hemsel es as iewing mis akes as
a no mal pa o lea ning and indica ion ha hey need o y a di e en idea o
sol e a p oblem, hey a e demons a ing g ow h mindse , which is one aspec
o sel -awa eness. Sel -managemen e e s o he abili y o a pe son o egula e
and manage hei hough s, beha io s, and emo ions and o adjus hose beha ‐
io s o ma ch di e en con ex s. Use o s ess managemen s a egies, managing
s ong emo ions, exis ing sel -discipline, showing ini ia i e and di ec ing hei
a en ion o pe sonal and collec i e goals a e examples o sel -managemen .
Codeswi ching, he modi ica ion o one’s beha io o way o speaking o ma ch
hei immedia e cul u al en i onmen , also equi es sel -managemen skills.
The b oad ca ego y o social skills also has wo subca ego ies and includes
social awa eness and ela ionship skills. Social awa eness e e s o he abili y
o unde s and he pe spec i e o o he s, e en i hey a e om cul u es and
backg ounds ha a e di e en han onesel . I in ol es an unde s anding ha
18 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man
o he people ha e had di e en expe iences han onesel and ha e belie s and
ac ions ha de i e om hose expe iences. I means showing compassion o
o he s and unde s anding wha was conside ed igh in one his o ical pe iod
is no necessa ily conside ed noble in ano he . Being able o iden i y injus ices
i s wi hin social awa eness. Rela ionship skills e e o people’s abili y o c ea e
and main ain ela ionships and manage social si ua ions wi h di e se g oups.
A pe son wi h s ong ela ionship skills can communica e well, lis en ca e ully
o o he s, wo k wi h o he s o sol e p oblems, na iga e con lic well, lead o
ollow, when he si ua ion calls o i . Rela ionship skills can mean showing
cul u al compe ency, esis ing nega i e social p essu e, seeking o o e ing help.
The i h compe ency is esponsible decision-making, e lec ing people’s abil‐
i y o make e ec i e choices abou one’s own beha io in a a ie y o di e en
si ua ions. Responsible decision-making in ol es being able o hink h ough
he consequences o one’s ac ions and how hose ac ions will in luence onesel ,
o he s, and socie y collec i ely. Responsible decision-making equi es open-
mindedness, lea ning how o size up complex si ua ions and make judgmen s,
and iden i ying and enac ing solu ions o social and pe sonal p oblems.
Social and emo ional skills, knowledge and a i udes a e mul iply de e ‐
mined. People lea n hese a home, school, neighbo hood, h ough social media
and ia o he social in e ac ions. Because class ooms and schools a e malleable,
a g ea deal o a en ion has been gi en o SEL in hose con ex s, co esponding
o he class oom and school e ec s desc ibed in Figu e 1.
3. Educa ing o social and emo ional lea ning
SEL is ce ainly no new. Educa o s ha e been eaching s uden s manne s, kind‐
ness, empa hy, sel -con ol, and o he ela ed skills o decades—e en cen u ies
(Oshe e al., 2016). Wha is new is ha e o s o imp o e you h SECs ha e
become an explici aspec o he school expe ience o child en and you h. The e
a e wo main ways ha SEL akes shape in schools – by in oducing p og ams
designed o enhance SEL o by using SEL-p ac ices o ganically as a pa o he
cul u e o he school.
SEL p og ams a e p e alen in he U.S. as e idenced by he $ 765 million
spen on such p og ams be ween No embe 2019 and Ap il 2021 (Ty on Pa ‐
ne s, 2021). SEL p og ams ypically include a pape o online manual, aining,
and coaching ha can be pu chased and used o in-se ice p o essional de el‐
opmen . These p og ams can be desc ibed in a ew main ways; some in eg a e
SEL in o academic ins uc ional con en , o he s o e ee-s anding lessons on
SEL opics, ye o he s a e school-wide app oaches ha in ol e class oom and
Socio-emo ional lea ning 19
school-le el ac i i ies designed o enhance s uden s’ a i udes, knowledge and
skills while also s i ing o c ea e a school cul u e ha is conduci e o lea ning
social and emo ional compe encies. P og ams can be implemen ed in indi id‐
ual class ooms o school-wide, depending on he p og am and dis ic .
The adop ion o SEL p og ams con as s o SEL ha occu s wi hou p o‐
g ams in place. SEL can be na u ally embedded in o he cul u e o a school as
eache s model social and emo ional compe encies owa d s uden s. Fo in‐
s ance, when you h see espec ul in e ac ions among eache s and be ween
eache s and o he s uden s, child en lea n how o in e ac wi h pee s. Teache s
cul i a e emo ion lea ning h ough he daily expe iences o class oom li e (e.g.,
a eache ge ing us a ed and hen alking aloud o calm hemsel es down
when he echnology is no wo king).
Whe he SEL is deli e ed h ough a p og am o o ganically ia he cul u e
o he school, SEL can be uni e sal and deli e ed o all s uden s o a ge ed and
designed o people wi h mode a e o ch onic, se e e needs equi ing in en‐
si e, one-on-one wo k be ween a school counselo o eache and he s uden .
Uni e sal SEL esembles he idea o luo ide in wa e – i is an in e en ion
ha can bene i each and e e y s uden . Howe e , many s uden s need mo e
in ensi e suppo o de elop SECs, in which cases o e ing mo e one-on-one
oppo uni ies o ouch base wi h adul s o access o clinical se ices can add ess
hose needs.
4. T ends in social and emo ional lea ning
Resea che s a he RAND Co po a ion conduc ed a na ionally ep esen a i e
su ey o almos 28,954 eache s and 12,954 p incipals asking hem o a e
he impo ance o eaching a ange o social and emo ional skills (Hamil on
e al., 2019). The su ey asked abou sel -skills including unde s anding and
managing emo ions, se ing and achie ing posi i e goals, de eloping a sense o
iden i y, ela ionships skills including es ablishing and main aining posi i e e‐
la ionships and eeling and showing empa hy owa d o he s, as well as decision-
making skills such as making esponsible decisions. Fo all skills measu ed, o e
90 % o p incipals and eache s desc ibed hese skills as ai ly o e y impo an .
Fo mos skills, 97–99 % o educa o s epo ed hem as ai ly o e y impo an .
The impo ance o SEL has been e iden in ecen policies wi h 27 s a es ha ing
s a e s anda ds o SEL o g ades K-12 in place as o 2022 (De mody & Dusen‐
bu y, 2022).
On one hand, he U.S. has shown a ise in SEL p io i ies and policies ye
he e a e coun e o ces a wo k, as well. SEL has eme ged as a poli ical lash‐
poin . Many conse a i e-leaning poli icians and conse a i e pa en g oups
20 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man
ha e pushed back on SEL s a ing ha eaching social and emo ional compe‐
encies is ou side o he scope o schools and ha you h should be lea ning
hose alues om hei amilies and eligious o ganiza ions. Mos le -leaning
poli icians and pa en g oups ag ee wi h he p emises o SEL. Ye , some le -
leaning schola s and educa o s aise issues because ypical SEL is oo ocused on
“mains eam” whi e U.S. alues and does oo li le o adap o cul u al di e si y
p esen in he schools. Fo example, many s eng hs in s uden s o colo a e
no ecognized as s eng hs no a e ampli ied by ypical SEL (e.g., he abili y o
Black s uden s o codeswi ch) (Rimm-Kau man e al., 2023).
SEL is no only a U.S. phenomenon. Many schools in Ge many use SEL.
Some p og ams ocus na owly on an i-bullying and an i- iolence, o ins ance,
whole school an i-bullying p oblems using app oaches by Olweus (1993), he
‘Faus los’ cu iculum- iolence p e en ion, he P oACT+E app oach and use o
he ‘Fai playe Manual’ (Schei haue & Bull, 2008). O he schools ocus mo e
b oadly on cul i a ing SECs. Fo ins ance, Second S ep has been adap ed om
he U.S. p og am o be used in Ge many, as has he Mindma e s p og am.
Ye o he schools ha e ocused on men al heal h needs o s uden s by adop ing
p og ams such as Lion’s Ques ha suppo s adolescen s’ de elopmen o sense
o sel , eaches lis ening, empa hy, and wise decision-making h ough a se ies
o lessons (Ce ai e al., 2018).
These a e all examples o e o s o enhance social and emo ional compe‐
encies. New me a-analy ic wo k shows he ways in which SEL con ibu es o
sho - and long- e m gains in social, emo ional, academic and beha io al ou ‐
comes (Cip iano e al., 2023; Taylo e al., 2017). SEL app oaches ha e ga ne ed
widesp ead a en ion impac ing bo h policy and p ac ice. Despi e his ocus,
we know oo li le abou how SECs change o e ime, especially du ing adoles‐
cence.
5. The de elopmen o social and emo ional compe encies
I is easy o assume ha child en and you h lea n s eadily and g adually as hey
ma u e. Achie emen p o ides a basis o ha assump ion in ha we know, on
a e age, you h show gains in eading and ma h skills o e ime wi h he g ea es
magni ude o g ow h annually in ea ly childhood and hen smalle inc eases
du ing he middle and high school yea s (Hill e al., 2008). Unlike achie emen ,
you h de elopmen o SECs does no show a simple, upwa d end. Ins ead,
he e a e quali a i e shi s in de elopmen ha can lead o in e up ion and
e en U-shaped pa e ns (So o & Tacke , 2015). Take sel -managemen as an
example. One longi udinal s udy (Ross e al., 2019) showed ha sel -manage‐
men (e.g., deciding on a goal and s icking o i ) was bes modeled quad a ically;

Socio-emo ional lea ning 21
sel -managemen dec eased om age 10 o age 17 ollowed by an inc ease o
age 18.
Findings like his ques ion assump ions in he ield. Be o e in es iga ing u ‐
he , he e a e impo an issues ela ed o measu emen o hese cons uc s o
aise. Some SECs, such as sel -e icacy o g ow h mindse , can only be assessed
h ough s uden - epo which means ou comes e lec ac ual p esence o SECs
as well as s uden s’ pe cep ion o hemsel es ela i e o o he s a ound hem.
In e p e a ion o s uden - epo da a has some ad an ages, o ins ance, he
wo k ele a es you h oice and helps esea che s unde s and s uden s’ ac ual
li ed expe ience. Howe e , s uden - epo also in oduces bias based on he
a ia ion in s uden s’ in e nal app aisal o hei compe encies.
To pu sue inqui y abou how SECs de elop, he au ho (S. Rimm-Kau man)
and wo colleagues (J. Soland and M. Kuh eld) iden i ied an ideal da a se . A
g oup o Cali o nia school dis ic s called he CORE dis ic s s a ed conduc ‐
ing annual su eys abou you h’s de elopmen o SECs in 2015 (Wes e al.,
2018). These da a we e a ailable o esea che s o analysis and we e ideal be‐
cause o he la ge sample and use o s anda dized measu es.
Thus, he pape by Rimm-Kau man and colleagues (2024) was designed o
be e unde s and de elopmen al ends in SECs. The s udy was in o med by
he S age-En i onmen Fi Theo y (Eccles e al., 1993) which posi s ha de el‐
opmen al declines in mo i a ion and pe cep ion o sel in adolescence “ esul
om a misma ch be ween he needs o de eloping adolescen s and he oppo ‐
uni ies a o ded hem by hei social en i onmen s” (Eccles e al., 1993, p. 91).
Despi e he heo y being hi y yea s old, ea ly adolescen s s ill expe ience a
p oblema ic s age-en i onmen i . Ea ly adolescen you h de elop mo e need
o au onomy and become e y sensi i e o social compa ison, ye hey con‐
inue o need close ela ionships wi h adul s (Na ional Academies o Sciences,
Enginee ing, and Medicine [NASEM], 2019; Yu e al., 2018). Fu he , young
adolescen s desi e espec and s a us and adi ional schooling can seem un‐
in e es ing as hey de elop a undamen al need o use hei skills o imp o e
he con ibu e o he wo ld a ound hem (Fuligni, 2019). Jus as hese de el‐
opmen al changes a e occu ing, mos you h a e mo ing om elemen a y o
middle school. In elemen a y school, s uden s ypically s ay in a class oom wi h
one adul and oughly 25 s uden s. In middle school, s uden s ypically mo e
om class oom o class oom and eache s ha e as many as 130 s uden s in any
gi en day. The demands o middle school a e high – eache s expec s uden s o
come o class p epa ed, open only ce ain abs on hei compu e wi hou being
dis ac ed by he in e ne , and wo k on long e m p ojec s wi hou wai ing un il
las minu e o comple e hem. Middle school also means high-s akes g ading,
abili y g ouping, mo e disciplina y ac ion, and an inc ease in he public e al‐
22 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man
ua ion o academic wo k (Deu sch, 2022). Taken oge he , his new con ex
c ea es a challenge o he de eloping child. To pu sue deepe unde s anding o
de elopmen o SECs, analyses we e conduc ed o examine how much g ow h
occu s in social and emo ional compe encies om G ades 4–12?
6. Quan i a i e analysis and esul s
The CORE da a collec ion included nine dis ic s in Cali o nia ha adminis‐
e ed su eys o all s uden s each yea s a ing in 2015, esul ing in a sample o
95,998 s uden s in g ades ou h ough 12 ( oughly ages nine o 18). Collec ing
da a each yea esul ed in longi udinal da a o up o ou yea s. Thus, he analy‐
sis included s uden s who ook he su ey a leas once be ween 2015 and 2018.
The sample o s uden s was almos e enly spli be ween gi ls (49 % ) and boys
(51 % ).2 Roughly 25 % we e om amilies wi h pa en s wi h low educa ional
a ainmen (i.e., high school o below). The sample was 73 % La ine, 11 % Whi e,
10 % Black, and 7 % Asian.
Table 1. Measu es Collec ed in he CORE Dis ic s wi h Selec ed I ems
Cons uc s Example I ems # i ems Alphas
G ow h Mindse I can change my in elligence wi h ha d wo k.
I am capable o lea ning any hing.
4 .70
Sel -E icacy I can mas e he ha des opics in my classes.
I can do well on my es s, e en when hey a e
di icul .
4 .86
Sel -Managemen I came o class p epa ed.
I paid a en ion, e en when he e we e
dis ac ions.
5 .85
Social Awa eness How o en did you complimen o he s’
accomplishmen s?
How well did you ge along wi h s uden s
who a e di e en om you?
5 .81
The 18-i em measu e adminis e ed assessed g ow h mindse , sel -e icacy, sel -
managemen , and sel -awa eness, as shown in Table 1. To add ess he key e‐
2 Gende da a we e limi ed o bina y ca ego ies o gi l and boy.
Socio-emo ional lea ning 23
sea ch ques ion, an Accele a ed Longi udinal Design (ALD) G ow h Models
was used. Fi s , mul ile el g ow h cu e models we e es ima ed and hen lin‐
ea , quad a ic, and cubic g ow h cu es we e es ed. See Rimm-Kau man e al.
