The Influence of Social Relationships on Conduct Problems in School Context - Does School Engagement Matter?

There has been an increase in the prevalence of problem behavior during adolescence over the last decades. Thereby, studies have found that social bonds and relationships as well as school engagement as a form of connectedness play an important protective role. However, less is know whether school engagement is as a potential mediator in the association of social relationships with peers and teachers and conduct problems. The current study examined this interplay in a large non-clinical sample of students (N= 1.088; MAge= 13.7 SD=0.53 at T1; N= 845; Mage = 15.32, SD = .49 at T2) in secondary schools in Brandenburg, Germany. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the mediating effect from school engagement in the association between students' social relationships in early adolescence and conduct problems in middle adolescence. The results show that school engagement function as full mediator in the association of both student-student relationships and teacher-student relationships at T1 and conduct problems at T2. This highlights that fostering school engagement in early adolescence might be an essential starting point for prevention and intervention strategies of conduct problems in middle adolescence

A comparison of German and Canadian adolescent students on their socio- motivational relationships in school

This cross-national study investigates the perception of the impact of students’ relationships towards teachers and peers on scholastic motivation in a total sample of 1477 seventh and eighth grade German (N = 1088) and Canadian (N = 389) secondary school students. By applying Multigroup Confirmatory Latent Class Analysis in Mplus we confirmed four different motivation types: (1) teacher-dependent; (2) peer-dependent; (3) teacher-and-peer-dependent; (4) teacher-and-peer-independent motivation types in Québec, Canada, as they were found in a preliminary study among German students in the state of Brandenburg (Raufelder, Jagenow, Drury, & Hoferichter, 2013). However, across the two samples, the class sizes varied considerable. The largest group among Canadian students was composed of teacher-and-peer-dependent students, followed by teacher-and-peer-independent students, while the largest group among German students was composed of peer-dependent students, followed by teacher-and- peer-independent students. In both settings the teacher-dependent motivation type constituted the smallest group. These results manifest the different impacts of social environmental variables on the motivation of German and Canadian students, having practical implications for school psychologists and educators in general

The development of socio-motivational dependency from early to middle adolescence

Research on students’ motivation has shown that motivation can be enhanced or undermined by social factors. However, when interpreting such findings, interindividual differences, and intraindividual changes underlying students’ perception of peers and teachers as a source of motivation are often neglected. The aim of the present study was to complement our understanding of socio-motivational dependency by investigating differences in the development of students’ socio-motivational dependency from early to middle adolescence. Data from 1088 students on their perceptions of peers and teachers as positive motivators when students were in seventh and eighth grade were compared with data of the same sample 2 years later. Latent class analysis supported four different motivation types (MT): (1) teacher-dependent MT, (2) peer-dependent MT, (3) teacher-and-peer-dependent MT, and (4) teacher-and-peer-independent MT. Latent transition analysis revealed substantial changes between the groups. The perceived teacher influence on students’ academic motivation increased from early to middle adolescence. Divergent roles of peers and teachers on students’ academic motivation are discussed

Socio-motivational moderators—two sides of the same coin? Testing the potential buffering role of socio-motivational relationships on achievement drive and test anxiety among German and Canadian secondary school students

The current cross-national study investigates the potential buffering role of socio-motivational relationships for the association of achievement drive (AD) and test anxiety (TX) in secondary school students from Canada and Germany. One thousand and eighty-eight students (54% girls, Mage = 13.71, SD = 0.53, age span 12–15 years) from the state of Brandenburg and 389 students from Quebéc (55.9% girls, Mage = 13.43, SD = 0.82, age span 12–16 years) were asked about their socio-motivational relationships with their teachers and peers, their drive for achievement, and TX. Multigroup latent moderated structural equations were conducted to test for the moderator role of socio-motivational relationships that would buffer feelings of TX related to the drive for achievement. The analyses revealed the two-sided role socio-motivational relationships can have for students with different levels of AD; intensifying or mitigating feelings of TX. Thereby, the results of this study extend the buffering hypothesis by Cohen and Wills (1985). Cross-national differences between Canada and Germany were found concerning the studied moderators on the association of AD and TX: While for German students teacher–student relationships acted as moderator, for Canadian students student–student relationships and teachers acting as positive motivators displayed a moderator role

Moderiert die soziale Kompetenz adoleszenter Schüler den Zusammenhang zwischen ihren schulischen Peer-Beziehungen und ihrer Motivation?

