How are children's social lives at school related to their motivation to achieve and how do motivational and social processes interact to explain children's adjustment at school? This volume, first published in 1990, features work by leading researchers in educational and developmental psychology and provides perspectives on how and why children tend to thrive or fail at school. The individual chapters examine the unique roles of peers and teachers in communicating and reinforcing school-related attitudes, expectations, and definitions of self. Relations of children's school adjustment to school motivation, interpersonal functioning, and social skillfulness are also explored. The developmental and social perspectives on motivation and achievement presented in this volume provide new insights into the complex processes contributing to school success.

"What makes this volume outstanding is the research that connects social perspectives with the complex motivational processes contributing to school success or failure." E. Pearson, Choice

"...this volume should serve as a solid empirical foundation on which to begin such an important endeavor." Kenneth W. Merrell, Contemporary Psychology