(2024) o mo e de ails.
Fo h ee o he ou cons uc s, indings showed a shi in s uden s’ pe ‐
cep ions o hei in ape sonal and in e pe sonal compe encies a ound 6
h o
7
h g ade. Figu e 2 shows he pa e ns. Resul s o g ow h mindse gene ally
showed inc eases in sco es o e ime. Sel -e icacy showed a somewha di e en
pa e n: s uden s ended o show consis en declines as hey mo ed om 5
h
o 6
h g ade and beyond, bu ha ajec o y la ened o e en cu ed upwa ds
in 11
h and 12
h g ade. Fo sel -managemen , s uden s we e le el in 4
h and 5
h
g ade, hen showed declines be ween 6
h and 8
h g ade, ollowed by inc eases
in la e high school. Fo social awa eness, s uden s showed declines be ween 6
h
and 8
h g ade, and, hen inc eases om 9
h h ough 12
h
.
Ye ano he poin equi es a en ion. The models indica e conside able s u‐
den -le el a iabili y in he la en slope pa ame e s sugges ing ha g ow h in
Figu e 2: Plo s o Model-Based G ow h Es ima es by Cons uc
No e: The do ed black line ep esen s he model-implied ajec o ies using he accele a ed longi udi‐
nal design. The o he lines each ep esen coho -speci ic es ima es. The Y-Axis is he numbe o s an‐
da d de ia ions om he a e age in g ade 4. Rep in ed om Rimm-Kau man e al. (2024, p. 366).
24 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man
hese cons uc s di e s conside ably dependen on he s uden . Fo example,
while s uden s ended o decline in sel -e icacy in he ea ly g ades, a non‐
negligible pe cen age showed g ow h du ing hose yea s. To desc ibe his phe‐
nomenon quan i a i ely, as an example, he mean o he linea slope o g ow h
mindse was .17 SDs. I one we e o ake he squa e oo o he slope a iance,
i would equal .4 SDs. Thus, a s uden app oxima ely 2 SDs abo e he slope
mean would ha e a linea coe icien o .97 SDs, and a s uden 2 SDs below
he slope mean would ha e a linea coe icien o -.63 SDs. Examples like hese
indica e ha elying only on a e ages masks conside able a iabili y in hese
SEC ajec o ies, a poin discussed u he in Rimm-Kau man e al. (2024).
7. Changes in SECs
SECs de elop in ela ion o one ano he and changes in one de elopmen al
domain in luence ano he domain. As an example, he indings show a g adual
dec ease in sel -managemen om 4
h h ough 11
h g ade wi h a sligh up ick
be ween 11
h and 12
h g ade, indings ha ma ch o he longi udinal wo k (Ross
e al., 2019). Also, du ing ea ly adolescence, he demands o school and he
need o sel -managemen in ensi ies as s uden s shi o middle school. Middle
schoole s may pe cei e d ops in hei sel -managemen because o he heigh ‐
ened demands. In he p esence o dips in sel -managemen , sel -e icacy is also
likely o d op (Musci e al., 2022). Lowe sel -managemen and eeling ine ica‐
cious may c ea e s ess ul si ua ions ha means you h will pu hei own needs
i s and show lowe social awa eness.
These de elopmen al changes occu in con ex o s uden s’ school expe i‐
ences. Middle schools end o be la ge han elemen a y schools. You h a e
a ing hemsel es in compa ison o o he s jus as hei compa ison g oup g ows
o include a wide social ci cle a school and likely, online. G ow h mindse is
an anomaly in ha i shows con inued g ow h. G ow h mindse in e en ions
ha e become mo e common in school, which may be one possible explana ion.
Ano he plausible explana ion is ha some aspec s o in elligence (e. g., ocabu‐
la y, wo king memo y) inc ease du ing he een yea s (Ha sho ne & Ge mine,
2015).
The declines in sel -e icacy, sel -managemen and social awa eness ha e
consequences o ac ion among he educa o s who a e a pa o you hs’ de el‐
opmen al expe ience. You h a e a a u ning poin . I adul s o e sca olding
o mee he new demands and show posi i e ega d o you h, s uden s will e‐
main engaged in lea ning. I adul s espond wi h discipline and blame, nega i e
ela ionships will eme ge and s uden s will disengage om school (Engels e al.,
Socio-emo ional lea ning 31
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Elsbe h S e n
Lea ning and pe o mance do no ha e o come a he
expense o socio-emo ional de elopmen
1. In oduc ion
All subjec s augh in school aim o os e meaning ul lea ning and concep ual
unde s anding. The knowledge acqui ed in he class oom is supposed o enable
s uden s o be e unde s and he wo ld a ound hem, as well as o de elop
and achie e sho - e m and long- e m goals. The eali y, howe e o en looks
di e en : S uden s acqui e knowledge ha is bound o he na ow con ex o
he class oom, which means hey do no achie e a deepe unde s anding o he
con en deal wi h. I a all, s uden s can e ie e he knowledge in he nex
exam, bu i s isola ed ep esen a ion in long- e m memo y makes i unlikely
o be ac i a ed in new con ex s inside and ou side o school (Mähle & S e n,
2006). This is de imen al o s uden s, eache s, pa en s and socie y as a whole.
I is pa icula ly us a ing o s uden s o expe ience day a e day ha hey
ha e o lea n hings ha hey do no unde s and and whose in ellec ual o
p ac ical bene i s hey canno comp ehend. These expe iences will mos likely
c ea e eelings o helplessness and belonging unce ain y (Cohen, 2022), which
has a long- e m impac on s uden s’ socio-emo ional de elopmen and impai s
hei u he academic de elopmen (Baume e al., 2023).
P o iding an educa ion sys em ha mee s he needs o socie y and a he
same ime bene i s he b oad a ie y o lea ne s, is one o he g ea es challenges
in he mode n wo ld. Scien i ic p og ess made in a ious a eas ela ed o lea n‐
ing and educa ion can help o be e unde s and he challenges o p o iding
lea ning en i onmen s ha suppo child en in de eloping posi i e a i udes
o pe o mance and equipping hem wi h sel -e icacy. Th ee lines o esea ch,
which will be discussed in de ail in his a icle, can con ibu e o his goal:
a) P epa a ion o u u e lea ning ins ead o sho - e m e ec s: P omo ing
he acquisi ion o usable and ans e able knowledge. Schools we e ounded be‐
cause skills such as eading, w i ing and a i hme ic ha e e ol ed o e he cou se
o cul u al de elopmen and need p o essional ins uc ion o be passed o he
nex gene a ion. The e o e, lea ning a school is by de ini ion mo e demanding
han he acquisi ion o skills o which e olu ion has p epa ed us. A he same
36 Elsbe h S e n
ime, we ha e no ye exhaus ed he oppo uni ies o acili a ing lea ning ha
he lea ning sciences o e us. By p o iding lea ning en i onmen s ha mee he
a o dances and cons ain s o human in o ma ion p ocessing (Schumache &
S e n, 2022), lea ne s a e mo e likely o ha e success ul expe ience and he eby
gain sel -con idence and sel -e icacy (Yu & Schunn, 2024).
b) C ea ing mo i a ion by p omo ing mas e y ins ead o pe o mance o i‐
en a ion: In con as o e e yday concep s held also by many eache s, o Psy‐
chologis s mo i a ion is a he a s a e han a ai . This means ha lea ne s’
mo i a ion can be in luenced by eache s, and his does no ha e o be done
by lowe ing s anda ds. The sel -de e mina ion heo y (Deci & Ryan, 2012) p o‐
ides he amewo k o his.
c) Managing di e si y in cogni i e abili ies, p io knowledge, in e es and
social backg ound. When en e ing a class, s uden s do no s a a he same
le el, and hey o en end up e en mo e di e se. In pa icula , cogni i e abili ies
as measu ed wi h in elligence es s a e a s able pe sonali y ai wi h a s ong
impac on lea ning ou comes (S e n, 2017; 2024). Managing di e si y o he
bene i o all is a majo challenge o eache s, which needs mo e a en ion.
2. P epa a ion o u u e lea ning ins ead o sho - e m e ec s:
P omo ing he acquisi ion o usable and ans e able knowledge
E ec i e lea ning en i onmen s ha e o conside a o dances and cons ain s
o he human minds. Thanks o scien i ic p og ess in cogni i e science, we now
ha e a solid unde s anding o how he human mind wo ks and how lea ning
can be p omo ed. To a oid us a ion among s uden s and eache s, lea ning
ma e ial and ins uc ional in e en ions mus conside how incoming in o ‐
ma ion is encoded, s o ed and e ie ed. In he in e es s o e icien lea ning
en i onmen s, he mul i-s o e model o human in o ma ion p ocessing ag eed
on by psychologis s should be aken in o accoun in all educa ional ac i i ies.
Senso y memo y is he ea lies s age o p ocessing he la ge amoun o con in‐
uously incoming in o ma ion om sigh , hea ing and o he senses. In o de o
allow goal di ec ed beha io and selec i e a en ion, only a ac ional amoun
o incoming in o ma ion passes in o he wo king memo y, which is esponsible
o empo a ily main aining and manipula ing in o ma ion du ing cogni i e
ac i i y. The special a chi ec u e o wo king memo y is one o he unique ea‐
u es o humans. Wha he cell is o Biology and he molecule is o Chem‐
is y is wo king memo y o Psychology, as his cons uc can b oadly explain
wha con ols human beha io (S e n, 2024). The limi ed capaci y o wo king
memo y allows con ol o a en ion and he eby enabling goal di ec ed and

Lea ning and pe o mance 37
conscious in o ma ion p ocessing. Wo king memo y is he ga ekeepe o he
long- e m memo y, which is assumed o ha e an unlimi ed capaci y. He e, in‐
o ma ion acqui ed h ough expe ience and easoning can be s o ed in di e en
modali ies as well as in symbol sys ems (e.g., language, sc ip , ma hema ical no‐
a ion sys ems, pic o ials, music p in s). Wo king memo y enables in en ional
in o ma ion p ocessing by ocused a en ion, bu i can also p ocess inciden al
in o ma ion. The mul i-s o e model o human in o ma ion p ocessing is no a
all a one-way s ee , and long- e m memo y is no o be seen as a s o e oom o
a ha d-disk whe e in o ma ion emains unal e ed once i has been deposi ed.
A mo e app op ia e model o long- e m memo y is a sel -o ganizing ne wo k,
in which e bal concep s, images, o p ocedu es a e ep esen ed as in e linked
nodes wi h a ying associa i e s eng h (S e n, 2017).
Wo king memo y egula es he in e ac ion be ween incoming in o ma ion
om senso y memo y and knowledge ac i a ed om long- e m memo y. In
case o e y s ong incoming s imuli (e.g., a loud noise o a ha sh ligh ),
wo king memo y ac i i ies will be in e up ed. Fo he mos pa , howe e ,
wo king memo y is gua ding agains incoming in o ma ion o make su e ha
goals ha ha e been se will be achie ed app op ia ely. This means, wo king
memo y is con inuously busy wi h selec ing incoming in o ma ion, aligning
i o knowledge e ie ed om long- e m memo y, and p epa ing esponses
o accomplishing equi emen s demanded by he en i onmen . Inapp op ia e
and unsui able in o ma ion in uding om senso y as well as om long- e m
memo y has o be inhibi ed, while app op ia e and sui able in o ma ion om
bo h sou ces has o be upda ed. These wo king memo y ac i i ies pe manen ly
change knowledge ep esen ed in long- e m memo y by adding new nodes and
by al e ing he associa i e s eng h be ween hem. Wo king memo y ac i i ies
a e in e wined wi h he con ex as well as wi h he knowledge s o ed in he
long- e m memo y. One o he mos impo an insigh s om he lea ning sci‐
ences is ha p io knowledge is he mos impo an p edic o o u u e lea ning.
Success ul eaching means o p o ide lea ning oppo uni ies ha mee wi h
p io knowledge.
Psychologis s ha e ag eed on dis inguishing be ween decla a i e (knowing
ha ) and p ocedu al (knowing how) knowledge. Decla a i e knowledge can be
communica ed because i is ep esen ed on he basis o symbol sys ems (lan‐
guage, sc ip , ma hema ical o isual-spa ial ep esen a ions). I is he basis o
cons uc ing meaning ul concep ual knowledge h ough p ocesses o in e ence
and elabo a ion. In con as o decla a i e knowledge, p ocedu al knowledge
can be di ec ly applied o pe o m a ask, and i includes mo o ic ac ions like
d i ing ca s as well as men al ac ions like algeb aic ans o ma ions. P oce‐
du al knowledge eme ges as a consequence o epe i ion, by which single ac‐
38 Elsbe h S e n
ions become inc easingly in eg a ed in o a coo dina ed se ies o ac ions. I
he associa ion be ween hese ac ions is s ong enough, hey can ac i a e each
o he and he e o e only need a minimum o wo king memo y unc ions. Be‐
cause au oma ed knowledge is a mos pa ly open o conscious inspec ion, i
can ha dly be e balized, and is esis an o modi ica ion. Mas e y o any aca‐
demic con en a ea equi es p ocedu al and concep ual knowledge. Bo h kinds
o knowledge a e s ongly in e wined (Schneide & S e n, 2010), bu hey a e
acqui ed h ough di e en mechanisms. P ocedu al knowledge is acqui ed by
condensing single pieces o knowledge in o b oade uni s. The epea ed exe‐
cu ion o ac ions composed o single s eps esul s in au oma ed p ocedu es.
The epea ed p esen a ion o se s o small single s imuli may esul in pu ing
hem oge he o a meaning ul whole, which is called a chunk. Once chunks and
p ocedu es a e c ea ed, hey can be p ocessed wi h low memo y equi emen s.
T ans o ming single le e s in o wo ds is an example o chunking.
Concep ual knowledge, on he o he hand, ep esen s meaning, wha can
show up in classi ica ions, p inciples, gene aliza ions, heo ies o models in a
con en a ea. I can be communica ed ia symbol sys ems and i is cons uc ed
h ough easoning ha has been s imula ed in in e ac ions wi h o he indi id‐
uals, w i en ma e ial o o he media. Engaging wi h con en in his way is a
challenge o wo king memo y – in pa icula o a eas ha a e mainly based on
abs ac concep s, as i is he case o many STEM a eas.