"In der vorliegenden Studie galt es, soziale Kompetenz als Moderator in der Beziehung von soziomotivationalen Schüler-Beziehungen und Motivation in einer großen Stichprobe von Schüler/-innen der 7. und 8. Klassen (N=1088; MAge=13.7) an Brandenburger Gymnasien und Oberschulen zu testen. Mittels latenter moderierter Strukturgleichungsanalyse (LMS) wurden mögliche Interaktionseffekte von sozialer Kompetenz und sozio-motivationalen Schüler-Beziehungen in Bezug auf die Motivation der Schüler/-innen getestet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass soziale Kompetenz die Beziehung zwischen der wahrgenommenen Schüler-Schüler-Beziehung und extrinsischer Motivation sowie Ausdauer und Fleiß moderiert. Zusätzlich fungiert soziale Kompetenz als Moderator zwischen Peers als positiven Motivatoren und intrinsischer Motivation sowie Ausdauer und Fleiß. Zusammenfassend lässt sich festhalten, dass positiv wahrgenommene Peer-Beziehungen basierend auf sozialer Kompetenz einen effektiven Ansatzpunkt zur Prävention und Intervention hinsichtlich der sinkenden schulischen Motivation in der Adoleszenz darstellen." (Autorenreferat)"This study examines whether social competence moderates the association between students' sociomotivational peer relationships and their academic motivation. The research is based on a large sample, consisting of 7th and 8th grade students (N=1088; MAge=13.7) attending secondary schools in Brandenburg, Germany. Latent moderated structural equations (LMS) were used to estimate possible interaction effects of social competence and socio-motivational peer relationships on students' academic motivation. The results demonstrated that social competence moderates the association between students' perception of the student-student relationship and extrinsic motivation, as well as perseverance and effort. In addition, social competence functions as a moderator in the association between students' perception of peers as positive motivators and intrinsic motivation, as well as perseverance and effort. To summarize, positive peer relationships within the school environment that are based on social competence are able to prevent and intervene in adolescents' general tendency towards a decline in motivation." (author's abstract

Mentoring in der Schule: ein Überblick ; theoretische und praktische Implikationen für Lehrer/-innen und Schüler/-innen im internationalen Vergleich

"Mentoring-Programme im schulischen Kontext sind in Deutschland nach wie vor eher selten, auch wenn sie im Zuge reformatorischer Ansätze der Lehrerbildung mehr und mehr zum Einsatz kommen und auch im Bereich der schulischen Berufsorientierung sich zunehmender Beliebtheit erfreuen. Auch finden wir in der schulischen Praxis vielerorts 'verstecktes' oder informelles Mentoring, zum Beispiel zwischen älteren und jüngeren Lehrerkollegen/-innen, die den Einstieg der Lehranfänger/-innen in den Berufsweg und -alltag begleiten und optimieren sollen. Relativ selten werden standardisierte und strukturierte Programme, die zudem fest in der Schulkultur etabliert sind, genutzt. Im Folgenden werden die Autorinnen verschiedene nationale und internationale Mentoring-Ansätze für Lehrer/-innen und Schüler/-innen vor- bzw. gegenüberstellen und die zentralen Ergebnisse empirischer Untersuchungen zu Mentoring in der Schule zusammenfassend darstellen. Abschließend werden darauf aufbauend mögliche Implikationen für die Förderung einer Mentoring-Kultur an deutschen Schulen diskutiert." (Autorenreferat)"Although mentoring-programs are still rarely implemented in German schools, the demand to make use of standardized mentoring programs in a school setting is growing. However, there are a number of 'hidden' or informal mentoring processes that can be observed in this setting, for example between new and established teachers with the goal to facilitate the transition into the teaching profession. In the following the authoresses will describe different mentoring approaches for teachers and students, developed in Germany and internationally and will present central empirical results concerning these approaches. Based on these results they will discuss possible implications for the promotion of a mentoring culture in German schools." (author's abstract

Mothers and Fathers—Who Matters for STEM Performance? Gender-Specific Associations Between STEM Performance, Parental Pressure, and Support During Adolescence

Research has shown that parental pressure is negatively whereas parental support is positively associated with various scholastic outcomes, such as school engagement, motivation, and achievement. However, only few studies investigate boys' and girls' perception of mother and father pressure/support in detail. This might be particularly essential when it comes to girls' and boys' achievement in STEM subjects, as girls and boys might profit differently from parental pressure/support regarding their achievement in STEM and vice versa. This study aims to shed light on this topic and explores potential within—and over time associations between students' perception of parental pressure/support and grades in mathematics and biology. Using self-report data from 1,088 8th grade students at T1 (Mage = 13.70, SD = 0.53, 54% girls) from Brandenburg, Germany, multigroup cross-lagged models were conceptualized with Mplus. The results indicate that there are gender differences in the interplay of students' grades in mathematics, biology, and their perception of parental pressure and support: Whereas, mother support plays a central beneficial role for girls' achievement in STEM subjects as well as for the other parental variables over time, for boys mother support is negatively associated with math performance over time. Within-time associations further show that boys—in contrast to girls—do not benefit from any parental support regarding their performance in mathematics or biology. Finally, results suggest that the relationship between adolescents' STEM achievement and parental pressure/support is rather mono-directional than bi-directional over time

