The Multidimensional Anxiety Inventory (MAI) was developed to assess emotionality and worry in three school-specific situations which vary according to academic threat (AT) and social threat (ST): performing a test (AT high, ST low), presenting in front of class (AT high, ST high), and meeting in the schoolyard (AT low, ST low). Aim of the study was to analyze factor structure, psychometric properties, and validity. Analyses are based on a sample of German students (N > 7000, age 9 to 16 years). Reliability coefficients were good for all subscales. The postulated factor structure was supported by both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Emotionality was similar relevant across the three contexts, whereas worry appeared to be more specific: a) performance-related worry occurred while writing a test and while presenting in front of class, b) social-related worry was related to presenting in front of class and meeting in the schoolyard. Differential associations with criterion variables (e.g., grades, well-being, gelotophobia) support the validity of the MAI. Incorporating academic as well as social situations in an anxiety questionnaire allows for a more comprehensive assessment of anxiety in children and adolescents. Applications for educational and clinical psychology will be discussed.

The readiness to approach processes of informational search and evaluation in a specific manner is essential for solving complex and ill-defined information problems in scholarly contexts as well as in everyday life. The paper introduces the construct “Openness for Information” (OI) as a corresponding cognitive-motivational disposition. OI is thought to be rooted in personality and to be affected by epistemic beliefs, i.e. assumptions about the nature of knowledge. Additionally, associations with other aspects of information behavior are expected. To assess OI, the Scale Openness for Information (SOFI) was applied in four studies together with other self-report measures. The 12-item scale proved to be internally consistent (Cronbachs alpha = .82 to .87) in three samples of university students (n = 112 law, n = 116 psychology, n = 101 educational sciences) and an opportunity sample of adults aged 18 to 72 years (n = 86). Scores were significantly correlated with Need for Cognitive Closure, Openness for Experiences, and Conscientiousness. Students high in OI reported more sophisticated epistemological beliefs, more active planning of information seeking, and more reliance on scientific criteria when judging the quality of information. It is concluded that the SOFI is a useful tool for studying information behavior.

The Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) presents childhood as a foundational period for the development of self-efficacy expectations. Self-efficacy expectations constitute one’s judgments of prospective capabilities to successfully perform a task, which impacts children’s career preferences. The Multidimensional Scales of Perceived Self-Efficacy (MSPSE) is validated to Portugal and has served the assessment of career self-efficacy from seventh-grade to college. Adding to the lack of research using the MSPSE before seventh-grade, there is no evidence of factor equivalence for genders and school levels. This work examines the applicability of the MSPSE to Portuguese fifth- and sixth-grade girls and boys. The self-efficacy expectations for academic success, self-regulated learning, and leisure and extracurricular activities scales were used due to their alignment with career development in these grades. Participants were 313 Portuguese children (137 female and 176 male; 47.9% fifth and 51.8% sixth graders, M(age) = 10.80). Confirmatory factor analyses suggested a good fit of a hierarchical measurement model, including three first-order factors and a second-order factor (composite score). Multi-group results suggested factor equivalence for genders and school levels. These results support the use of the MSPSE scales with Portuguese fifth- and sixth-grade girls and boys, which might sustain further SCCT-based research in middle-school years.

Students’ school-related attitudes, relationships with classmates and teachers, academic self-concept, and other social-emotional school experiences influence both students’ wellbeing and their academic development. The younger students are, the more important these “soft factors” prove in the long run. However, brief assessments that can be administered across grades are still lacking. We propose an abbreviated and enhanced 36-item adaptation of the Social and Emotional School Experiences Survey (Fragebogen zur Erfassung emotionaler und sozialer Schulerfahrungen, FEESS; Rauer & Schuck, 2003, 2004), assessing the original seven factors (academic self-concept, social integration, class climate, attitude towards school, attitude towards learning, joy of learning, and feeling accepted by the teacher) plus facets of academic self-concept (mathematical, reading, and writing) not considered in the original. Based on the German norming sample of the THINK (Baudson, Wollschläger & Preckel, 2015; N > 2,000 students from grades 1–4 from five German federal states), evidence on criterial validity (IQ, grades, other-ratings) and model fit (first-order factor models with correlated factors) of the SESES-K will be presented along with invariance test results across grades and findings from longitudinal data.

Latent trait classification methods, including diagnostic classification methods (Rupp, Templin, & Henson, 2012) and latent class modeling (Magidson & Vermunt, 2002), offer opportunities to observe, classify, and profile individual learners’ strengths and areas for improvement in detail. Resulting learner profiles can be used in the form of cognitively diagnostic feedback (CDF) for immediate intervention. However, there is a paucity of empirical research that explains the mechanism of how feedback from assessment interacts with learners’ mind. Their beliefs about intelligence and orientations to learning can powerfully influence their attention to information and further learning success (Dweck & Sorich, 1999). The paper discusses the mechanism of how CDF is perceived and used by young learners with different psycho-social profiles based on research with 105 children in Grades 5 and 6, their parents, and their teachers. The study results indicated that the use of CDF is influenced not only by actual ability, but also by the beliefs about intelligence and goal orientations that students bring to their assessment situation. Learners are sensitive to the mismatch between their expected and actual outcome. CDF indicating such conflicts can stimulate learners’ cognitive engagement and prompt them to use feedback for planning learning.