How o p omo e usable knowledge
The goal o academic lea ning is he acquisi ion o usable knowledge ha is lex‐
ible enough o ans e and p oblem sol ing. Usable knowledge is composed o
p ocedu es and chunks o elie e wo king memo y unc ions which can hen be
used o g asping he gis o a p oblem. Con en a eas and academic disciplines
di e in he composi ion o bo h kinds o knowledge, and his may a ec he
impo ance o in elligence o achie ing expe ise. Typical a eas o expe ise
which a e p ima ily cha ac e ized by he o ma ion o chunks a e eading and
chess. Lea ning om ex s is e ec i e i wo king memo y esou ces a e a ail‐
able o p ocessing he con en ins ead o decoding le e s. Expe ienced eade s
ha e chunked le e s in o wo ds and pa e ns o wo ds and he e o e can con‐
cen a e on he con en . Expe ise in chess is gained by chunking single chess
posi ions in o b oade uni s which can be ecognized and s o ed wi h minimum
wo king memo y esou ces. Also, in b oade disciplines, chunking is essen ial
and e lec s expe ise. The audience o my lec u e on “Human Lea ning” a e
mas e ’s s uden s om di e en STEM a eas. To demons a e he impac o
p io knowledge on memo y, I show my s uden s pic u es p esen ed in Figu e 1
Lea ning and pe o mance 39
Figu e 1: The pic u es p esen ed in he le column p esen impo an concep s om Chemis y (choles‐
e ol molecule), Biology (animal cell) and Ma hema ics ( i s and second de i a i e o a polynomial
unc ion). The pic u es we e p esen ed o a ew seconds o STEM s uden s wi h di e en disciplina y
backg ounds, who we e asked o d aw hem a e wa ds. Examples o he d awings om he s uden s
a e p esen ed in he cells o demons a e he impo ance o p io knowledge o memo izing complex
in o ma ion.
o a ew seconds and hen ask my s uden s o d aw hem. The pic u es ep e‐
sen concep s ha make sense o expe s in he ield, while being mo e o less
andom o o he s. This becomes ob ious in hei d awings. Depending on hei
disciplina y backg ound, hey ei he ep oduce he image exac ly o p o ide a
ough ske ch ha lacks key concep ual ea u es.
Au oma ed p ocedu es and chunks a e necessa y bu no su icien o mas‐
e ing b oade academic a eas. STEM disciplines as well as humani ies a e cul‐
u al achie emen s and mas e ing hem means unde s anding s a emen s ex‐
p essed in symbolic sys ems such as language, w i ing, o mal no a ions, pic‐
o ial and g aphical ep esen a ions. Compe ence is e iden in hese a eas by
building a ne wo k o in e connec ed bu dis inc concep s, which p o ide he
basis o deduc i e, induc i e, and analogical easoning. Such cogni i e p o‐
cesses enable ans e o knowledge o new si ua ions and p oblems, which is
a challenge o all lea ne s, no ma e how in elligen hey a e. The di icul ies
ha e been bes explo ed in ma hema ics and he na u al sciences, especially in
physics. He e s uden s no only ha e o lea n new concep s, as i is he case
o all academic ields, bu hey mus also es uc u e he meaning o many
exp essions used in daily li e, among hem concep s like o ce o ene gy. Ma h‐
40 Elsbe h S e n
ema ics is based on heo ems and ela ions be ween numbe s and igu es ha
a e de i ed by deduc i e easoning.
Lea ning en i onmen s a e e ec i e i hey mee wi h s uden s’ p io knowl‐
edge and add ess lea ne s’ de ici s ei he in e ms o concep ual misunde s and‐
ings o in e ms o a lack o chunking and au oma ion. In he pas decades,
lea ning sciences ha e de eloped and sys ema ically e alua ed so called means
o cogni i e ac i a ion ha can be implemen ed in ins uc ional uni s. These
means ha e in common ha hey in end o ace lea ne s wi h de ici s and mis‐
unde s andings ega ding hei p io knowledge (Schumache & S e n, 2022).
P esen ing lea ning ma e ial ha equi es sys ema ic compa ison be ween su‐
pe icially simila bu concep ually di e en si ua ions can help o ex ac ab‐
s ac concep s. P omp ing sel -explana ions o asking me acogni i e ques ions
aises lea ne s’ awa eness o hei p io knowledge, including de ici s and mis‐
concep ions. Thanks o p og ess in digi iza ion, eache s now ha e me hods
like o ma i e assessmen a hei disposal which allow hem o diagnose hei
s uden s’ de ici s and p o ide hem wi h app op ia e lea ning oppo uni ies. A
second g ade may answe “7” when asked: “Wha is a qua e o 32”. A eache
may conclude ha he s uden does no mas e mul iplica ion ables p ope ly
and he e o e asks he s uden o jus p ac ice. Howe e , by asking he s uden
o explain why he ended up wi h se en may shed ligh on se e e concep ual
de ici s: “A qua e is always 25, and 32-25 esul s in 7”. In his case, he concep
o “qua e ” has o be add essed. “Knowing wha s uden s know” is he key o
be e adap lea ning oppo uni ies o s uden s needs and sa es a lo o us a‐
ion o s uden s and eache s. This kind o cogni i e empa hy on he pa o he
eache s can be expec ed o p omo e s uden s’ social-emo ional de elopmen .
3. Mo i a ion: P omo ing mas e y ins ead o pe o mance
o ien a ion
Many eache s complain abou hei s uden s’ lack o mo i a ion, as hey ha e
he eeling ha no ma e wha e o s hey make, s uden s a e no willing o
ge in ol ed. A bes , hey de elop ex insic mo i a ion, i.e. hey wo k owa ds
passing he exam o ge ing he bes g ade wi h minimal e o . Such expe i‐
ence sugges s ha mo i a ion is a ixed indi idual cha ac e is ic a he han a
malleable s a e. Such a i udes a e suppo ed by messages deli e ed by some
psychologis s, e.g. by Duckwo h e al. (2019), who emphasizes ha a s uden ’s
g i – hei passion and pe se e ance o long- e m goals – is decisi e o he
lea ning ou comes. P econdi ion o de eloping g i is o de elop passion and
in e es s and o cul i a e delibe a e p ac ice. The emphasis on passion and in‐
Lea ning and pe o mance 47
Changing school sys ems is a long and edious p ocess, and in Ge many se ‐
e al a emp s o o e come he disad an ages o acking we e doomed o ailu e.
Fu u e changes need o be be e planned. In he mean ime, o mi iga e he
impac o social backg ound on admission o uni e si y educa ion, educa ional
sciences should ca e ully e alua e unde wha condi ions in elligence es s can
help o make decisions as ai as possible.
Ad 2: The cen al ole o wo king memo y unc ions in academic lea ning
om a uni e sal, a de elopmen al, and a di e en ial pe spec i e should de‐
e mine u he esea ch. Thanks o he cogni i e load heo y, he uni e sal
pe spec i e is eady o be implemen ed in lea ning ma e ial and en i onmen s.
Mo e esea ch, howe e , is needed conce ning cons ain s in b ain de elop‐
men a ec ing wo king memo y unc ions. While ea ly childhood and adoles‐
cence go su icien a en ion, mo e has o be lea ned abou he a o dances and
cons ain s o wo king memo y among elemen a y school child en in o de o
op imally exploi hei lea nabili y in he i s yea s o school, when he oun‐
da ions o li e acy as well as o ma hema ical and scien i ic easoning a e laid.
As discussed abo e, wo king memo y and easoning abili ies measu ed in in‐
elligence es s a e closely ela ed, bu hey a e no iden ical. Reasoning abili ies
need cogni i e challenges o de elop, acili a ed by a well- unc ioning wo king
memo y. While measu es o easoning and wo king memo y show high co ‐
ela ions, he e a e de ia ions in bo h di ec ions. Some indi iduals wi h high
wo king memo y unc ions do no ully ansla e hese in o easoning. O h‐
e s a e able o de elop easoning abili ies ha exceed hei wo king memo y
unc ions. Fu u e esea ch should ocus on easons o hese pa e ns as well as
consequences o u u e lea ning.
Rega ding he implica ions o p ac ice, he ui ul collabo a ion be ween
lea ning scien is s and subjec -speci ic expe s should be con inued. Teache
educa ion p og ams as well as aining p og ams o in-se ice- eache s should
ocus on he implemen a ion o p o en means o use ul knowledge cons uc‐
ion in co e con en a eas o hei subjec . Awa eness o he mission o o ma‐
i e assessmen and implemen ing i in o daily class oom p ac ice should be a
op p io i y. Unde s anding wha exac ly causes s uden s’ di icul ies can hen
help o o e he app op ia e lea ning oppo uni ies.
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Flo ian Schmiedek
Lea ning o a - isk s uden s
A dynamic pe spec i e
In ecen yea s, he e has been g owing conce n abou he socio-emo ional well-
being and men al heal h o child en and adolescen s. These conce ns add o he
ongoing conce ns abou he academic achie emen o hese age g oups, pa ‐
icula ly wi h ega d o basic compe encies, and especially o child en om
disad an aged backg ounds. Fo an educa ion sys em ha no only aims o
p omo e he de elopmen o such compe encies, bu also akes esponsibili y
as an impo an en i onmen o he iden i ica ion and p e en ion o men al
heal h p oblems and he gene al imp o emen o socio-emo ional well-being,
he ques ion a ises as o how hese wo gene al domains o ou comes a e e‐
la ed. A e hey posi i ely in e wined, such ha p omo ing one domain will
au oma ically bene i he o he – and ailing o do so will inc ease isk in he
o he ? O a e hese ou come domains in con lic , equi ing decisions abou
how o alloca e limi ed educa ional esou ces? In wha ollows, I will a gue ha
a emp s o answe hese ques ions a a gene al le el a e limi ed. Ra he , he
dynamic p ocesses ha link lea ning and well-being and ha may place lea ne s
a isk o academic ailu e and men al heal h p oblems should be unde s ood as
po en ially highly indi idualized and he e o e dese ing o in es iga ion om
a wi hin-pe son pe spec i e ha akes his indi iduali y in o accoun .
1 S uden s a isk o academic ailu e and men al heal h p oblems
Since he sobe ing esul s o he i s PISA s udies, he e has been inc eased
moni o ing o he educa ional sys em, esul ing in wo ying igu es on he
p e alence o s uden s a isk o academic ailu e. Fo example, he e a e he
la ge and inc easing pe cen ages o s uden s ailing o mee minimum s an‐
da ds in basic compe encies as documen ed by he IQB Bildungs end (S ana
e al., 2023) and simila ly conce ning ends in he numbe o s uden s d op‐
ping ou o school, as epo ed in he mos ecen Na ional Repo on Educa‐
ion (Au o :inneng uppe Bildungsbe ich e s a ung, 2024). Asking abou he
isk ac o s ha in u n p edic such indica o s o academic ailu e, he e is
s ong empi ical e idence o gene al (backg ound o dis al) ac o s like, o
52 Flo ian Schmiedek
example, po e y (Sel i opu & Kaya, 2023) and mig a ion backg ound (Hea h
& B inbaum, 2014). These con ibu e o mo e p oximal isk ac o s a he le el
o he indi idual s uden , like lack o language compe ences (Snowling e al.,
2021), socio-emo ional compe ences (McLeod & Kaise , 2004), o sel - egula‐
ion compe ences (Robson e al., 2020). I he exp ession o such indi idual ac‐
o s is p onounced, i can lead o ul illing he diagnos ic c i e ia o high- isk
ca ego ies such as lea ning diso de s o a en ion de ici hype ac i i y diso de
(Ca iola e al., 2024).
Wi h ega d o socio-emo ional well-being, he e is g owing e idence o
a dis u bingly high and inc easing p e alence o men al heal h p oblems
among child en and adolescen s. Repo s by bo h in e na ional (McGo y e al.,
2024) and na ional expe commissions (Deu sche Akademie de Na u o sche
Leopoldina, 2024) ha e ecen ly e iewed he empi ical li e a u e and no iced
he magni ude and u gency o he p oblem. Among he mos impo an isk
ac o s o men al heal h p oblems, again backg ound ac o s such as po e y
(Klasen e al., 2017) a e p ominen . As mo e p oximal ac o s, amilial ac o s
(e.g., men al heal h p oblems o pa en s; Bea dslee e al., 2011), expe ience
o iolence and abuse (Baldwin e al., 2023), and mobbing (Du y & Spe y,
2012), o example show ele an oles in p edic ing men al heal h p oblems,
which can mani es in diagnoses o men al diso de s in he ex eme case. In
child en and adolescen s, he diso de ca ego ies o dep ession, anxie y, and
psychosoma ic p oblems a e pa icula ly p e alen (Deu sche Akademie de
Na u o sche Leopoldina, 2024).
In summa y, he cu en numbe s and longi udinal ends in bo h domains,
academic achie emen s. ailu e and socio-emo ional well-being s. men al
heal h p oblems, a e ala ming and call o inc eased poli ical and socie al e o s
o add ess and educe hese p oblems. The ac ha impo an isk ac o s o
bo h p oblem domains a e pa ly he same may lead o he expec a ion ha
he e should be a posi i e ela ionship be ween bo h p oblem domains. So, wha
is he scien i ic e idence o such an associa ion?
2. The ela ion o academic achie emen and well-being: Theo e ical
a gumen s and empi ical indings
Rega ding heo e ical conside a ions, one can ind a gumen s o , bo h, a pos‐
i i e (“win-win”) ela ion, as well as a nega i e (“ ade-o ”) ela ion be ween
academic achie emen and well-being. A gumen s o a posi i e ela ion o ‐
en posi posi i e ecip ocal e ec s be ween bo h domains. Fo example, he
B oaden-and-Build Theo y (F ed ickson, 2001) p oposes ha well-being can

Lea ning o a - isk s uden s 53
os e lea ning p ocesses h ough a b oadening o hough -ac ion epe oi es,
which can allow o build pe sonal esou ces ha , in u n, enhance well-being.
Sel -de e mina ion heo y (Ryan & Deci, 2000) also assumes ecip ocal ela‐
ions, wi h academic success sa is ying he need o compe ence. Being one
o he basic psychological needs acco ding o his heo y, i s sa is ac ion con‐
ibu es o well-being. Fu he mo e, i se es a basis o he de elopmen o in‐
insic mo i a ion, which in u n is again bene icial o academic pe o mance.
Recip ocal e ec s a e also cen al o De elopmen al Cascades Theo y (Moilanen
e al., 2010), which posi s ha ex e nalizing and in e nalizing symp oms and
academic ailu e can mu ually enhance each o he .
