School motivation and attachment typically decline after the transition to middle school. According to the stage-environment fit approach, extracurricular activities are supposed to promote motivation. However, research has shown that the effects depend on the quality of the activities, which usually is measured by assessing students' individual perceptions. This article adds to previous studies in examining effects of school-based extracurricular participation on the development of individual motivation (learning goal orientation) and school attachment depending on the quality of the activities (i.e., amounts of challenge and social support) at the school level. We focused on the motivation development of 3,230 students at 98 schools who filled in questionnaires in Grades 5 (2005), 7 (2007), and 9 (2009). The quality of extracurricular activities was assessed on the basis of responses from 4,270 students in Grades 5, 7, and 9 at the same schools at the first measurement point (2005). Thus, individual development of the longitudinal sample was predicted by aggregated quality measures at the school level. Three-level hierarchical linear growth-curve models including school level, student level, and time were calculated. Cross-level interactions were analyzed to examine the influence of extracurricular participation on individual development as a function of school quality. Results show that the effects of extracurricular participation on the development of learning goal orientation are dependent on both features of school quality, whereas the development of school attachment in particular is influenced by activities offering social support. Thus, the effects of extracurricular activities are based not only on individual perceptions of activity features but also on school quality.

BackgroundStudents’ mastery goals are positively related to adaptive learning behaviour. Moreover, these goals often mediate the relation between perceived classroom characteristics and academic achievement. Research generally shows a decline of academic achievement and mastery goals after transition to middle school. Creating a learning environment at middle school according to students’ basic needs for autonomy, competence, and social relatedness might help to reduce these declines. However, little is known about the relationship between perceived fulfilment of needs, mastery goals, and academic achievement.AimsWe investigate the relationship between indicators of students’ perceived fulfilment of needs and their graded performance to determine whether the connection is indirect via mastery goals.SampleWe surveyed 2,105 students during the first year in middle school.MethodsWe assessed the amount of the students’ perceived autonomy, recognition of competence and support from the teacher (as indicators of competence and social relatedness) in class, their mastery goals, and their grades. Multilevel models were calculated.ResultsPerceived fulfilment of needs correlated significantly with mastery goals and graded performance. Mastery goals predicted graded performance; however, when perceived fulfilment of needs and mastery goals were analysed simultaneously, the correlation between mastery goals and graded performance was no longer significant. There was no indirect relation between perceived fulfilment of needs and graded performance via mastery goals.ConclusionsResults indicate that creating the learning environment according to the students’ basic needs is positively related to their mastery goals and graded performance during the first year at middle school.

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The introduction of all day-schools in Germany was due in part to the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study 2000, which revealed a striking social inequality in the German education system. It was expected that in all-day schools especially "at risk" groups would be supported and thus the gap in achievement based on socioeconomic status (SES) would be narrowed; however, few studies have explored this. In this paper the potential of all-day secondary schools is investigated through analysis of data from a nationwide study on the development of all-day schools (StEG [Studie zur Entwicklung von Ganztagsschulen]). The findings support the idea that all-day schools could help to narrow the gap between low and high SES students in several ways.