Kathryn R. Wentzel

University of Maryland, College Park | UMD, UMCP, University of Maryland College Park · Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology

Motivation science has advanced tremendously in the past decade. However, it is now clear that future progress is going to be stalled by the extent of disagreement among motivation scientists to some basic, yet controversial, questions. To help move motivation science toward greater coherence, the editors recruited prominent scholars to debate thei...

Motivation science has advanced tremendously in the past decade. However, it is now clear that future progress is going to be stalled by the extent of disagreement among motivation scientists to some basic, yet controversial, questions. To help move motivation science toward greater coherence, the editors recruited prominent scholars to debate thei...

Motivation science has advanced tremendously in the past decade. However, it is now clear that future progress is going to be stalled by the extent of disagreement among motivation scientists to some basic, yet controversial, questions. To help move motivation science toward greater coherence, the editors recruited prominent scholars to debate thei...

Using an ecological approach that highlights the importance of social contexts and relationships as essential supports to school-based competence, this article first reviews the literature on teacher–student and peer relationships as it pertains to children's school-related competencies: specifically, motivation to engage socially and academically,...

Students’ achievement-related self-beliefs, as manifest in values, goal orientations, perceived efficacy, mindsets, and a sense of autonomy and self-determination, have been the centerpiece of motivation theories that describe learning and development. The premise of the current special issue is that these intrapersonal beliefs tell us only half th...

Based on the premise that the experience of care is a fundamental component of motivation to learn, this paper explores the conceptual underpinnings of care within the contexts of teacher-student and peer relationships at school. Drawing from ecological and developmental traditions, theoretical models of caring relationships are discussed with resp...

In this article, I comment on the potential benefits and limitations of open science reforms for improving the transparency and accountability of research, and enhancing the credibility of research findings within communities of policy and practice. Specifically, I discuss the role of replication and reproducibility of research in promoting better...

In this article, I comment on the potential benefits and limitations of open science reforms for improving the transparency and accountability of research, and enhancing the credibility of research findings within communities of policy and practice. Specifically, I discuss the role of replication and reproducibility of research in promoting better...

In this chapter, I describe a competence-in-context model of motivational decision-making. The model recognizes a set of beliefs that guide decisions to engage in social and academic goal pursuit at school. These beliefs reflect values, perceptions of competence and control, social obligation, and belongingness. In line with this model, I also desc...

Using meta-analytic techniques, we examined systematically the evidence linking peer social acceptance to academic achievement. Based on 72 studies that yielded 157 effect sizes, we analyzed relations between social acceptance and academic outcomes (e.g., academic grades, test scores), including the extent to which relations were moderated by sex,...

Using meta-analytic techniques, we examined systematically the evidence linking friendship to academically related outcomes, asking: To what extent is friendship related to academic performance and to academically related cognitive skills? Based on 22 studies that yielded 81 effect sizes and 28 independent samples, we examined relations between fri...

This study employed a mixed method, longitudinal design to examine adolescent beliefs about their competence, control, and social belongingness (emotional support from teachers and peers) across the transition from middle school (8th grade) to high school (9th grade). Qualitative data based on open-ended questions suggested that students (N = 93; 1...

We examined the mediating role of students’ interpersonal and academically related social goals in linking students’ perceptions of teacher and peer personal and academic emotional supports to their classroom behavior (prosocial, social responsibility) in a sample of young adolescents (n = 3,092) from 7 schools from the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and S...

Small samples sizes are a pervasive problem when modeling clustered data. In two-level models, this problem has been well-studied and several resources provide guidance for modeling such data. However, a recent review of small sample clustered data methods has noted that no studies have investigated methods for modeling three-level data with small...

This study examined adolescents’ perceptions of peer and teacher supports in relation to internalized values, academic self-efficacy, efforts to learn, and goal orientations at the individual and classroom level in a sample of middle school (n = 169) and high school (n = 71) students from 6 schools (15 classrooms). Novel approaches to assessing cla...