Howe e , a gumen s can also be ound o a nega i e ela ionship be ween
he wo domains (see Högbe g, 2023, o a summa y). The simple ac ha ime
is limi ed po en ially leads o oppo uni y cos s: s uden s who in es a lo o
ime in lea ning ha e less ime le o o he (e.g., leisu e and social) ac i i‐
ies ha a e bene icial o hei socio-emo ional well-being. In addi ion, high-
achie ing con ex s (such as eli e schools) a e o en cha ac e ized by a compe i‐
i e clima e and a disp opo iona e emphasis on pe o mance, which can ha e
nega i e emo ional consequences. Gi en ha hese di e en heo e ical mecha‐
nisms may all con ibu e o he o e all ela ionship be ween academic achie e‐
men and well-being and hus (pa ially) coun e ac each o he , i is pe haps
no su p ising ha empi ical e idence is mixed and quan i a i e me a-analy ic
summa ies sugges a he weak ela ionships. A me a-analysis by Bücke e al.
(2018) epo s an a e age co ela ion o .16 and ano he one by Kaya and E dem
(2021) esul s in an a e age ela ionship (Fishe ’s z) o .17. Looking a hese
numbe s alone, one migh be emp ed o conclude ha academic achie emen
and socio-emo ional well-being a e ela i ely independen om each o he and
he e o e could also be add essed by independen measu es. In he ollowing,
howe e , I would like o highligh ha such an a e age ela ion o be ween-
pe son di e ences may no be in o ma i e abou he mechanisms ha link aca‐
demic achie emen and well-being a he le el o indi idual s uden s, ha hese
mechanisms may in ac be qui e he e ogeneous ac oss s uden s, and ha he e
is he e o e much o be gained by also conside ing ela ionships a he le el
o wi hin-pe son a iabili y by aking a dynamic pe spec i e on he in e play
be ween academic achie emen and well-being.
54 Flo ian Schmiedek
3. The ela ionship be ween academic achie emen and well-being:
Wi hin-pe son ela ionships
A cen al insigh ha has ecei ed inc easing a en ion in psychology in ecen
decades is ha ela ions obse ed a he le el o be ween-pe son di e ences
may no be in o ma i e abou ela ions a he le el o he indi iduals unde lying
hese be ween-pe son di e ences. Only unde s ic condi ions (i.e., e godici y;
Molenaa , 2004), in e ences om be ween-pe son ela ions o wi hin-pe son
ela ions a e possible. Indi iduals may di e om each o he in hei wi hin-
pe son ela ions and he a e age wi hin-pe son ela ion may di e om he
be ween-pe son ela ion. Figu e 1 p o ides an illus a i e example. I shows
esul s om he FLUX s udy (Di k & Schmiedek, 2016), in which 110 hi d
and ou h g ade s pa icipa ed in sma phone-based ambula o y assessmen s
se e al imes a day o up o 31 days. On hese occasions, hey comple ed di ‐
e en wo king memo y asks and se e al sel - epo measu es, including a ‐
ings o ask- ela ed enjoymen . The main sca e plo shows he posi i e ela‐
ionship be ween wo king memo y pe o mance and enjoymen a e aged o e
all measu emen occasions o each child and indica es a posi i e ela ion‐
ship ( = .33) – child en who pe o m be e on a e age end o enjoy wo k‐
ing on he asks mo e. Howe e , when looking a he le el o wi hin-pe son
a ia ion ac oss he di e en measu emen occasions o indi idual s uden s,
he pic u e can be qui e di e en . In he example, wo s uden s (Child 1 and
Child 2) wi h e y simila a e age le els o pe o mance and enjoymen show
adically di e en wi hin-pe son ela ionships – o Child 1 his ela ionship
is qui e s ong ( = .56), o Child 2 he e is no sys ema ic ela ionship a all
( = -.01). Nei he one is well cha ac e ized by he be ween-pe son co ela ion
o .33. Mu ayama e al. (2017) p o ide u he illus a i e examples o he e o‐
geneous wi hin-pe son ela ionships in educa ional psychology esea ch con‐
ex s.
Such he e ogenei y o wi hin-pe son ela ionships sugges s ha he causal
mechanisms p oducing he obse ed ela ionships may also di e ac oss indi‐
iduals. And e en when simila wi hin-pe son ela ionships a e obse ed, he
unde lying causal mechanisms may s ill be di e en . Conside ing he ela ion‐
ship be ween academic achie emen and socio-emo ional well-being, he e may
be achie emen -o ien ed s uden s o whom achie emen is a p ima y sou ce o
sel -es eem and well-being. Fo o he s, hei success in lea ning may be highly
dependen on he absence o nega i e emo ions – which would also p oduce
a posi i e wi hin-pe son ela ionship be ween achie emen and well-being, ye
based on a di e en causal mechanism. I may also be he case ha an obse ed
posi i e ela ionship is p oduced by hi d a iables ha mu ually in luence bo h
Lea ning o a - isk s uden s 55
Figu e 1. Compa ison o he be ween-pe son ela ionship o wo king memo y pe o mance and ask-
ela ed enjoymen in N= 110 child en pa icipa ing in up o 31 days o ambula o y assessmen in he
FLUX s udy (Di k & Schmiedek, 2016) wi h he wi hin-pe son ela ionships o wo selec ed child en
ac oss s udy occasions. Wo king memo y (WM) pe o mance is a composi e o accu acy on nume ical
and igu al-spa ial WM upda ing asks wi h di e en memo y load condi ions (see Di k & Schmiedek,
2016). Task- ela ed joy is a composi e o sel - a ing on he i ems “I jus had a lo o un wo king on he
( asks and) ques ions o e all.”, “I jus enjoyed wo king on he ( asks and) ques ions.”, and “I jus ound
wo king on he ( asks and) ques ions bo ing.” ( e e sed i em) wi h 5-poin Like scales.
achie emen and well-being, such as day- o-day a ia ions in sleep quali y o
heal h s a us. I is e en possible ha he ela ionship may be nega i e o in‐
di idual s uden s. Conside a child who pe o ms bes a imes when pa en al
p essu e o pe o m well is high, which o his child is associa ed wi h lowe
le els o well-being due o s ess and es anxie y. O conside an adolescen
who goes h ough pe iods o spending a lo o ime wi h pee s, which has a
posi i e impac on socio-emo ional well-being by mee ing he need o social
inclusion, bu a nega i e impac on ime spen lea ning. While hese examples
a e specula i e, hey should se e o illus a e ha a weak be ween-pe son co ‐
ela ion be ween achie emen and well-being may mask a la ge he e ogenei y
o indi idual ela ions and unde lying causal mechanisms. I known, hese di ‐
e en mechanisms would also sugges di e en indi idual s a ing poin s o
in e en ions aimed a imp o ing achie emen and well-being. Howe e , i is
only by examining wi hin-pe son a ia ion wi h measu emen -in ensi e longi‐
udinal s udies ha we may be able o iden i y such be ween-pe son a iabili y
in ela ionships and mechanisms.
56 Flo ian Schmiedek
Wi h he g ow h o measu emen -in ensi e s udies, empi ical e idence o
such be ween-pe son a iabili y is beginning o accumula e in se e al esea ch
a eas o psychology, including educa ional psychology. Fo example, Niepel
e al. (2022) in es iga ed he c oss-lagged ela ionships be ween ma hema ical
sel -concep and pe cei ed ma hema ics achie emen in 372 seconda y school
s uden s, using sel - epo measu es a e each ma hema ics lesson o e a h ee-
week pe iod. They ound signi ican a e age c oss-lagged e ec s in bo h di ec‐
ions (i.e., be e pe o mance in one lesson p edic ed be e sel -concep in he
nex lesson and ice e sa). The e we e also signi ican andom e ec s, indica ‐
ing be ween-pe son di e ences in he s eng h o hese wi hin-pe son e ec s.
In e es ingly, he co ela ion o hese andom e ec s was nega i e ( = -.56),
indica ing ha he ecip ocal e ec s ended o be s onge in one di ec ion o
he o he o di e en g oups o s uden s.
Such an indica ion o po en ial he e ogenei y in wi hin-pe son ela ions
o cons uc s ela ed o pe o mance and well-being was also epo ed by
Neubaue e al. (2019). Using da a om he FLUX s udy (see abo e) and
mix u e modeling, hey we e able o iden i y la en classes wi h di e en
pa e ns o ela ions be ween wo king memo y pe o mance and ou di‐
mensions o momen a y a ec i e well-being (posi i e and nega i e a ec ,
ac i a ion and deac i a ion). While wo o he la en classes showed el‐
a i ely s ong (o weak) wi hin-pe son ela ions o pe o mance wi h all
a ec dimensions, he o he wo la en classes we e cha ac e ized by pe ‐
o mance being speci ically associa ed wi h nega i e a ec and deac i a‐
ion o exclusi ely wi h ac i a ion. Again, such he e ogenei y may sug‐
ges di e en p omising app oaches when conside ing indi idualized in‐
e en ions (e.g., educing nega i e a ec o inc easing le els o ac i a‐
ion).
4. F om bi a ia e wi hin-pe son ela ions o complex dynamic
ne wo ks
In clinical psychology, esea ch on men al diso de s has in ecen yea s inc eas‐
ingly adop ed measu emen -in ensi e s udies and ocused on wi hin-pe son
p ocesses, ypically assessed in pa ien s’ e e yday li e con ex s using ambula‐
o y assessmen (T ull & Ebne -P ieme , 2013). This g ow h has os e ed a
pa allel new concep ual de elopmen based on dynamic sys ems heo y and
ne wo k modeling app oaches (Bo sboom, 2017). The gene al mo i a ion be‐
hind his is o mo e away om he adi ional iew in psychia y and clinical
psychology, which concep ualizes men al diso de s as sepa a e ca ego ies ha
Lea ning o a - isk s uden s 63
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Pa 2: Emo ions, mo i a ion and well-being – he ole o
socio-emo ional aspec s in lea ning
.
Anne C. F enzel & Thomas Goe z
Lea ning and emo ions
In his con ibu ion, we se ou o ake ou eade s on a jou ney o be e un‐
de s and he na u e o emo ions, as well as hei an eceden s and lea ning ou ‐
comes. The p esen ed emo ion heo y and exis ing empi ical e idence poin s
o close links be ween emo ions and lea ning; hence i seems ha class ooms
designed o op imize s uden s’ emo ions should also be conduci e o e ec i e
cogni i e de elopmen . Ne e heless, we conclude by ealizing ha i is no
i ial o align socio-emo ional and cogni i e de elopmen goals in class ooms.
Ins ead, he ypical, pe o mance-o ien ed class oom se ings seem o make
hose goals ope a e in compe i ion. By emphasizing mas e y-o ien a ion and
de aching he oles o “ins uc o ” e sus “examine ”, a be e alignmen o he
wo goals does seem achie able.
Bu now, in o he jungle o human emo ional expe iences . . .
1. Emo ions in educa ional con ex s: Concep ualiza ion
Emo ions unc ion as an “in e ace be ween an o ganism and i s en i onmen ”
(Sche e & Moo s, 2019, p. 721), comp ising a ious componen s such as si ‐
ua ional e alua ions, ac ion endencies, physiological esponses, exp essi e be‐
ha io s, and subjec i e eelings. Fo example, he subjec i e eeling o p ide can
a ise when an indi idual has achie ed an academic success due o hei pe ‐
sonal abili y o e o . This goes in line wi h a mo i a ion o engage in simila
ac i i ies, and is accompanied by physiological changes like inc eased hea a e
and body empe a u e, as well as exp essi e beha io s such as smiling, il ing
he head back, expanding he ches , and po en ially aising a ms. In con as ,
he subjec i e eeling o anxie y eme ges in ace o a po en ial academic ailu e,
and goes in line wi h a desi e o escape he si ua ion, as well as physiological
eac ions like a apid hea a e, swea ing, wide eyes, and c ouched pos u e, and
wo ies abou nega i e consequences o he po en ial academic ailu e.
Emo ions a e ypically o sho du a ion and di ec ed owa d speci ic objec s,
se ing hem apa om moods, which end o be longe -las ing, less ocused
on speci ic objec s, and associa ed wi h weake physiological esponses and
exp essions (Coppin & Sande , 2021). The ex ensi e ocabula y a ound emo‐
ions illus a es hei di e si y and he a ying unc ions emo ions can ake on.
68 Anne C. F enzel & Thomas Goe z
Fo example, we can desc ibe how we eel wi h adjec i es like chee ul, ela ed,
con iden , joy ul, p oud, i i a ed, annoyed, es less, ang y, anxious, bo ed, sad,
epida ious, so ow ul, wea y, o dull.
Fu he mo e, emo ions can be concep ualized along a con inuum om s a e
o ai (Laza us, 1994). Emo ional s a es ep esen momen a y esponses a is‐
ing om in e ac ions wi h he en i onmen , whe eas emo ional ai s e lec
he endency o indi iduals o expe ience ce ain emo ions mo e equen ly o
in ensely o e ime and si ua ions han o he s. By de ini ion, emo ional ai s
a e ela i ely s able, as highligh ed in esea ch dis inguishing s a e and ai
componen s o achie emen emo ions (Ne e al., 2017).
1.1 Types o emo ions in educa ional se ings
Clea ly he bes - esea ched ype o emo ions expe ienced in educa ional con‐
ex s a e achie emen emo ions, which eme ge du ing e alua ions o one’s pe ‐
o mance in ela ion o achie emen s anda ds (Pek un, 2006). One can ei he
achie e hose s anda ds – hence, succeed; o no – hence, ail. I is a basic human
emo ional esponse o eel posi i e abou success and nega i e abou ailu e.
Examples o disc e e achie emen emo ions include es anxie y, shame, elie ,
bo edom, ange , p ide and enjoymen . Educa ional se ings in ol e ex emely
equen and e y salien encoun e s o achie emen s anda ds – s uden s a e
cons an ly old wha hey a e supposed o accomplish, and p o ided wi h eed‐
back as o whe he hey achie ed he p oposed s anda ds. Acco dingly, hey
cons an ly expe ience successes and ailu es, which ine i ably b ing abou co ‐
esponding posi i e and nega i e achie emen emo ions.
Fu he , he e a e also epis emic emo ions, such as su p ise, cu iosi y, and
con usion. Epis emic emo ions do no di ec ly pe ain o success and ailu e
in ela ion o a desi ed achie emen s anda d, bu s ill in ol e subjec i e judg‐
men s o one’s gaps and changes in knowledge (Pek un, Vogl, e al., 2017). They
a ise in con ex s equi ing engagemen wi h no el o non- ou ine asks, such as
p oblem-sol ing o esea ch p ojec s, as hey ypically eme ge when being con‐
on ed wi h unexpec ed in o ma ion o cogni i e incong ui y. Con usion and
us a ion a e pa icula ly salien epis emic emo ions in educa ional esea ch
(Di Leo e al., 2019; Muis e al., 2018).
