Students’ mental health has been an increased concern since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, academic outcomes have received very little attention. In this study, changes in students’ achievement motivation are investigated using an expectancy–value framework. Participants (n = 90) were high school students (grades 9 and 10) who reported on their expectancy and value perceptions in regard to learning before and during the pandemic (i.e., January and November 2020). Changes over time and as a function of extraversion/introversion were analyzed using repeated measures multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs). Most perceptions were found to be stable with the exception of interest in learning, which increased as a function of extraversion. Results are discussed in light of relevant pre-pandemic evidence.

Building and sustaining students' sense of belonging at school has been proposed by teachers and researchers as a means of stimulating students' intent or desire to learn and of reducing student attrition. This article will present the results of an inquiry into the literature on belonging to support the perspective that is it necessary, not only to foster a strong sense of belonging, but also to place much greater emphasis on school belonging in educational programs, practices, and research. The aims of the paper are: (a) to review the theoretical literature on school belonging with an emphasis on its defining attributes and main determinants, (b) to review the measurement instruments of school belonging, and (c) to identify various strategies that may enhance school belonging. In light of the defining attributes identified, the authors propose six general recommendations for educational stakeholders wishing to build and sustain students' sense of belonging at school.

Purpose: To assess if high school students’ leisure-time physical activity is predicted by their perception of the motivational climate, their perceived competence, and their achievement goals in physical education (PE) and if these variables interact with each other. Methods: A sample of 843 high school students completed self-reported questionnaires in the middle and at the end of the school year. The data were analyzed by structural equation modeling and latent moderated structural equations. Results: Leisure-time physical activity was positively predicted by students’ performance-approach goals and perceived competence in PE and by the interaction between their perceived competence and their adoption of mastery goals. Discussion/Conclusion: Only individual variables in PE were related to leisure-time physical activity. The significant interaction effect between students’ mastery goals and perceived competence in PE suggests that teachers need to foster students’ perceptions of competence. The authors therefore discuss the scope of the results with regard to pedagogical practices.

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Introduction. As it plays an important role in students' adjustment, and positively impacts their motivation and academic success, school belonging seems to be a pivotal determinant of the overall quality of a school experience. However, measuring such a belonging and estimating its contribution to the overall quality of school adjustment remain a challenge for the scientific community. Method. Thus, the French version of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) questionnaire was tested to determine its latent structure, validity, and capacity to predict dropout among at-risk students. In Study 1, the French version of the PSSM scale was thoroughly analyzed for validity while performing exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis on self-reported data provided by a sample of high school students. In study 2, answers of a particular sample of at-risk students were carefully analyzed with ANOVAS to determine the potential of the PSSM to predict high school dropout. Results. The exploratory factor analysis and the confirmatory factor analysis revealed four predominant dimensions: (1) teacher-student relationships; (2) peers' relationships; (3) sense of acceptance; and (4) sense of attachment, while the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis revealed the PSSM to be partially invariant with regards to the gender of the participants. In Study 2, we found that the PSSM can be used as a tool to help identify students who are at risk of dropping out of school. Conclusion. Strategies to develop students' school belonging are discussed.