In this study, we examined teachers’ beliefs concerning the meaning and nature of teacher–student trust in a diverse sample of secondary-school teachers (n = 34). Using a grounded-theory approach, a process model of teacher–adolescent trust emerged based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Antecedents of trust could be categorised as a...

BACKGROUND While it is a national priority to support the health and education of students, these sectors must better align, integrate, and collaborate to achieve this priority. This article summarizes the literature on the connection between health and academic achievement using the Whole School, Whole Community, and Whole Child (WSCC) framework a...

Engagement in school and self-concept are two main constructs to explain the school adjustment. To understand how engagement might change during adolescence, we analyzed early and middle adolescents’ engagement in school (cognitive, affective, behavioural, and personal agency) as a function of their level of self-concept. Participants were 685 adol...

We examined perceived emotional support and expectations from parents, teachers, and classmates in relation to Mexican American adolescents' (n = 398) social behavior and academic functioning. Results of regression analyses indicated that direct associations between emotional support and expectations differ as a function of source and domain; teach...

In this chapter, the literature on peer relationships and prosocial behavior is reviewed, and mechanisms underlying peer influence are discussed. The multidimensional nature of prosocial development is apparent in this literature in several respects. First, multiple types of peer relationships have been related to prosocial behavior during adolesce...

Written specifically for teachers, Motivating Students to Learn offers a wealth of research-based principles on the subject of student motivation for use by classroom teachers. Now in its fourth edition, this book discusses specific classroom strategies by tying these principles to the realities of contemporary schools, curriculum goals, and classr...

Many young adolescents are dissatisfied with their body due to a discrepancy between their ideal and actual body size, which can lead to weight cycling, eating disorders, depression, and obesity. The current study examined the associations of parental and peer factors with fifth-graders' body image discrepancy, physical self-worth as a mediator bet...

Young Mexican American adolescents' perceptions of socially derived goals of teachers and peers were examined as predictors of their pursuit of social goals (to be prosocial and responsible) and academic goals (to learn and to perform well), while controlling for perceived parental goals. The role of perceived emotional caring in mediating relation...

Being successful at school requires students to perform a range of social as well as academic tasks. In addition to mastering subject matter, developing effective learning strategies, and performing well on tests, adolescents also must work to maintain and establish interpersonal relationships, strive to develop social identities and a sense of bel...

A highly regarded motivation researcher, Kathryn Wentzel, shared her perspectives in a commentary on the chapters in Part III. Wentzel explored questions relating to student competence including its definition, relation to engagement, and the role of support from important contexts (home, school, peers, and community) in fostering competence and en...

There is growing consensus that the nature and quality of children’s relationships with their teachers play a critical and central role in motivating and engaging students to learn (Wentzel, 2009). Effective teachers are typically described as those who develop relationships with students that are emotionally close, safe, and trusting, who provide...

This last chapter is a commentary of a noted scholar in the field of academic motivation. It assesses the relevance of the work presented to the existing body of research literature on achievement motivation. Three general issues and themes that are reflected in these chapters are discussed. The first concern is the idea that social competence is v...

This study investigated relations of cumulative risk and parenting to competence in adopted children. Families were recruited with the assistance of nonprofit agencies dedicated to providing post-placement services (e.g., counseling, support groups) to adoptive families. Seventy adoptive parents of elementary school-aged children completed the Wein...

Young adolescents’ perceptions of teachers’ and peers’ multiple classroom supports were examined in relation to motivational outcomes (interest and social goal pursuit). Responses from sixth (n = 120), seventh (n = 115), and eighth (n = 123) grade students concerning four dimensions of support (expectations for specific behavioral and academic outc...

Classroom behavior has been studied most often as a form of social competency that contributes to a student's overall adjustment to school. Typically, classroom behavior is defined with respect to negative or maladaptive behavioral styles (e.g., aggressive, inattentive, or disruptive behavior) or to prosocial and socially responsible competencies s...

This study examined parental aspirations for their children's educational attainment in relation to ethnicity (African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic), parental education, children's academic performance, and parental perceptions of the quality and climate of their children's school with a sample of 13,577 middle and high school parents. All...