Ano he ca ego y, opic- ela ed emo ions, is igge ed di ec ly by he subjec
ma e o lea ning asks. Examples include eelings o sadness when lea ning
abou poli ical con lic s, o disgus when engaging wi h ce ain scien i ic ma‐
e ials. Las ly, social emo ions ela e o o he s’ ac ions o achie emen s. These
emo ions encompass admi a ion, en y, o sympa hy, becoming especially ele‐
an in collabo a i e lea ning en i onmen s (Jä elä, 2012).

Lea ning and emo ions 69
In sum, educa ional se ings, and he ac i i y – and du y – o lea ning in‐
ol es a ich a ay o emo ions. Clea ly, achie emen emo ions a e qui e e‐
quen he e: The pleasu e o success, and pain o ailu e a e pe asi e in educa‐
ional se ings. Howe e , lea ning in e ms o expanding and eo ganizing one’s
knowledge base also bea s nuanced epis emic emo ions, lea ning opics can
a ouse emo ions in and o hemsel es, and gi en ha educa ional se ings a e
ypically o ganized in communi ies o simila ly aged lea ne s, social emo ions
also accompany lea ning.
1.2 App aisal an eceden s o achie emen emo ions
A key heo y in educa ional psychology is Pek un’s Con ol-Value Theo y
(CVT; e.g., Pek un, 2018). This heo y is g ounded in app aisal pe spec i es,
sugges ing ha an indi idual’s cogni i e assessmen s o a si ua ion play a c u‐
cial ole in emo ional expe iences (Sche e & Moo s, 2019). CVT in eg a es
elemen s om ansac ional heo ies o s ess- ela ed emo ions (Laza us &
Folkman, 1984) and a ibu ion heo y conce ning emo ions (G aham & Tay‐
lo , 2014), alongside concep ual o e laps wi h expec ancy- alue heo ies o
achie emen mo i a ion (Eccles, 2005; Rosenzweig e al., 2019). Ini ially, CVT
concen a ed on achie emen emo ions (see Pek un, 2024, o a e ised e sion
ha encompasses mul iple g oups o emo ions). Acco ding o CVT, wo ap‐
p aisals a e pa icula ly in luen ial in elici ing achie emen emo ions: subjec‐
i e con ol o e lea ning and pe o mance ac i i ies and he subjec i e alue
o hese ac i i ies and ou comes. Di e en disc e e emo ions o m based on
dis inc pa e ns o con ol and alue app aisals; o example, enjoymen a ises
when con ol is high and success is an icipa ed, while es anxie y inc eases
when con ol is low and po en ial ailu e is a possibili y. Fu he mo e, con ol
and alue app aisals in e ac , implying ha he impac o one app aisal on an
emo ion can be assumed o depend on he le el o he o he . Fo ins ance, a
s uden aking a low-s akes es (li le alue) may ind ha hei pe cei ed con‐
ol (i.e., low con idence in success) has less in luence on es anxie y compa ed
o when he es is high-s akes (e.g. c ucial o college en y; hence has a high
alue).
Ex ensi e empi ical esea ch suppo s he links be ween s uden s’ con ol
and alue app aisals and a ange o achie emen emo ions. T adi ional class‐
oom s udies a e summa ized by Pek un and Pe y (2014), while Lode e e al.
(2020) add ess echnology-based lea ning en i onmen s.
70 Anne C. F enzel & Thomas Goe z
1.3 Social-cogni i e an eceden s o achie emen emo ions
CVT adop s a social-cogni i e pe spec i e, posi ing ha he pe cei ed social
en i onmen plays a signi ican ole in shaping s uden s’ con ol and alue ap‐
p aisals, and consequen ly, hei achie emen emo ions. Pek un (2018) iden i‐
ies key aspec s o he social en i onmen , including (1) ace s o ins uc ion,
(2) alue induc ion, (3) au onomy suppo , (4) goal s uc u es and expec a ions
es ablished by eache s o class ooms, and (5) achie emen eedback and i s
consequences.
Empi ical e idence demons a es co ela ional and p edic i e links be ween
hese en i onmen al ac o s and s uden s’ emo ions, wi h con ol and alue
app aisals se ing as media o s. Fo example, Laza ides and Buchholz (2019)
ound ha s uden s’ pe cep ions o ins uc ional elemen s like eache sup‐
po , cogni i e ac i a ion, and class oom managemen we e linked o hei
emo ions o enjoymen , anxie y, and ange . Fu he , Flunge e al. (2019)
conduc ed a ield expe imen con as ing au onomy-suppo i e ins uc ion
wi h adi ional eache -cen e ed me hods in physics educa ion, e ealing
ha au onomy suppo —cha ac e ized by o e ing choices and in o ma ional
language—enhanced posi i e achie emen emo ions while educing nega i e
ones, especially among s uden s wi h s onge p io pe o mance. In addi ion,
achie emen eedback, o en con eyed as g ades in o mal educa ional se ings,
signi ican ly impac s s uden s’ con ol and alue app aisals ega ding hei
lea ning ac i i ies and subsequen ly a ec s hei achie emen emo ions (see
Goe z e al., 2018, o a e iew on eedback and emo ions).
Beyond he class oom, amily dynamics, pee g oups, and b oade mac o-
con ex s (such as cul u ally shaped a i udes owa ds educa ion) in luence s u‐
den s’ achie emen emo ions. Fo ins ance, esea ch by Ansong e al. (2017)
and Dong e al. (2020) highligh ha pa en s and pee s signi ican ly shape al‐
ues o adolescen s in Ghana and China, a ec ing hei engagemen , enjoymen ,
and bo edom in school. A a mac o-sys em le el, high-s akes es ing has been
consis en ly shown o unde mine child en’s well-being (Cho & Chan, 2020).
2. Rele ance o emo ions o lea ning and pe o mance
D awing om basic psychological esea ch on he unc ions o emo ions, i
is e iden ha emo ions a e linked wi h lea ning in many di e en ways, and
hence a e linked wi h pe o mance ou comes. Speci ically, he connec ion be‐
ween emo ions and pe o mance is media ed by a ious cogni i e, sel - egu‐
la o y, and mo i a ional mechanisms (Pek un, 2018). The e is empi ical e i‐
dence ha nega i e emo ions du ing lea ning—such as ange , anxie y, shame,
Lea ning and emo ions 71
bo edom, and hopelessness—a e associa ed wi h ask-i ele an hinking, a
endency o use shallow lea ning s a egies (e.g., ehea sal), and less equen
use o me acogni i e s a egies (Pek un e al., 2002). Con e sely, enjoymen in
lea ning is linked o lowe le els o ask-i ele an hinking, enhanced ocus,
and mo e e ec i e sel - egula ion, con ibu ing o deepe and mo e sus ainable
lea ning (Ahmed e al., 2013; Obe g iesse & S oege , 2020).
Fu he mo e, subs an ial empi ical e idence exis s ega ding he ela ion‐
ships be ween achie emen emo ions and achie emen mo i a ion du ing he
lea ning p ocess (see Huang, 2011, o a me a-analysis on he links be ween
achie emen goals and emo ions). Emo ions also in luence bo h in insic and
ex insic o ms o mo i a ion; o ins ance, posi i e emo ions, pa icula ly en‐
joymen , a e signi ican d i e s o in insic mo i a ion (Isen & Ree e, 2005). In
con as , nega i e emo ions like anxie y and ange can lead lea ne s o ocus on
he ask’s ad e se aspec s o he consequences o po en ial ailu e, co ela ing
posi i ely wi h ex insic mo i a ion o less sel -de e mined ypes o mo i a ion.
I is impo an o no e, howe e , ha esea ch on achie emen emo ions has
a ely been in eg a ed wi h s udies on in insic e sus ex insic mo i a ion om
a sel -de e mina ion heo y pe spec i e (an excep ion is Su e -B andenbe ge
e al., 2018).
Fu he , nume ous s udies ha e examined di ec ela ionships be ween
achie emen emo ions and academic pe o mance. Gene ally, hese links a e
posi i e o pleasan emo ions and nega i e o unpleasan emo ions, as e i‐
denced by mul iple me a-analyses including a ious di e en disc e e achie e‐
men emo ions, including enjoymen , ange / us a ion, bo edom, and he
mos p ominen ( es ) anxie y (Camacho-Mo les e al., 2021; Tze e al., 2016;
on de Embse e al., 2018). Longi udinal s udies ha e shown ha hese co e‐
la ions a e o en ecip ocal, wi h emo ions in luencing academic pe o mance
and ice e sa (Fo sblom e al., 2022; Lich en eld e al., 2022; Pek un, Lich en‐
eld, e al., 2017; Pek un e al., 2023).
In summa y, he e is compelling e idence ha emo ions signi ican ly in lu‐
ence achie emen , while achie emen ou comes also a ec emo ions. The e is
a complex in e play among emo ions, cogni ions, mo i a ion, lea ning beha ‐
io s, and achie emen , which c ea es posi i e and nega i e cycles.
3. Designing lea ning en i onmen s conside ing s uden s’ emo ions
Based on he insigh s in o he an eceden s o s uden s’ emo ions, i is possible
o de i e implica ions o how lea ning en i onmen s can be designed so ha
s uden s expe ience mo e posi i e and less nega i e emo ions. Gi en he s ong
connec ions be ween s uden s’ emo ions and hei lea ning and achie emen
72 Anne C. F enzel & Thomas Goe z
Figu e 1. P inciples o op imizing s uden s’ con ol and alue
app aisals o design emo ionally heal hy lea ning en i onmen s.
Abbildung e ügba un e : 10 . 6084 / m9 . igsha e . 30103837 , un e
CC license ( h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ )
ou comes, such lea ning en i onmen s should also be conduci e o e ec i e
lea ning and op imal achie emen ou comes. The ollowing p inciples ou line
ways o achie e his, aligning wi h and expanding upon he “design p inciples
o adap i e mo i a ion and emo ion in educa ion” p oposed by Linnenb ink-
Ga cia e al. (2016). A isual summa y is depic ed in Figu e 1.
3.1 P omo ing enjoymen o lea ning
Fos e ing enjoymen o lea ning should be a p io i y o op imize he emo ional
a mosphe e in he class oom. Wi hou eso ing o o e ly en e aining me h‐
ods, eache s can ocus on making opics and lea ning ac i i ies engaging and
enjoyable. I is also ad isable o eache s o ocus on hei own enjoymen du ‐
ing eaching, and o emind hemsel es o wha hey hemsel es ind ascina ing
abou he lesson con en : The e is consis en e idence ha eache s’ own enjoy‐
men and en husiasm du ing eaching can ansmi o s uden s (F enzel e al.,
2018; F enzel e al., 2021; F enzel e al., 2024). O cou se, simply c ea ing a joy‐
ul class oom a mosphe e likely will no su ice o p omo e lea ning. Howe e ,
s uden s’ willingness o main ain hei a en ion and o exe men al e o will
likely be enhanced when he lea ning asks a e enjoyable.
Lea ning and emo ions 79
. Obe g iesse , S., & S oege , H. (2020). S uden s’ emo ions o enjoymen and bo edom and
hei use o cogni i e lea ning s a egies – How do hey a ec one ano he ? Lea ning
and Ins uc ion, 66, 101285. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.lea nins uc.2019.101285
. Pek un, R. (2006). The con ol- alue heo y o achie emen emo ions: Assump ions,
co olla ies, and implica ions o educa ional esea ch and p ac ice. Educa ional Psy‐
chology Re iew, 18, 315–341. h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9
. Pek un, R. (2018). Con ol- alue heo y: A social-cogni i e app oach o achie emen
emo ions. In G. A. D. Liem & D. M. McIne ney (Eds.), Big heo ies e isi ed 2: A
olume o esea ch on sociocul u al in luences on mo i a ion and lea ning (pp. 165–
190). In o ma ion Age Publishing.
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Theo y o Human Emo ions. Educa ional Psychology Re iew, 36(3). h ps://doi.o g/
10.1007/s10648-024-09909-7
. Pek un, R., Goe z, T., Ti z, W., & Pe y, R. P. (2002). Academic emo ions in s u‐
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i a i e esea ch. Educa ional Psychologis , 37, 91–105. h ps://doi.o g/10.1207/
S15326985EP3702_4
. Pek un, R., Lich en eld, S., Ma sh, H. W., Mu ayama, K., & Goe z, T. (2017). Achie e‐
men emo ions and academic pe o mance: Longi udinal models o ecip ocal e ‐
ec s. Child De elopmen , 88, 1653–1670. h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/cde .12704
. Pek un, R., Ma sh, H. W., Suessenbach, F., F enzel, A. C., & Goe z, T. (2023). School
g ades and s uden s’ emo ions: Longi udinal models o wi hin-pe son ecip ocal e ‐
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. Pek un, R., & Pe y, R. P. (2014). Con ol- alue heo y o achie emen emo ions. In R.
Pek un & E. A. Linnenb ink-Ga cia (Eds.), In e na ional handbook o emo ions in
educa ion (pp. 120–141). Rou ledge. h ps://doi.o g/10.4324/9780203148211
. Pek un, R., Vogl, E., Muis, K. R., & Sina a, G. M. (2017). Measu ing emo ions du ing
epis emic ac i i ies: he epis emically- ela ed emo ion scales. Cogni ion and Emo ion,
31(6), 1268–1276. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/02699931.2016.1204989
. Pian a, R. C., Ham e, B. K., & Allen, J. P. (2012). Teache -s uden ela ionships and
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Ca men Zu b iggen
Well-being and lea ning
Taking inclusi e educa ion as a p ominen example
1. In oduc ion
O e he las wo decades, s uden well-being has inc easingly mo ed in o he
spo ligh o educa ional esea ch. An examina ion o he apidly g owing body
o li e a u e e eals ha s uden well-being is conside ed bo h pa icula ly el‐
e an o academic unc ioning and as a a ou able educa ional ou come in
i sel (S einmay e al., 2018; Suldo e al., 2011). I is widely assumed ha well-
being and lea ning a e in ica ely linked. On he one hand, s uden s’ school-
ela ed well-being se es as an indica o o he quali y o a lea ning en i on‐
men , which acili a es posi i e lea ning p ocesses. On he o he hand, i is gen‐
e ally expec ed ha success ul lea ning os e s s uden s’ well-being (Hasche ,
2012). Simila assump ions apply o he con ex o inclusi e educa ion, whe e
s uden s’ well-being is ecognised no only as a key indica o o he quali y o
inclusion bu also as an aim o inclusi e educa ion (Powell & Hadja , 2018;
Vene z, 2015; Wäch e e al., 2024).
