Abstracts - Earli

is necessary, set themselves at a disadvantage position with respect to learning. Beyond personalcharacteristics, several factors in the learning environment and in the broader educational contexthave been identified to moderate and mediate help-seeking activities. In recent years, there hasbeen increasing awareness of the complexity of the interplay of help-seeking processes withrespect to learning and instructions in real classroom situations. In particular, the roles of theteacher, of technologies, and the educational context have been considered more thoroughly inrecent studies. Reflecting these advances, the focus of this symposium will be on the analysis andfacilitation of help-seeking processes in the classroom. An overarching goal of this symposium isto bring together different approaches dealing with the investigation of help-seeking processes inorder to contribute to an accumulation of scientific knowledge on processes of help-seeking in theclassroom, as well as on factors of the learning environment influencing these processes underdifferent contextual constellations. Though all of the contributions take account of this complexity,some contributions to this symposium focus on the role of personal characteristics for help seeking(Ryan, Butler and Luckin) whereas others highlight the importance of characteristics oftechnology (Aleven et al.; Luckin) and instructional approach (Mäkitalo-Siegl et al.) in learningenvironments. As a specific aspect of the learning environment, Butler investigates the teacher inthe role of help-seeker and Mäkitalo-Siegl and colleagues examine the teacher as help-giver. Theimpact of the social context upon help seeking is emphasized in the contributions of Luckin andButler.Help-seeking strategies and academic success during early adolescenceAllison M. Ryan, University of Illinois, USAThe present research examined the proposal that students’ help-seeking behavior during thetransition to middle school is important for their academic success. Help seeking is conceptualizedas a motivated behavior reflecting students’ social and academic goals. The guiding premise is thatgoals set in motion different help-seeking processes which differentially predict adolescents’academic achievement. Three different help-seeking tendencies were examined: avoidant (avoidasking for help altogether when they need it), dependent (tend to ask for help the minute theyencounter difficulty; need to develop more independence), and appropriate (ask for help when theytruly need it but are not overly dependent; do not ask for help the minute they encounterdifficulty). Controlling for prior achievement, avoidant help seeking was associated with lowersubsequent achievement. Controlling for prior achievement, appropriate help seeking wasassociated with higher subsequent achievement. Students’ social goals were stronger predictors ofhelp seeking than academic goals. In particular, when students’ were focused on socialdemonstration goals (e.g. "looking cool" in front of peers and "not looking foolish") they weremore likely to avoid help seeking with their academic work. Thus, students’ social motivation hasimplications for their academic engagement and achievement. The paper will discuss implicationsfor promoting achievement in young adolescents.Competitive schools, reluctant help seekers: Contextual influences on help seeking among studentsand teachersRuth Butler, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, IsraelResearch generated by achievement goal theory has shown that students’ perceptions of classroomemphases on learning versus competitive success promoted and undermined help seeking byfostering mastery versus ability goals for schoolwork. The first aim will be to extend this line ofresearch by examining the effects of tracking. Study 1 used a quasi-experimental design tocompare 941 students in Grades 5 and 6 in schools in Israel that did or did not track schools in– 280 –