Motivational beliefs, such as goal orientation, are important determinants for successful educational careers and the learning behavior of children and adolescents (Becker, Pfost, Schiefer & Artelt, 2017). However, studies show that students' goal orientation tends to decline in the course of their academic career, with transitions to higher school levels being particularly critical (Neuenschwander, 2017).

The stage-environment fit theory (Eccles et al., 1993) provides a possible explanation for this phenomenon: as they move to lower secondary education, students perceive their learning environment to be less tailored to their interests and abilities, which negatively influences their goal orientation. This raises the question of how teachers can contribute to an optimal fit between school environment and student.

An important condition for this fit is social integration (Ryan & Deci, 2000). This means, for example, a sense of relatedness towards teachers and peers in the context of school. Previous research shows that aspects of social integration – i.e., good relationships with teachers and conflict-solving skills in dealing with peers – determine students' perceived stage-environment fit (Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2006) as well as their goal orientation (Madjar, North & Karakus, 2019). There are, however, no studies on the interplay between social integration, perception of fit and goal orientation during the transition to lower secondary education. Also, whether the effects of teacher-student relationship and conflict-solving skills on students' perceived fit change after a school transition has not yet been researched. This question is, however, relevant, since transitions have a major influence on motivational beliefs (Becker et al., 2017) and students' goal orientation. For example, it has been shown to decline after entering lower secondary school (Neuenschwander, 2017).

Therefore, this contribution examines the effect of Swiss students' relationship with their teachers and of their conflict-solving skills with peers on their goal orientation, assuming their perceived fit serves as a mediator. Two different factors of goal orientation serve as outcomes: mastery goal orientation (the goal of expanding one's skills) and performance goal orientation (the goal of doing well in social comparison; Grolnick, Friendly & Bellas, 2009). We hypothesize that both teacher-student relationship and students' conflict-solving skills directly and indirectly determine mastery goal orientation and performance goal orientation. Both outcomes are controlled for longitudinally.

In order to control for the possible effects of a school transition, two samples are compared. The time of transition to lower secondary school differs between Swiss cantons. Therefore, students who experienced a transition between fifth and sixth grade are compared with students without a transition between the two measurement times. This allows to determine whether school transition changes the hypothesized paths.

The samples used for the analysis are from the first two survey waves of the Swiss research project "Effects of Tracking" (Wirkungen der Selektion; WiSel). Adolescents from four Swiss cantons were asked to fill out questionnaires at multiple points in their academic career. We used data from Wave 1, conducted in 2011, when the adolescents were in fifth grade, and Wave 2, conducted in 2012, when adolescents were in sixth grade. Two groups were formed, one consisting of students from cantons with a school transition between grades 5 and 6 (N=1075) and one without transition at that time (N=946). Measures: Goal orientation: Students' goal orientation was assessed using a scale by Midgley et al. (2000) with three items each relating to mastery goal orientation (e.g., "One of my goals in class is to learn as much as I can"; t1: α = .66, t2: α = .67) and performance goal orientation (e.g., "It’s important to me that I look smart compared to others in my class"; t1: α = .81, t2: α = .84). Perceived fit: Students' perceived fit was assessed using five items (e.g., "I can improve my skills in class"; t1: α = .80, t2: α = .79) according to Neuenschwander & Frank (2009). Teacher-student relationship: Three items were used to assess the students' relationship with their teacher (e.g., "My class teacher likes me"; α = .83), based on Neuenschwander et al. (1998) and Williams & Deci (1996). Conflict-solving skills: The three items for measuring conflict-solving skills (e.g., "If I disagree with someone, I can still understand their explanations"; α = .60) were part of a longer scale for social self-concept according to Neuenschwander et al. (2003). To test the hypotheses, two structural equation models were calculated in Mplus 8.1, each with one of the two examined outcome variables. The two SEMs were compared between the students with and without transition. Mastery goal orientation and performance goal orientation as well as perception of fit were integrated into the model at both measurement points in order to test for longitudinal effects. Finally, the complete SEM was calculated with the assumed paths. The Satorra-Bentler Scaled Chi Square Test was used to check for possible group differences.

All measurement models were confirmed for configural and metric invariance over time and between groups. Both SEM showed acceptable-to-good values (mastery goal orientation: χ2(188)=511.44, χ2/df=2.72, p<.001, CFI=.96, RMSEA=.03, SRMR=.05; performance goal orientation: χ2(188)=405.29, χ2/df=2.16, p<.001, CFI=.98, RMSEA=.02, SRMR=.04). In both SEM, the hypothesized paths did not differ significantly between the two groups (mastery goal orientation: ∆χ2(21)=22.72, p=.359; performance goal orientation: ∆χ2(21)=10.13, p=.977). This indicates that the analyzed effects are not influenced by transitional situations. Both teacher-student relationship (β=.34, p<.001) and conflict-solving ability (β=.31, p<.001) have a significant effect on students' perceived fit, which in turn positively predicts mastery goal orientation (β=.63, p<.001) as well as performance goal orientation (β=.17, p<.001). Teacher-student relationship does not have a significant direct effect on either mastery goal orientation or performance goal orientation. Indirect effects are, however, significant (βMasteryGoal=.18, p<.001; βPerformanceGoal=.08, p<.001). Furthermore, students' perceived fit is the strongest predictor for mastery goal orientation, while performance goal orientation is more strongly determined by its own magnitude during the previous year (β=.58, p<.001). These results show that positive effects of good teacher-student relationships and conflict-solving skills can be explained by stage-environment fit. The fact that there were no differences between the two groups indicates that school transitions do not influence these effects: goal orientation may decrease after entering lower secondary school, their relationship with perceived fit, however, does not change. Therefore, teachers can strengthen their students' goal orientation via perceived fit regardless of whether a school transition has occurred. This confirms that stage-environment fit can explain motivational beliefs such as goal orientation during compulsory school. Goal orientations decrease over the course of a school career, but there are contextual and personal factors that can favor them. Teachers may increase the goal orientation of their students by creating suitable learning environments, for example by maintaining positive relationships.

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