Background and Purpose Research shows that community-rich relationships, like those formed between the family and school, result in more favorable child health and well-being outcomes and positive academic attachment. In addition, the literature suggests one parental belief system, parents' educational aspirations for their children, is a particu...

This study examined social participation and strategic problem solving behavior of boys diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when collaborating on a planning task with a trained peer partner. Twenty-four 9- to 13-year-old boys with ADHD who were receiving a medication intervention, were individually pre-tested to assess th...

We highlight major themes emerging from the articles in this special issue. These themes include (a) the importance of theoretical frameworks and clearly defined constructs for guiding the development of interventions, (b) a consideration of intervention effects on ethnic minority children, (c) the importance of positive social interactions and rel...

This article provides an introduction and overview to this special issue of Educational Psychologist, titled Promoting Motivation at School: Interventions That Work. This issue is devoted to the topic of interventions that emphasize different aspects of motivation for enhancing students' academic and social outcomes in school. The interventions ran...

Peer- and teacher-reported prosocial behavior of 339 6th-grade (11-12 years) and 8th-grade (13-14 years) students was examined in relation to prosocial goals, self-processes (reasons for behavior, empathy, perspective taking, depressive affect, perceived competence), and contextual cues (expectations of peers and teachers). Goal pursuit significant...

Within the literature in social psychology applied to school, the notion of goals as well as their influence on academic performances are largely documented. Nevertheless, it seems that the most of the researches are focused on a cognitive dimension of goals (which consists in being ­better than others or in improving ones knowledge) rather than on...

This study examined motivation (prosocial goals), individual characteristics (sex, ethnicity, and grade), and friendship characteristics (affective quality, interaction frequency, and friendship stability) in relation to middle adolescents' prosocial behavior over time. Ninth- and 10th-grade students (N = 208) attending a suburban, mid-Atlantic pub...

Within the literature in social psychology applied to school, the notion of goals as well as their influence on academic performances are largely documented. Nevertheless, it seems that the most of the researches are focused on a cognitive dimension of goals (which consists in being better than others or in improving ones knowledge) rather than on...

This study examined motivation (prosocial goals), individual characteristics (sex, ethnicity, and grade), and friendship characteristics (affective quality, interaction frequency, and friendship stability) in relation to middle adolescents' prosocial behavior over time. Ninth- and 10th-grade students (N = 208) attending a suburban, mid-Atlantic pub...

In this 2-year longitudinal study (n=242), the authors examined relations of having a reciprocated friend and characteristics of a reciprocated friend to students' social and academic adjustment to middle school. With respect to having a friend, 6th-grade students without friends showed lower levels of prosocial behavior, academic achievement, and...

This chapter discusses the role of social–motivational and self–processes. A model of classroom competence along with partial empirical support for the model is discussed. Additional issues and questions are raised, which are still unsolved. Expanded models, which focus on the multiple sources of influence that contribute to definitions of competen...

This study examined student–teacher goal congruence and its relation to social and academic motivation. Based on a sample of 97 ninth-graders, high levels of goal congruence for each of the four goals measured (prosocial, responsibility, learning, performance) was positively related to student interest in class and perceived social support from tea...

A full appreciation of why students display positive classroom behavior requires an understanding of students' personal goals, as well as the degree to which these goals are valued by teachers and peers. A caring classroom environment in which teachers and peers support and promote the expression of positive social behaviors appears to play a criti...

Being successful at school requires children to perform a range of social as well as academic competencies. In addition to mastering subject matter, developing effective learning strategies, and performing well on tests, children also work to maintain and establish interpersonal relationships, strive to develop social identities and a sense of belo...

Relations between sociometric status and school adjustment (classroom grades, prosocial behavior, and irresponsible behavior) were examined over time with a sample of 204 students. Perceived support, efforts to learn, and goals to be prosocial and to be responsible also were examined as mediators of these relations. Sixth-grade sociometric status p...

Questions (1) what kinds of social goal setting children engage in, (2) which goals children must pursue in order to be competent students, and (3) how contexts provided by parents and teachers support or undermine the achievement of children's social needs. The author provides some insight into these social motivational issues. Several traditions...

