Effects of the teacher-student relationship on the learning and achievement motivation of high-tracking school students in adolescence

Abstract Introduction Studies have investigated the beginning of the decline in motivation during the transition of students to secondary school, with a low point in year 9. However, there are only a few studies that have researched the course of learning and achievement motivation separately for high-tracking school students, although—following the stage-environment fit theory—the specific learning environment is essential for the development of learning and achievement motivation. In addition, teacher-student relationships play a decisive role in the social and motivational development of students. Method Data from a questionnaire study with a sample of 779 students from 13 high-tracking schools in Brandenburg, Germany, who were surveyed at the beginning of the eighth grade and at the end of the ninth grade ( M Age = 13.09, SD = 50; 57% female) serve as the empirical basis. A latent change model (LCM)—with grades as a control variable—was designed using Mplus. Results The results of the LCM confirm a significant decrease in perseverance and effort, whereas achievement drive increases significantly from the beginning of eighth grade to the end of ninth grade. However, in our analysis, no specific aspect of the teacher-student relationship showed a clear or consistent effect on the change. Only grades predict the change in achievement drive over time. Conclusions Overall, the results show that both the quality of the teacher-student relationships and the motivational support of teachers have a positive short-term significance for achievement drive as well as perseverance and effort of secondary school students, but no long-term significance.