None heless, a ecen sys ema ic e iew ega ding he associa ion be ween
well-being and academic achie emen o school-aged child en has unco e ed
inconsis encies in indings, anging om posi i e associa ions o no associ‐
a ion o con adic o y esul s (Amhol e al., 2020). Con lic ing esul s a e
also epo ed ega ding s uden s’ well-being in ela ion o inclusi e educa ion
(Dalgaa d e al., 2022; Goldan e al., 2022). Fu he mo e, se e al s udies ha e
demons a ed a gene al decline in subjec i e well-being om childhood o ado‐
lescence (Bücke e al., 2023; Casas & González-Ca asco, 2019), and om p i‐
ma y o lowe seconda y educa ion (Knickenbe g & Zu b iggen, 2021; Obe ‐
meie e al., 2022). These appa en con adic ions aise he ques ion o a pos‐
sible ade-o be ween os e ing s uden s’ well-being and p omo ing academic
lea ning and achie emen (Cla ke, 2020).
Agains his backd op, his chap e aims i s o b ie ly elucida e he concep
o s uden well-being and i s measu emen , and second, o p o ide concise in‐
sigh s in o he s a e o esea ch conce ning he associa ions be ween s uden s’
82 Ca men Zu b iggen
subjec i e well-being and academic achie emen , as well as on ele an ac o s
o he lea ning en i onmen wi hin a class oom. Addi ionally, exempla y ind‐
ings on s uden s’ subjec i e well-being in ela ion o inclusi e educa ion a e
p esen ed, ollowed by a (p elimina y) conclusion and sugges ions o u u e
di ec ions.
2. Focus on s uden s’ subjec i e well-being
2.1 Concep ualising well-being
Since well-being is a b oad, mul i ace ed cons uc (To , 2018), i may explain
inconsis encies in indings ega ding he associa ion o s uden s’ well-being and
academic achie emen . Co esponding o an umb ella e m, which is equen ly
used in e changeably wi h o he e ms (e.g., happiness, men al heal h, li e sa ‐
is ac ion) and applied in many di e en con ex s, well-being is o en iewed as
an ambiguous concep (Joos e al., 2018).
The a ie y o e ms o de ini ions desc ibing well-being can be b oadly
g ouped in o objec i e and subjec i e aspec s o dimensions o well-being
(Voukela ou e al., 2021). While objec i e well-being e lec s people’s ma e ial
li ing condi ions and hei obse able quali y o li e – including aspec s such as
physical heal h, sa e y, en i onmen , and academic achie emen – subjec i e
well-being cap u es people’s own pe cep ions o e alua ions o hei o e all
quali y o li e o o speci ic domains o si ua ions.
Empi ical educa ional esea ch has mainly ocused on s uden s’ subjec i e
well-being. The mos widely acknowledged concep ion o subjec i e well-being
is he one by Ed Diene (Schimmack, 2008). Acco ding o Diene (1984), sub‐
jec i e well-being consis s o he e lec i e cogni i e judgemen s people make
abou hei li e in gene al o in speci ic domains (e.g., wo k, school, amily), as
well as posi i e and nega i e emo ional esponses o ongoing li e expe iences o
speci ic si ua ions (Diene e al., 2018).
2.2 Measu ing s uden s’ subjec i e well-being in school
When concep ualising subjec i e well-being, i is essen ial o no only di e en‐
ia e be ween componen s (i.e., cogni i e, a ec i e) and li e domains (i.e., gen‐
e al, domain-speci ic), bu also be ween ime ames as in he gene al s a e- ai
model (Eid, 2008). Acco dingly, he amewo k model o he measu emen o
subjec i e well-being by Lische zke and Eid (2006) dis inguishes be ween ha‐
bi ual and momen a y o si ua ion-speci ic subjec i e well-being.
Well-being and lea ning 83
This dis inc ion is also impo an when measu ing s uden s’ subjec i e well-
being in school. One p ominen example o subjec i e well-being as a ai is he
concep ion by Hasche (2010). She de ined s uden s’ subjec i e well-being in
school as a mul icomponen cons uc ha includes posi i e a i udes owa ds
school, enjoymen in school, he absence o wo ies abou school, a posi i e
academic sel -concep , and he absence o social p oblems as well as physical
complain s in school. Measu ing s uden s’ subjec i e well-being as a s a e p i‐
ma ily conce ns i s a ec i e componen , o mo e speci ically, posi i e and neg‐
a i e a ec i e expe ience in speci ic (lea ning) si ua ions. A ec i e expe ience
o s a e-like emo ions can be assessed ia momen a y da a echniques such as
he expe ience sampling me hod (ESM; Hek ne e al., 2007), which allows o
cap u e s a e cha ac e is ics in si u and in eal- ime.
In educa ional s udies, esea che s ha e ypically elied on e ospec i e sel -
epo s when measu ing s uden s’ subjec i e well-being. Howe e , such mem‐
o y-based epo s o emo ional aspec s a e o en o e - o unde es ima ed (Con‐
ne & Ba e , 2012). To in es iga e e ospec ion e ec s o s uden s’ emo ional
expe ience in he class oom and possible changes du ing ea ly adolescence, we
compa ed e ospec i ely assessed a ec i e expe ience (i.e., posi i e and nega‐
i e ac i a ion) wi h in si u ia ESM epo ed a ec i e expe ience (Zu b iggen
e al., 2021). Ou indings indica ed o a posi i e ecall bias (i.e., ‘ osy iew’) o
s uden s’ a ec i e expe ience a he end o p ima y educa ion and o a nega i e
shi in ecall bias (i.e., ‘blue iew’) by he end o lowe seconda y educa ion.
3. Subjec i e well-being, academic achie emen , and he lea ning
en i onmen
While abou wen y yea s ago esea che s had o make a plea o he ele ance
o well-being in school (Fend & Sandmeie , 2004), i is nowadays gene ally as‐
sumed ha s uden s’ subjec i e well-being e lec s a school en i onmen ha
acili a es lea ning p ocesses and p omo es s uden s’ academic achie emen .
Success ul lea ning, in u n, is hough o be essen ial o expe iencing sa is ac‐
ion and posi i e emo ions in school (Hasche & Hagenaue , 2011). Thus, sub‐
jec i e well-being is iewed as a p edic o o s uden s’ engagemen and mo i a‐
ion o lea n (Hasche , 2012). Since school and he class oom a e also sou ces o
nega i e expe iences (e.g., academic ailu e, ejec ion by pee s), subjec i e well-
being can also se e a p e en i e unc ion.
84 Ca men Zu b iggen
3.1 Associa ions o subjec i e well-being wi h academic achie emen
and engagemen
Based on such heo e ical conside a ions, se e al s udies ha e examined he e‐
la ionship be ween s uden s’ subjec i e well-being and academic achie emen .
The i s me a-analysis on his opic showed a posi i e, bu only small co ‐
ela ion ( = 0.164) be ween academic achie emen and subjec i e well-being
(Bücke e al., 2018). The co ela ion was s able ac oss a ious le els o de‐
mog aphic a iables, di e en componen s, and domains o subjec i e well-
being, as well as ac oss di e en con en s and al e na i e measu es o academic
achie emen . The au ho s concluded ha high-achie ing s uden s do no nec‐
essa ily epo high subjec i e well-being, and low-achie ing s uden s do no
au oma ically epo low subjec i e well-being.
As s uden s’ engagemen has been desc ibed as an impo an s eng h lead‐
ing o well-being and posi i e lea ning ou comes, Wong and colleagues (2024)
in es iga ed in hei ecen me a-analysis he associa ions o s uden s’ academic
engagemen wi h subjec i e well-being and academic achie emen . Thei me a-
analysis e ealed medium co ela ions be ween s uden s’ engagemen and sub‐
jec i e well-being, being mos closely ela ed o a ec i e engagemen ( = .40),
ollowed by cogni i e ( = .35) and beha iou al ( = .31) engagemen . The a e ‐
age co ela ion o engagemen wi h subjec i e well-being ( = .35) was simila
o he one wi h academic achie emen ( = .33).
3.2 Fac o s o he lea ning en i onmen a ec ing subjec i e well-being
Al hough he class oom is conside ed he mos in luen ial school con ex bo h
on s uden s’ subjec i e well-being and hei lea ning (Hasche , 2012), empi i‐
cal e idence suppo ing hese heo e ical assump ions is s ill sca ce. Howe e ,
se e al s udies ha e explo ed he impac o ce ain aspec s o he lea ning en i‐
onmen wi hin a class oom on s uden s’ subjec i e well-being. A la ge pa o
hese aspec s co esponds o social cha ac e is ics o he lea ning en i onmen ,
bu also a eache ’s ins uc ional p ac ice plays a decisi e ole in de eloping and
os e ing s uden s’ well-being.
Social ac o s wi hin a class oom ha posi i ely a ec s uden s’ subjec‐
i e well-being include posi i e ela ionships wi h pee s and pee suppo
(Goswami, 2012; Ho e ich e e al., 2021), a posi i e s uden - eache ela ion‐
ship (Zheng, 2022), and a suppo i e class oom clima e (Obe le, 2018; Zu ‐
b iggen, Ho mann, e al., 2023). Fac o s ha nega i ely a ec s uden s’ sub‐
jec i e well-being include pee bullying, (s ong) compe i ion among pee s
(A slan e al., 2021; Ho e ich e & Rau elde , 2017), con lic s wi h eache s,

Well-being and lea ning 85
and p essu e om eache s o achie e (Kiu u e al., 2020; S ang-Rab ig e al.,
2023).
Rega ding eache s’ ins uc ional p ac ices, ecen s udies ha e shown ha
di e en ia ed ins uc ion is posi i ely ela ed o s uden s’ subjec i e well-being
(Pozas e al., 2021) and ha good ins uc ional quali y has a posi i e impac on
s uden s’ subjec i e well-being (Obe meie e al., 2022).
4. Inclusi e educa ion and s uden s’ subjec i e well-being
Mos o he a o emen ioned ac o s posi i ely a ec ing s uden s’ subjec i e
well-being and lea ning co espond o c ucial cha ac e is ics o he success ul
implemen a ion o inclusi e educa ion. Inclusi e educa ion no only means ac‐
cess o gene al educa ion bu also p o iding high-quali y eaching and lea ning
en i onmen s ha maximise he academic and social-emo ional de elopmen
o all s uden s (Uni ed Na ions [UN], 2006, A . 26). Di e en ia ed ins uc‐
ion is seen as a ehicle o achie e inclusi e educa ion (Pozas e al., 2021) by
implemen ing, o ins ance, adequa ely adap ed eaching p ac ices ailo ed o
s uden s’ needs (Gheyssens e al., 2023).
As al eady men ioned, s uden s’ subjec i e well-being is conside ed an im‐
po an indica ion o he quali y o inclusi e educa ion. Simul aneously, i also
se es as a use ul indica o o adap i e eaching, as i a ec s a eache ’s deci‐
sions on how o design class oom in e en ions and ins uc ions (P ae o ius e
al., 2015). Thus, accu a e eache judgemen o s uden s’ subjec i e well-being
is an impo an condi ion o adap i e eaching, which in u n p omo es each
s uden ’s lea ning and academic de elopmen .
In he ollowing, exempla y indings o ou own s udies on he opic o in‐
clusi e educa ion and subjec i e well-being a e b ie ly p esen ed.
4.1 S uden s’ emo ional expe ience and adap i e eaching
The i s esea ch ques ion ela es o he a ec i e componen o subjec i e
well-being as a s a e: How do s uden s expe ience di e en class oom si ua‐
ions o adap i e eaching in inclusi e educa ion? To add ess his ques ion,
we conduc ed an expe ience sampling s udy in 40 class ooms o G ades 5 and
6 in Swi ze land (p ima y educa ion) wi h abou 720 s uden s and a o al o
o e 8000 occasions (Zu b iggen & Vene z, 2018). The esul s o ou mul i‐
le el mul ig oup analyses showed ha he included cha ac e is ics o adap i e
eaching had a simila posi i e e ec on s uden s’ emo ional expe ience. When
s uden s had he op ion o choose be ween asks, hey we e gene ally mo e
posi i ely ac i a ed (e.g., mo e ene ge ic) and less nega i ely ac i a ed (e.g.,
86 Ca men Zu b iggen
less s essed) han when hey could no choose be ween asks. Simila ly, he
s uden s we e mo e posi i ely ac i a ed and less nega i ely ac i a ed when hey
we e able o wo k wi h hei pee s and did no ha e o wo k alone. Fu he mo e,
s uden s’ emo ional expe ience was bes when he pe cei ed di icul y le el o a
ask was sligh ly highe han a e age. Howe e , one di e en ial e ec be ween
s uden g oups was obse ed: The g oup o s uden s wi h abo e-a e age aca‐
demic achie emen and well-adjus ed social beha iou only eached maximum
posi i e ac i a ion o asks ha hey expe ienced as signi ican ly mo e di icul
han a e age.
4.2 Teache judgemen accu acy o s uden s’ subjec i e well-being in
inclusi e educa ion
Second, we in es iga ed eache s’ judgemen accu acy o s uden s’ subjec i e
well-being as a ai and whe he he (in-)accu acy in eache epo s (i.e., speci‐
ici y) could be explained by s uden and eache cha ac e is ics. To add ess
hese ques ions, we d ew om he sel - epo s o abou 2600 s uden s in G ade
6 and he co esponding a ings o abou 430 home oom eache s and applied
a mul iple-indica o co ela ed ai -co ela ed me hod minus one model wi h
explana o y a iables (Zu b iggen, Nusse , e al., 2023). Following he concep‐
ion by Hasche (2010), we ocused on h ee componen s: emo ional well-being
in school, social inclusion in class, and academic sel -concep . To in es iga e
ac o s explaining he speci ici y in eache epo s o s uden s’ subjec i e well-
being, we accoun ed o selec ed cha ac e is ics ele an in he con ex o inclu‐
si e educa ion and adap i e eaching.
Ou indings showed ha eache s’ judgemen accu acy o s uden s’ subjec‐
i e well-being was only low o mode a e. 12 % o he a iance in eache epo s
o s uden s’ emo ional well-being was sha ed wi h he s uden s’ sel - epo s and
18 % wi h ega d o social inclusion, while o he academic sel -concep he
consis ency was a li le highe a 33 % .
In e ms o s uden cha ac e is ics, he s a us o special educa ional needs
(SEN), gende , and academic achie emen we e signi ican ly ela ed o he
speci ici y in eache epo s o all h ee aspec s o s uden s’ subjec i e well-
being. The e ec s we e mos p onounced o academic achie emen , pa ic‐
ula ly on he academic sel -concep . Ge man as a p ima y s. seconda y lan‐
guage could only explain he speci ici y in eache epo s o he academic sel -
concep . The eache cha ac e is ics included could explain he speci ici y in
eache epo s only o a small ex en . While eaching expe ience was nega‐
i ely, bu only e y weakly, associa ed wi h he speci ici y in eache epo s
o he s uden s’ academic sel -concep , eache s’ sel -e icacy, hei a i udes
Well-being and lea ning 87
owa ds inclusion, and hei esponsibili y o e e y s uden we e posi i ely
associa ed wi h he speci ici y in eache epo s o s uden s’ emo ional well-
being and hei social inclusion in class.