In this article it is argued that peers have the potential to provide contexts for learning that can have a profound impact on the development of students' academic enablers. Based on work on social support and belongingness, ways in which being accepted by peers can motivate students to engage in learning activities and to display socially appropr...

This study examined the utility of parent socialization models for understanding teachers' influence on student adjustment in middle school. Teachers were assessed with respect to their modeling of motivation and to Baumrind's parenting dimensions of control, maturity demands, democratic communication, and nurturance. Student adjustment was defined...

In this article, goals are discussed with respect to content, that is, as cognitive representations of what it is that an individual is trying to achieve in a given situation. In support of this perspective, I argue that a focus on the content of students' goals can provide unique and valuable insights into ways in which students' multiple social a...

Social-motivational processes and socialization experiences can play a critical role in students' academic success. However, the search for specific mechanisms and processes that explain these social influences on motivation is still in its inception. The purpose of this article was to begin to articulate some of these processes in the hope that mo...

Social-motivational processes and socialization experiences can play a critical role in students' academic success. However, the search for specific mechanisms and processes that explain these social influences on motivation is still in its inception. The purpose of this article was to begin to articulate some of these processes in the hope that mo...

Investigated in this study was the contribution of peer acceptance, perceived support from peers, and family cohesion to prosocial behavior in young adolescents. Based on theories of peer socialization, it was hypothesized that being accepted by peers would have a direct relation to prosocial behavior. In addition, emotional distress was examined a...

We discuss ways in which aspects of academic and social motivation interact to influence student's academic performance. Research on academic and social motivational constructs is reviewed, focusing on students' ability and efficacy beliefs, control beliefs, achievement values, and achievement goal orientations. Relations between academic and socia...

Adolescents' supportive relationships with parents, teachers, and peers were examined in relation to motivation at school (school- and class-related interest, academic goal orientations, and social goal pursuit). On the basis of 167 sixth-grade students, relations of perceived support from parents, teachers, and peers to student motivation differed...

Adolescents' supportive relationships with parents, teachers, and peers were examined in relation to motivation at school (school- and class-related interest, academic goal orientations, and social goal pursuit). On the basis of 167 sixth-grade students, relations of perceived support from parents, teachers, and peers to student motivation differed...

Two samples of sixth-grade students were followed over time to examine relations of number of reciprocated friendships, peer acceptance, and group membership to academic achievement. In both samples, group membership was the most consistent predictor of grades over time. In Study 2, prosocial behavior, antisocial behavior, and emotional distress we...

Examined in this study were social address variables (race, community, and children's sex and age), and parental beliefs (parents' confidence in their children's academic abilities, beliefs about their own ability to teach their children, beliefs about the nature of children's intelligence, and achievement-related childrearing values) in relation t...

This study examined adolescents' perceptions of pedagogical caring in relation to their motivation to achieve positive social and academic outcomes in middle school. A longitudinal sample of 248 students was followed from 6th to 8th grade. Perceived caring from teachers predicted motivational outcomes, even when students' current levels of psycholo...

This study examined adolescents' perceptions of pedagogical caring in relation to their motivation to achieve positive social and academic outcomes in middle school. A longitudinal sample of 248 students was followed from 6th to 8th grade. Perceived caring from teachers predicted motivational outcomes, even when students' current levels of psycholo...

Two samples of sixth-grade students were followed over time to examine relations of number of reciprocated friendships, peer acceptance, and group membership to academic achievement. In both samples, group membership was the most consistent predictor of grades over time. In study 2, prosocial behavior, antisocial behavior, and emotional distress we...

Examined for this study were aspects of academic motivation (reading-specific intrinsic value and self-efficacy, performance and mastery goal orientations) and social motivation (pursuit of goals to behave in prosocial and responsible ways) in relation to efforts to achieve academically in English class. Based on longitudinal data from sixth grader...

How are children's social lives at school related to their motivation to achieve and how do motivational and social processes interact to explain children's adjustment at school? This volume, first published in 1990, features work by leading researchers in educational and developmental psychology and provides perspectives on how and why children te...