Wie sich Lehramtsstudierende in der Entwicklung ihres berufsbezogenen Selbstkonzepts und ihrer Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung in neuen reflexiven Praxisformaten von Studierenden in herkömmlichen Schulpraktika unterscheiden: – Empirische Ergebnisse einer landesweiten Studie in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Ein zentrales Ziel der Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ist die Stärkung des berufsbezogenen Selbstkonzepts und der Lehrerselbstwirksamkeitserwartung in der universitären Ausbildung angehender Lehrkräfte, da beide Konzepte maßgeblich zur professionellen Kompetenz beitragen (Baumert & Kunter, 2006). Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, wurden an allen lehrerbildenden Hochschulen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Universität Rostock, Universität Greifswald, Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hochschule Neubrandenburg) reflexive und adaptierte Praxisformate für Schulpraktika konzipiert, pilotiert und evaluiert. In deren Fokus stehen (a) eine enge Verknüpfung von Theorie und Unterrichtspraxis sowie (b) eine professionelle Begleitung durch Peer-/Schulmentor/-innen und Tandem-Partner/-innen und schließlich (c) die Förderung reflexiver Prozesse bei den Studierenden. Insgesamt wurden 186 Lehramtsstudierende mittels eines standardisierten Fragebogens über drei Messzeitpunkte (prä, peri, post Praxisphase) befragt, wovon 120 Studierende an den neuen Praxisformaten teilnahmen (Experimentalgruppe) und 66 Studierende ihr Schulpraktikum in den herkömmlichen Formaten – ohne professionelle Begleitung und reflexive Schwerpunkte – absolvierten (Kontrollgruppe). Die Ergebnisse der gepaarten Mittelwertvergleiche (T-Test) und der Mixed-ANOVA Analysen zeigen signifikante Unterschiede zwischen der Experimental- und Kontrollgruppe innerhalb und zwischen den Messzeitpunkten in Bezug auf das berufsbezogene Selbstkonzept und die Lehrerselbstwirksamkeitserwartung, insofern die Experimentalgruppe nach der Praxisphase ein positiveres Selbstkonzept und eine signifikant höhere Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung als die Kontrollgruppe aufweist

Validation and Reliability of the German Version of the School Burnout Inventory

This study investigates the validity and reliability of the German version of the School Burnout Inventory (SBI-G) in 1,570 secondary-school students (Mage = 14.11, SD = 0.78; 51.7 % girls). Results indicate that school burnout consists of two correlated but separate dimensions including (1) exhaustion at school, (2) cynicism toward the meaning of school and sense of inadequacy. The study revealed that school burnout can be measured as a two-factor model, which provided good reliability and validity indices. Further, we verified concurrent validity, finding that students suffering from general stress also reported overall school burnout as well as exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy. Students who exhibited cynicism and inadequacy also reported lower levels of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive school engagement, while exhausted students reported lower emotional school engagement but higher cognitive school engagement.Peer reviewe

A Model of Boys' Body Image in Early Adolescence

"Das Hauptziel dieser Studie galt der Identifizierung essentieller Faktoren der Körperbildentwicklung in einer nicht-klinischen Stichprobe von Jungen unter Berücksichtigung möglicher Einflüsse durch Peers, Familie und Medien. Es wurden semi-strukturierte Leitfadeninterviews mit 14 früh-adoleszenten Jungen (Altersrange von 10-12 Jahren) geführt, die zufällig aus den Teilnehmern einer größeren quantitativen Fragebogenstudie (N=167) an Grundschulen in Berlin ausgewählt wurden. Mittels thematischer Analyse konnten zwei Hauptthemen identifiziert werden: (1) sozialer Vergleich (beinhaltet die beiden Subthemen Selbst-Verbesserung und Selbst-Erhöhung) und (2) Internalisierung (beinhaltet die beiden Subthemen behaviorale und kognitive Dimensionen). An Hand der Ergebnisse wurde schließlich ein finales Modell erstellt, das die Konzeptualisierung des Körperbildes von Jungen in der frühen Adoleszenz abzubilden sucht." (Autorenreferat)"The major aim of this study was to explore and promote a deeper understanding of the essential contributing factors to body image development in a non-clinical sample of boys, including the roles played by peers, family, and media. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 14 adolescent boys (ranging in age from 10-12 years) who were randomly selected from the participant pool of a larger quantitative study (N=167) conducted in elementary schools in Berlin, Germany. By using thematic analyses, two major themes were identified: (1) social comparison (including two subthemes: self-improvement and self-enhancement), and (2) internalization (including two subthemes: behavioral and cognitive dimensions). On the basis of these results, a final model of how boys conceptualize body image in early adolescence was elucidated, and can be found in the study." (author's abrstact