4.3 De elopmen o s uden s’ subjec i e well-being in lowe seconda y
educa ion
The hi d and las esea ch ques ion ela es o he de elopmen o s uden s’
subjec i e well-being in inclusi e class ooms du ing lowe seconda y educa‐
ion and whe he s uden s’ academic achie emen can p edic changes in hei
subjec i e well-being.
To his end, we d aw on da a om he longi udinal p ojec Inclusi e Educa‐
ion in Lowe Seconda y Schools in Ge many (INSIDE). The sample consis ed o
abou 4600 s uden s om lowe seconda y educa ion who pa icipa ed in G ades
6, 7, and 9. We speci ied a la en neighbou change model wi h p edic o s o
change in subjec i e well-being. As expec ed, he indings showed ha s uden s’
emo ional well-being and hei social inclusion sligh ly dec eased om G ade 6
o G ade 9. The academic sel -concep emained ela i ely s able. Fu he mo e,
pee - ela ed class oom clima e and s uden - eache ela ionship could p edic
change in s uden s’ subjec i e well-being.
5. Conclusion and u u e di ec ions
This leads back o he ini ial ques ion o his chap e : whe he he e is a ade-
o be ween well-being and lea ning. Ra he han being incompa ible goals, e‐
sea ch sugges s ha hei ela ionship is no s aigh o wa d and ha se e al
gaps need o be add essed (Cla ke, 2020). To each a mo e solid conclusion
abou he assumed ecip ocal ela ionship be ween s uden s’ subjec i e well-
being and academic achie emen o o he lea ning ou comes, mo e longi udi‐
nal s udies a e equi ed (Bücke e al., 2018).
Fu u e s udies would bene i om including po en ial mode a ing o media ‐
ing a iables a he indi idual, class oom, and school le els, such as pe sonali y,
ins uc ional s a egies, o school clima e (S einmay e al., 2018). Fo ins ance,
i could be wo hwhile o in es iga e he ole o s uden s’ engagemen in his
ega d, as s uden s’ subjec i e well-being seems o be mo e s ongly associa ed
wi h academic engagemen han wi h academic achie emen .
Ou indings indica e ha adap i e eaching has a posi i e impac on s u‐
den s’ emo ional expe ience (Zu b iggen & Vene z, 2018). The ques ion e‐
mains whe he adap i e eaching has medium- and long- e m e ec s on s u‐
den s’ subjec i e well-being as well as on success ul lea ning. Addi ional e‐
88 Ca men Zu b iggen
sea ch di e en ia ing be ween componen s and ime ames o subjec i e well-
being could p o ide impo an insigh s in o speci ic e ec s and unde lying p o‐
cesses.
In ligh o he ela i ely low accu acy o eache judgemen ega ding s u‐
den s’ subjec i e well-being (Zu b iggen, Nusse e al., 2023), he e is a isk
o unjus ly accusing eache s o placing addi ional p essu e on hese al eady
hea ily bu dened p o essionals. Gi en he complexi y and di icul y o es i‐
ma ing subjec i e o in e nal cons uc s, he disc epancies be ween he sel -
epo s and eache a ings o s uden s’ subjec i e well-being could be jus used
as diagnos ic in o ma ion. Being awa e o s uden ’s own iew and possible bias
may educe he expec ancy e ec s o unde - o o e es ima ion, o ins ance,
o s uden s wi h SEN o low achie emen . In e en ions ega ding inclusion
ha e he po en ial o change eache s’ belie s, pa icula ly i hey p o ide he
oppo uni y o gain expe ience wi h inclusi e p ac ices (Digna h e al., 2022).
As o u he p ac ical implica ions, c ea ing a suppo i e social class oom
clima e can enhance s uden s’ subjec i e well-being, bu also posi i ely a ec
lea ning p ocesses and achie emen . This could be unde aken by inco po a ‐
ing elemen s and s a egies o ‘posi i e educa ion’ (Seligman e al., 2009), o by
implemen ing e idence-based, sys emic social and emo ional lea ning (Rimm-
Kau man e al., 2023). In his ein, eache s should be suppo ed in hei en‐
dea ou s in os e ing a ich lea ning en i onmen whe e all s uden s can h i e
academically and enhance hei subjec i e well-being.
Re e ences
. Amhol , T. T., Dammeye , J., Ca e , R., & Niclasen, J. (2020). Psychological well-being
and academic achie emen among school-aged child en: A sys ema ic e iew. Child
Indica o Resea ch 13, 1523–1548. h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s12187-020-09725-9
. A slan, G., Allen, K. A., & Tanhan, A. (2021). School bullying, men al heal h, and well‐
being in adolescen s: Media ing impac o posi i e psychological o ien a ions. Child
Indica o Resea ch, 14, 1007–1026. h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s12187-020-09780-2
. Bücke , S., Nu aydin, S., Simonsmeie , B. A., Schneide , M, & Luhmann, M. (2018). Sub‐
jec i e well-being and academic achie emen : A me a-analysis. Jou nal o Resea ch in
Pe sonali y, 74, 83–94. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.j p.2018.02.007
. Bücke , S., Luhmann, M., Haehne , P., Bühle , J. L., Dapp, L. C., Luciano, E. C., & O h,
U. (2023). The de elopmen o subjec i e well-being ac oss he li e span: A me a-
analy ic e iew o longi udinal s udies. Psychological Bulle in, 149(7–8), 418–446.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1037/bul0000401
. Casas, F., & González-Ca asco, M. (2019). Subjec i e well-being dec easing wi h age:
New esea ch on child en o e 8. Child De elopmen , 90(2), 375–394. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1111/cde .13133
Lea ning and mo i a ion 95
Figu e 2: G aphical illus a ion o he inc emen al alidi y o mo i a ion in p edic ing academic achie e‐
men abo e and beyond in elligence.
Figu e 2 illus a es his c i ical concep in unde s anding he ole o mo i a ion
in academic pe o mance. As depic ed, some a iance in academic achie emen
is unaccoun ed o by bo h cons uc s. Some a iance in academic achie emen
is only explained by in e indi idual di e ences in in elligence, some only by
in e indi idual di e ences in mo i a ion and some by bo h. In se e al s ud‐
ies, we explo ed he inc emen al alidi y o mo i a ion beyond in elligence,
pe sonali y, o a combina ion o bo h when p edic ing academic achie emen
(Laue mann e al., 2020; S einmay & Spina h, 2007, 2009; S einmay e al.,
2011, 2018, 2019; S einmay & Meißne , 2013). One such s udy (S einmay &
Spina h, 2009) exempli ies his ela ionship. Figu e 3 displays he main esul s.
Figu e 3: G aphical illus a ion o he commonali y analysis esul s pe o med by S einmay and
Spina h (2009).
In Figu e 3, he medium g ey po ions o he ba s in he esul s ep esen he
unique a iance in academic achie emen a ibu ed o mo i a ion alone, e en

96 Rica da S einmay
a e con olling o in elligence. Simila indings ha e been obse ed when
con olling o pe sonali y alone o bo h in elligence and pe sonali y (S ein‐
may & Spina h, 2007; S einmay e al., 2011). In all s udies mo i a ion ac‐
coun ed o a iance in academic achie emen which was no accoun ed o by
he o he cons uc s. As indica ed by he ligh g ey po ions o he ba s, some
mo i a ional cons uc s p edic academic achie emen in conjunc ion wi h in‐
elligence. This sha ed a iance—pa icula ly s ong o he cons uc “hope
o success” in he displayed s udy—sugges s an in e ac ion e ec be ween in‐
elligence and achie emen mo i es. Suppo ing his, o he s udies (Be gold &
S einmay , 2018; Hu e -Thamm e al., 2023) demons a ed ha in elligence was
posi i ely ela ed o school g ades only when accompanied by a ce ain le el o
achie emen mo i a ion, highligh ing an in e play be ween hese cons uc s in
p edic ing academic success.
Besides i s inc emen al alidi y in explaining a iance in academic achie e‐
men , he impo ance o mo i a ion is also unde lined by i s powe o explain
change in academic achie emen . When asked abou hei child’s academic
s uggles, many pa en s a ibu e i o a lack o mo i a ion, belie ing ha e‐
newed mo i a ion could lead o imp o ed pe o mance. Resea ch suppo s his
pe cep ion (see Lespe ance e al., 2022). Ac oss se e al s udies, mo i a ional
cons uc s ha e been shown o p edic changes in academic achie emen , mea‐
su ed by bo h school g ades and s anda dized achie emen es s (S einmay
e al., 2018, 2019; S einmay & Spina h, 2009). This is pa icula ly no ewo hy
gi en ha indi idual di e ences in academic pe o mance end o s abilize o e
ime, limi ing he po en ial o change. Rema kably, he e ec o mo i a ional
cons uc s on changes in academic achie emen was up o ou imes g ea e
han he e ec o in elligence, unde sco ing mo i a ion’s c i ical ole in os e ‐
ing academic g ow h (S einmay e al., 2019b; S einmay & Spina h, 2009).
2. E alua ing he ela i e impo ance o mo i a ional cons uc s in
academic achie emen
Gi en he di e se a ay o mo i a ional cons uc s i is c ucial o empi ically
iden i y which a e mos p edic i e o academic success. Since he speci ic cha ‐
ac e is ics o a sample can in luence he obse ed co ela ions, i is ad isable o
examine mul iple mo i a ional cons uc s wi hin a single sample o ule ou he
possibili y ha di e ences in co ela ions a e a ibu able o he sample’s cha ‐
ac e is ics. Fu he mo e, expec ancy- alue cons uc s a e o en domain-speci ‐
ically ope a ionalized, while achie emen mo i es a e gene ally ea ed as mo e
s able, ai -like cha ac e is ics assessed in a b oade con ex . Since con ex ual‐
Lea ning and mo i a ion 97
iza ion a ec s he associa ion be ween cons uc s (c . Michel e al., 2022), i is
essen ial o assess bo h mo i a ional cons uc s and achie emen ou comes a
equi alen le els o speci ici y. To ensu e he gene alizabili y o indings ac oss
academic domains, i is also ecommended o c oss- alida e esul s in mul iple
a eas. Ano he challenge in mo i a ional esea ch is mul icollinea i y among
cons uc s. Ce ain cons uc s, such as abili y sel -concep s, sel -e icacy, and
expec a ions o success, o en o e lap o he ex en ha hey a e nea ly indis‐
inguishable empi ically (e.g., Ma sh e al., 2019). Simila ly, in insic alues,
in insic mo i a ion, and in e es a e also closely ela ed o each o he bu also
o expec ancy a iables. App op ia e s a is ical echniques, such as commonal‐
i y analysis and ela i e weigh analysis, a e he e o e necessa y o disen angle
he speci ic con ibu ions o hese cons uc s ( o speci ics on ela i e weigh
analysis see Johnson & LeB e on, 2004; Tonidandel & LeB e on, 2011). Las bu
no leas , o de elop e ec i e educa ional policies and implemen meaning ul
school e o ms, i is essen ial o ga he s ong empi ical e idence on whe he
di e en mo i a ional cons uc s can accoun o a ia ions in school pe o ‐
mance beyond he e ec s o o he impo an a iables, such as in elligence and
p io achie emen . Excluding hese la e ac o s isks o e s a ing he ole o
mo i a ion in academic success.
Taking in o accoun hese hough s, S einmay e al. (2019) sough o add ess
hese me hodological conside a ions by examining a ious mo i a ional con‐
s uc s alongside p io pe o mance and in elligence, wi h all a iables assessed
a compa able le els o speci ici y. We e alua ed cons uc s om expec ancy-
alue heo y, including alues and abili y sel -concep s, as well as achie emen
mo i es (hope o success and ea o ailu e), achie emen goals (lea ning-
app oach, pe o mance-app oach, pe o mance-a oidance), and wo k a oid‐
ance. Each a iable was measu ed ac oss di e en academic domains (gene al
academic abili y, ma h, and Ge man), enabling c oss- alida ion ac oss sub‐
jec a eas and ensu ing consis en speci ici y le els. A ela i e weigh analy‐
sis, which quan i ies he ela i e impo ance o each p edic o in explaining
a iance in a c i e ion (LeB e on & Tonidandel, 2008), was employed due o
he high in e co ela ions among mo i a ional cons uc s. The ela i e weigh
ε can be in e p e ed as an indica o o he ela i e impo ance o each mo i a‐
ional cons uc compa ed o o he p edic o s and i s hough o ep esen he
sha e o explained a iance in he speci ic g ade by his speci ic mo i a ional
cons uc . In he s udy by S einmay e al. (2019), p io ma h g ades eme ged
as he mos signi ican p edic o o subsequen ma h g ades (explaining 45 % o
he unique a iance), ollowed by ma h sel -concep (19 % ). S uden s’ ma h ask
alues (9 % ), lea ning goals (5 % ), wo k a oidance (7 % ), ea o ailu e, and hope
o success (6 % ) did no signi ican ly di e in hei con ibu ions. No ably,
98 Rica da S einmay
pe o mance goals and in elligence did no signi ican ly p edic achie emen
when analyzed alongside p io g ades. Simila pa e ns we e obse ed o o e ‐
all school achie emen and language a s g ades. He e again, among all mo i‐
a ional a iables abili y sel -concep s and alues we e he s onges p edic o s
( o mo e de ails see S einmay e al., 2019b). In a simila s udy, conside ing
u he a iables such as g i – he consis ency o in e es s and pe sis ence in
he pu sui o long- e m goals (Duckwo h e al., 2007) – and pe sonali y –
ope a ionalized as he Big Fi e o pe sonali y (Cos a & McC ae, 1995) – S ein‐
may e al. (2018) also ound expec ancy- alue a iables o be s onges p e‐
dic o s o academic achie emen among all conside ed mo i a ional a iables.
Howe e , in bo h s udies, expec ancy- a iables we e mo e s ongly associa ed
wi h academic achie emen han alue a iables. These indings held ega dless
o whe he p io pe o mance and in elligence we e con olled (see also S ein‐
may & Spina h, 2009; S einmay e al., 2011, 2018). Thus, ega ding he ques‐
ion o which mo i a ional cons uc s a e pa icula ly in luen ial in shaping
academic pe o mance hese s udies demons a ed ha domain-speci ic abili y
sel -concep s, especially in ma h, a e c i ical p edic o s o academic achie e‐
men . Howe e , when i comes o achie emen - ela ed choices—such as oca‐
ional o academic pa hways— alues, pa icula ly in insic alues, become as
signi ican as abili y sel -concep s (S einmay & Spina h, 2010). Consequen ly,
in he ollowing discussion, I will ocus on expec ancy- alue cons uc s, which
a e bo h cen al o academic achie emen - ela ed c i e ia.
