This study, employing sequential explanatory mixed methods research design, examined: 1) the academic self-concept, academic motivation, and academic achievement of Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada in comparison to their peers in India; 2) the mediational role of academic motivation in the association between academic self-concept and academic achievement among Indian immigrant adolescents and Indian adolescents; and 3) the perspectives, beliefs, and recommendations of Indian immigrant adolescents and Indian adolescents in regard to classroom environments/instructional practices affecting their academic engagement and achievement. Surveys were administered among secondary students in Canada (N = 355) and India (N = 363) to assess their academic self-concepts, academic motivation, and academic achievement. Eight focus group interviews were conducted, four each in Canada and India, to glean the perceptions and views of Indian immigrant and Indian adolescents. Descriptive discriminant analysis (DDA) revealed that the Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada did not differ markedly from their counterparts in India. When non-standardized GPA scores were used, English and overall school GPAs and verbal self-concept were associated with group separation in DDA. When standardized GPA scores were used, however, verbal self-concept alone was associated with group separation in DDA. Mediation analyses indicated the mediational role of intrinsic motivation in the association between academic self-concept and academic achievement among Indian immigrant and Indian adolescents. Extrinsic motivation as well mediated the relations between academic self-concept and academic achievement for the Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada. Focus group discussions suggested that the Indian immigrant and Indian adolescents were primarily extrinsically motivated toward school and academics. Further, both the Indian immigrant and Indian adolescents perceived their classroom teachers as controlling rather than autonomy-supportive. Implications of the findings for educational practice and future research are discussed.

Few academic issues are of greater concern to teachers, parents, and school administrators than the academic motivation of the adolescents in their care. There are good reasons for this concern. Students who are academically motivated perform better in school, value their schooling, are future-oriented in their academic pursuits, and possess the academic confidence and positive feelings of self-worth so necessary to increasing academic achievement. Because academically motivated students engage their schoolwork with confidence and interest, they are less likely to drop out of school, suffer fewer disciplinary problems, and prove resilient in the face of setbacks and obstacles. It is precisely because academic motivation is so essential to academic achievement that motivation has taken a place along with cognition as one of the most followed lines of inquiry in educational psychology. In this volume, we are fortunate to gather together some of the most eminent scholars who have written extensively about the academic motivation of adolescents. We are fortunate also in that they represent the varied theories and lines of inquiry that currently dominate research in this area. In all, we believe that in the dozen chapters that comprise this volume, the authors provide elegant insights regarding the academic and social motivation of adolescents that will prove of interest to researchers, students, teachers, school administrators, parents, policymakers, and all others who play a pivotal role or are otherwise invested in the lives of adolescents in today's society. It is our hope that these insights will not only further the conversation on adolescence and education, but will serve as the impetus for further research capable of generating the creative ideas, programs, and structures so necessary to better the lives of the young people in our care.

Decades of research indicate the important connections among academic motivation and achievement, social relationships, and school culture. However, much of this research has been conducted in homogenous American schools serving middle class, average achieving, Anglo-student populations. This edited volume will argue that school culture is a reflection of the society in which the school is embedded and comprises various aspects, including individualism, competition, cultural stereotypes, and extrinsically guided values and rewards. They address three specific conceptual questions: How do differences in academic motivation for diverse groups of students change over time? How do students' social cognitions influence their motivational processes and outcomes in school? And what has been done to enhance academic motivation? To answer this last question, the contributors describe empirically validated intervention programs for improving academic motivation in students from elementary school through college.

This book documents systematic, prodigious and multidisciplinary research in the nature and role of academic self-efficacy, and identifies areas for future research directions within the three sections of the book: 'Assessment and Measurement of Academic Self-efficacy', 'Empirical Studies on What Shapes Academic Self-efficacy', and 'Empirical Studies on Influence of Academic Self-efficacy'. The book presents works by educators and researchers in the field from various parts of the world, highlighting advances, creative and unique approaches, and innovative methods. It examines discussions around the theoretical and practical aspects of academic self-efficacy in culturally and linguistically-diverse educational contexts. This book also showcases work based on classical and modern test theory methods, mediation and moderation analysis, multi-level modelling approaches, and qualitative analyses.