Transitions in Motivational Profiles of Indonesian Middle School Students

• In Event: Situating Growth Mindset across Contexts and Cultures: Experiential, Environmental, and Developmental Influences

Abstract

Objectives
Using a large, nationally represented sample of adolescents from Indonesia (N = 50,280), we use person-cantered analyses to explore heterogeneity in students’ motivational profiles and their evolution over time. The main goals of this study are: (1) to identify distinct configurations of meaning system components (i.e., motivational profiles); (2) to examine how students’ profiles change across the transition from 8th to 9th grade; and (3) to identify key antecedents predicting these transitions.

Theoretical Framework
The transition from middle to high school is characterized by heightened academic demands. While some students demonstrate remarkable resilience during this transition, others experience motivational decline that can derail their educational trajectories. Growth mindset—the belief that intellectual abilities can be developed through effort and effective strategies—has emerged as a factor in academic resilience, particularly among students facing socioeconomic disadvantages (Dweck, 2016).
Research has shown that growth mindset is part of an interconnected network of motivational beliefs that shape how students interpret effort, establish goals, and engage in learning behaviors (Yeager & Dweck, 2020). Traditional variable-centered research has examined isolated relationships between these components. We hypothesize that individual differences exist in how these beliefs coalesce into coherent motivational profiles. For example, some students might endorse growth mindset beliefs but fail to translate these beliefs into adaptive behaviors, whereas other students might have a more cohesive system of aligned beliefs, goals, and behavior.

Methods & Data Sources
We analyzed data from All Can Succeed, a two-wave longitudinal study of Indonesian students transitioning from 8th to 9th grade (N = 50,280; 54% female). At both time points, students self-reported on growth mindset, effort beliefs, goal orientations (learning vs. performance), challenge-seeking, and grit. Mastery-oriented behavior was assessed using the Persistence-Effort-Resilience-Challenge-seeking (PERC) task (Porter et al., 2020).
Latent profile analysis, with school-level clustering, examined motivational profiles at each wave, and latent transition analysis examined stability and change over time. Multilevel logistic regression tested predictors of profile transitions, such as self-esteem, socioeconomic status (SES), and school achievement climate.

Results
Figure 1 and Table 1 shows the four motivational profiles found at each time point. A majority of students had a mixed or adaptive profile. However, 72% of students remained in or transitioned to less adaptive profiles, while only 28% transitioned into or maintained more adaptive profiles. Predictors of a more positive transition include self-esteem and school achievement level (Table 2).

Significance
This study provides a robust test of motivational profiles across an impactful educational transition. Findings reveal a systematic motivational decline as students spend a year in a context with heavy performance emphasis preparing for a high-stakes exam. By identifying how psychological resources (e.g., self-esteem and sense of belonging) and contextual supports (e.g., school climate) shape profile transitions, the study advances a systems view of motivation that integrates individual and structural factors. Results have implications for theory and practice—informing the timing and targeting of interventions that promote academic resilience, particularly in high-pressure or educationally stratified environments.

Authors

• Yushan Zhao, University of California - Davis

• Rongxin Cheng, University of California - Davis

• Kali Trzesniewski, University of California - Davis