3. How o os e ideal expec ancies and alues
Be o e os e ing expec ancy cons uc s, i is essen ial o i s de e mine he de‐
si ed le el o de elopmen . The ques ion whe he indi iduals should s i e o a
ealis ic o an op imis ically biased sel - iew has especially been discussed wi h
ega d o abili y sel -concep s. Unlike in insic mo i a ion, which is b oadly
bene icial i i is high, he op imal sel -concep is less s aigh o wa d. Should
one aim o a sel -pe cep ion ha aligns wi h ac ual abili ies, o is a posi i ely
biased (o e es ima ed) sel - iew mo e ad an ageous? I so, shall I o e es ima e
mysel jus a li le o g ea ly? The esul s o empi ical esea ch on sel -es ima‐
ion biases and academic pe o mance a e mixed, wi h some s udies inding
posi i e e ec s and o he s inding nega i e ones. These inconsis encies may
a ise om heo e ical and s a is ical issues ha o en con ound sel -es ima‐
ion bias wi h sel - iew e ec s (Humbe g e al., 2018, 2019). Recen wo k by
Paschke e al. (2020, 2023) cla i ies ha posi i ely iewing one’s compe en‐
cies—i espec i e o ac ual abili y le els—can ha e a a o able impac on aca‐
demic achie emen .
Lea ning and mo i a ion 99
I a posi i e sel -concep (and in insic mo i a ion) is bene icial, wha os‐
e s such an ou look? Se e al models explain he de elopmen o abili y sel -
concep s ac oss di e en domains, including he I/E model (Ma sh, 1986), he
big- ish-li le-pond e ec (e.g. Ma sh e al., 2004), and he si ua ed expec ancy-
alue model (e.g. Eccles & Wig ield, 2020). Acco ding o he la e model, so‐
cialize s’ belie s and beha io s—pa icula ly hose o eache s (c . S einmay
e al., 2019a)—a ec s uden s’ sel -concep s, which a e empi ically equi alen
o expec a ions o success, and also alues. Howe e , he p ac ical signi icance
o eache expec ancy e ec s on s uden s’ de elopmen has occasionally been
ques ioned due o hei ela i ely small size (Jussim, 2017; Jussim & Ha be ,
2005). Bu mos s udies ha e concen a ed on school pe o mance, hus, his
c i ique may o e look he possibili y ha eache expec a ions in luence nu‐
me ous o he impo an aspec s o s uden s’ li es beyond academic achie e‐
men , o example abili y sel -concep s and alues, as hypo hesized by he si ‐
ua ed expec ancy- alue model. The s udy by Be gold and S einmay (2023) in‐
es iga ed how eache s’ expec a ions ega ding s uden s’ abili ies impac a ‐
ious s uden ou comes, including expec ancy- alue cons uc s. The longi udi‐
nal s udy in ol ed 1,092 nin h-g ade s uden s om oca ional ack schools
in Ge many. S uden s comple ed assessmen s o hei ma h and eading com‐
pe encies, abili y sel -concep s, in insic mo i a ion, academic and oca ional
aspi a ions, and subjec i e well-being. Teache s a ed s uden s’ abili ies in ma h
and Ge man using a se en-poin scale based on na ional pe o mance dis ibu‐
ions. Ou analysis e ealed unique e ec s o ma h eache s’ expec a ions on
s uden s’ change in ma h pe o mance, abili y sel -concep s, and educa ional
aspi a ions. Though he e ec o ma h eache s’ expec a ions on in insic mo‐
i a ion was ma ginally insigni ican (p = .07), in insic mo i a ion a base‐
line p edic ed changes in ma h pe o mance. Ge man bu no ma h eache s’
expec ancies a ec ed s uden s’ li e sa is ac ion. Teache judgmen s hus a ec
many s uden ou comes a he same ime, among hem expec ancy- alue con‐
s uc s, unde sco ing hei p ac ical impo ance o s uden s’ li es. Fu he ‐
mo e, hey seem o be mo e impo an o expec ancies han o in insic alues.
Thus, he ques ion emains which a iables addi ionally con ibu e o change
o alue a iables.
The si ua ed expec ancy- alue model (Eccles & Wig ield, 2020) does no only
explain di e ences in in insic alues bu also in o he alues such as u ili y o
a ainmen alues and cos s. Recen ly he e has been a lo o esea ch on in e ‐
en ions, especially minimal in e en ions o change alues bu also expec an‐
cies especially o disad an aged g oups (c . Rosenzweig e al., 2020, 2022).
Mo eo e , he e is also inc eased in e es in domain-speci ic belie s abou he
na u e o abili ies, ollowing esea ch in implici in elligence heo ies / mindse s.
100 Rica da S einmay
Implici belie s abou he na u e o in elligence—whe he iewed as ixed o
malleable—a e also pe inen o unde s anding mo i a ional dynamics. Mind‐
se s e e o an indi idual’s subjec i e belie s abou whe he speci ic a ibu es,
such as in elligence o ma hema ical abili y, a e unchangeable o can be de el‐
oped and imp o ed (e.g., Dweck & Yeage , 2019). The belie ha an a ibu e
is ixed ep esen s a ixed mindse , while he belie ha i can be cul i a ed
e lec s a g ow h mindse . Unlike a ixed mindse , a g ow h mindse is heo ized
o enhance s uden s’ mo i a ion and academic pe o mance, especially among
hose acing challenges. Resea ch indica es ha when eache s iew in elligence
as unchangeable, hei beha io ends o be mo e achie emen -o ien ed, ocus‐
ing on pe o mance ou comes a he han he lea ning p ocess (e.g., LaCosse
e al., 2021; Pa k e al., 2016). Howe e , such pe o mance-o ien ed beha io
has been linked o lowe le els o s uden mo i a ion, as i may c ea e a high-
p essu e en i onmen ha p io i izes esul s o e e o and imp o emen (e.g.,
Ames, 1992; Wi hwein e al., 2021). Fu he mo e, he na u e o he lea ning
en i onmen signi ican ly in luences he way success is pe cei ed and pu sued.
In achie emen -o ien ed lea ning en i onmen s, he emphasis is on demon‐
s a ing one’s compe encies, wi h success o en being de ined in compa ison
o he accomplishmen s o pee s (Ciani e al., 2010; Dweck & Legge , 1988).
This ocus on ela i e pe o mance s eng hens he associa ion be ween indi‐
idual success and ex e nal alida ion. In con as , lea ning-o ien ed en i on‐
men s p io i ize he p ocess o acqui ing knowledge and imp o ing pe sonal
compe encies in hose en i onmen s, success is measu ed by indi idual g ow h
and mas e y, leading o a weake associa ion wi h ex e nal compa isons o
pee - ela i e ou comes (Dweck & Legge , 1988; Meece e al., 2006). The sel -
de e mina ion heo y explains indi idual di e ences in in insic mo i a ion,
among o he s, by di e en eeling o compe ences. Thus, in a lea ning-o ien ed
en i onmen , e en s uden s who ecei e pe o mance eedback (in Ge many
mos ly ope a ionalized by g ades) sugges ing hey a e no pe o ming as well
as hei pee s can emain in insically mo i a ed. He e, i espec i e o a s u‐
den s’ pe o mance le el, all s uden s ha e he possibili y o inc ease hei com‐
pe encies and hus pe cei e hemsel es as success ul and compe en lea ne s
which should weaken he associa ion be ween g ades and in insic alues. In
con as , in a pe o mance-o ien ed en i onmen , only s uden s ou pe o ming
hei pee migh be mo i a ed which should s eng hen he associa ion be ween
pe o mance eedback and in insic mo i a ion.
Following hese a ionales, Heyde e al. (2020) in es iga ed whe he ma h-
speci ic implici in elligence belie s a ec ed he associa ion be ween s uden s’
in insic mo i a ion and pe o mance eedback (g ades) in ma h in a la ge
sample o Ge man ou h g ade s and hei 56 eache s. Findings e ealed ha

Lea ning and mo i a ion 101
eache s we e mo e likely o a ibu e success in ma h o inna e abili y com‐
pa ed o Ge man language a s. Fu he mo e, he s onge a eache held a
belie in he necessi y o inna e abili y o ma h success, he lowe he in insic
mo i a ion o hei low-achie ing s uden s. These esul s highligh ha each‐
e s’ pe cep ions o ma h as equi ing inna e abili y may hinde he c ea ion o a
class oom en i onmen ha p omo es in insic mo i a ion o all s uden s and
migh be especially de imen al o low-achie ing s uden s.
These a e jus a ew examples o ac o s ha migh in luence expec ancy-
alue a iables. Beyond in e en ions and socialize s’ belie s, nume ous o he
ac o s impac hese a iables, including cul u al no ms, class oom cha ac e ‐
is ics, eaching s yles, eache a ibu es, en i onmen al ac o s, and mo e (see
Baume e al., 2002; Eccles & Wig ield, 2020; Kun e e al., 2013). Recen e‐
sea ch has ocused on s uden s’ pe cep ions o socialize s’ belie s (e.g., Reschke
e al., 2023) and class oom cha ac e is ics (Wi hwein e al., 2021). Unde ‐
s anding he in e play be ween objec i e cha ac e is ics, s uden s’ pe cep ions
o hem, he ac o s in luencing hose pe cep ions, and hei impac on key
mo i a ional cons uc s such as expec ancy- alue a iables will signi ican ly
enhance ou unde s anding o mo i a ion.
4. Conclusion on he impo ance o mo i a ion
Among he a ious mo i a ional a iables, expec a ions and alues s and ou as
signi ican p edic o s o in e indi idual di e ences in ca ee aspi a ions, aca‐
demic achie emen , and i s p og ession o e ime (Nishen e al., 2024; S ein‐
may & Spina h, 2009, 2010; S einmay e al., 2018, 2019). Thus, mo i a ion
holds conside able po en ial o enhance achie emen - ela ed ou comes ac oss
STEM ields and o he domains. Impo an ly, i can be in luenced by ex e nal
ac o s beyond he indi idual, such as eache s’ belie s abou abili y, which can
be modi ied o a ce ain ex en . Howe e , he ole o mo i a ion in academic
achie emen should no be o e s a ed, as academic achie emen is in luenced
by nume ous ac o s as ou lined by se e al models explaining in e indi idual
di e ences in academic achie emen (e.g., Eccles & Wig ield, 2020; Baume
e al., 2002, p. 16). Some o hese ac o s a e e y ha d o change and a e hus
ela i ely s able, such as social and educa ional amily backg ound, while o h‐
e s a e mo e lexible, including he quali y o eaching, o example due o a
eache change. Addi ionally, some ac o s in e ac wi h mo i a ion, such as
ap i ude (Be gold & S einmay , 2018), while o he s a e un ela ed. Academic
achie emen is a highly complex phenomenon ha canno be ully explained by
a single a iable o e en a se o ela ed a iables like mo i a ion. This complex‐
i y unde sco es he need o a mul idimensional app oach o unde s anding
102 Rica da S einmay
and os e ing academic achie emen which should conside mo i a ion and i s
in e play wi h u he achie emen - ela ed a iables.
Fu he mo e, qui e a lo o open ques ions emain conce ning he ole o
mo i a ion o academic achie emen as mo i a ion is a complex cons uc
in luenced by a a ie y o ac o s spanning indi idual, con ex ual, cul u al,
and biological domains. Recen esea ch highligh s he ecip ocal e ec s be‐
ween eache cha ac e is ics and s uden mo i a ion, emphasizing he dynamic
in e play be ween educa o s’ a i udes, beha io s, and s uden s’ mo i a ional
de elopmen (K iegbaum e al., 2019). These indings unde sco e he impo ‐
ance o eache -s uden in e ac ions in shaping long- e m educa ional ou ‐
comes. The e ec i eness o mo i a ional s a egies and in e en ions has also
ga ne ed conside able a en ion, pa icula ly ega ding hei sus ainabili y o e
ime. Minimal in e en ions, which equi e ela i ely low in es men o ime
and esou ces, ha e been shown o yield signi ican bene i s in ce ain con ex s
(Ha ackiewicz e al., 2023). Howe e , unde s anding hei long- e m impac on
s uden mo i a ion and achie emen is c i ical o in o ming e idence-based
p ac ices in educa ion. Cul u al di e ences u he complica e he landscape
o mo i a ion. Cul u al no ms, alues, and belie s can shape mo i a ional p o‐
cesses, in luencing how indi iduals pe cei e success, e o , and ailu e (e.g.,
Chi ko e al., 2003; Heine e al., 2001). These a ia ions highligh he neces‐
si y o cul u ally esponsi e mo i a ional s a egies o suppo di e se s uden
popula ions which has a ely been in es iga ed. On a mo e undamen al le el,
biological and neu ophysiological ounda ions o mo i a ion p o ide insigh s
in o he unde lying mechanisms d i ing mo i a ional beha io s. Ad ances in
neu oscience ha e e ealed how b ain s uc u es, neu o ansmi e sys ems,
and ho monal p ocesses in e ac o in luence mo i a ion and goal-di ec ed ac‐
ions (Di Domenico & Ryan, 2017; Mo is e al., 2022). Howe e , he e is s ill
a need o a deepe unde s anding o how hese biological and neu ophysio‐
logical ac o s combine o p oduce unique mo i a ional pa e ns, aking in o
accoun pe sonal, en i onmen al, and cul u al in luences. While signi ican
p og ess has been made in iden i ying gene al mechanisms, much emains o
be explo ed ega ding hei nuanced in e play and eal-wo ld applica ions. An‐
o he ac o ha needs mo e esea ch is emo ion. Mo i a ion is also in ica ely
linked wi h emo ions. Emo ional s a es can signi ican ly enhance o unde mine
mo i a ional p ocesses, shaping indi iduals’ goals (Chamani e al., 2023; Jä ‐
enoja e al., 2018), and pe o mance in a ious ac i i ies. Howe e , he p o‐
cess unde lying hese ela ions a e no ully unde s ood. The in e play be ween
mo i a ion and emo ions is hus a c i ical a ea o u he in es iga ion. Las ly,
sou ces o indi idual di e ences in mo i a ion ex end beyond amewo ks like
he si ua ed expec ancy- alue model (Eccles & Wig ield, 2020). Fac o s such as
Lea ning and mo i a ion 103
pe sonali y ai s, p io expe iences, and social in luences con ibu e o hese
di e ences, unde sco ing he need o a mo e in eg a i e unde s anding o he
ac o s shaping mo i a ion. By explo ing hese di e se dimensions, esea che s
and p ac i ione s can de elop mo e holis ic app oaches o os e ing mo i a ion
in educa ional and o he se ings. Gi en i s impo ance o academic achie e‐
men , he endea o is wo hwhile.
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