Schmiedek, Flo ian
Lea ning o a - isk s uden s. A dynamic pe spec i e
Becke , Michael [H sg.]; Digna h, Cha lo e [H sg.]; Bihle , Lilly-Ma len [H sg.]; Gaspa d, Hanna [H sg.]; McEl any,
Nele [H sg.]: Socio-emo ional and cogni i e de elopmen in lea ning. Educa ional goals in compe i ion?! Müns e ;
New Yo k : Waxmann 2026, S. 51-64. - (Do munde Symposium de Empi ischen Bildungs o schung; 9)
Quellenangabe/ Re e ence:
Schmiedek, Flo ian: Lea ning o a - isk s uden s. A dynamic pe spec i e - In: Becke , Michael [H sg.];
Digna h, Cha lo e [H sg.]; Bihle , Lilly-Ma len [H sg.]; Gaspa d, Hanna [H sg.]; McEl any, Nele [H sg.]:
Socio-emo ional and cogni i e de elopmen in lea ning. Educa ional goals in compe i ion?! Müns e ;
New Yo k : Waxmann 2026, S. 51-64 - URN: u n:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-345065 - DOI: 10.25656/01:34506
h ps://nbn- esol ing.o g/u n:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-345065
h ps://doi.o g/10.25656/01:34506
in Koope a ion mi / in coope a ion wi h:
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Flo ian Schmiedek
Lea ning o a - isk s uden s
A dynamic pe spec i e
In ecen yea s, he e has been g owing conce n abou he socio-emo ional well-
being and men al heal h o child en and adolescen s. These conce ns add o he
ongoing conce ns abou he academic achie emen o hese age g oups, pa ‐
icula ly wi h ega d o basic compe encies, and especially o child en om
disad an aged backg ounds. Fo an educa ion sys em ha no only aims o
p omo e he de elopmen o such compe encies, bu also akes esponsibili y
as an impo an en i onmen o he iden i ica ion and p e en ion o men al
heal h p oblems and he gene al imp o emen o socio-emo ional well-being,
he ques ion a ises as o how hese wo gene al domains o ou comes a e e‐
la ed. A e hey posi i ely in e wined, such ha p omo ing one domain will
au oma ically bene i he o he – and ailing o do so will inc ease isk in he
o he ? O a e hese ou come domains in con lic , equi ing decisions abou
how o alloca e limi ed educa ional esou ces? In wha ollows, I will a gue ha
a emp s o answe hese ques ions a a gene al le el a e limi ed. Ra he , he
dynamic p ocesses ha link lea ning and well-being and ha may place lea ne s
a isk o academic ailu e and men al heal h p oblems should be unde s ood as
po en ially highly indi idualized and he e o e dese ing o in es iga ion om
a wi hin-pe son pe spec i e ha akes his indi iduali y in o accoun .
1 S uden s a isk o academic ailu e and men al heal h p oblems
Since he sobe ing esul s o he i s PISA s udies, he e has been inc eased
moni o ing o he educa ional sys em, esul ing in wo ying igu es on he
p e alence o s uden s a isk o academic ailu e. Fo example, he e a e he
la ge and inc easing pe cen ages o s uden s ailing o mee minimum s an‐
da ds in basic compe encies as documen ed by he IQB Bildungs end (S ana
e al., 2023) and simila ly conce ning ends in he numbe o s uden s d op‐
ping ou o school, as epo ed in he mos ecen Na ional Repo on Educa‐
ion (Au o :inneng uppe Bildungsbe ich e s a ung, 2024). Asking abou he
isk ac o s ha in u n p edic such indica o s o academic ailu e, he e is
s ong empi ical e idence o gene al (backg ound o dis al) ac o s like, o
52 Flo ian Schmiedek
example, po e y (Sel i opu & Kaya, 2023) and mig a ion backg ound (Hea h
& B inbaum, 2014). These con ibu e o mo e p oximal isk ac o s a he le el
o he indi idual s uden , like lack o language compe ences (Snowling e al.,
2021), socio-emo ional compe ences (McLeod & Kaise , 2004), o sel - egula‐
ion compe ences (Robson e al., 2020). I he exp ession o such indi idual ac‐
o s is p onounced, i can lead o ul illing he diagnos ic c i e ia o high- isk
ca ego ies such as lea ning diso de s o a en ion de ici hype ac i i y diso de
(Ca iola e al., 2024).
Wi h ega d o socio-emo ional well-being, he e is g owing e idence o
a dis u bingly high and inc easing p e alence o men al heal h p oblems
among child en and adolescen s. Repo s by bo h in e na ional (McGo y e al.,
2024) and na ional expe commissions (Deu sche Akademie de Na u o sche
Leopoldina, 2024) ha e ecen ly e iewed he empi ical li e a u e and no iced
he magni ude and u gency o he p oblem. Among he mos impo an isk
ac o s o men al heal h p oblems, again backg ound ac o s such as po e y
(Klasen e al., 2017) a e p ominen . As mo e p oximal ac o s, amilial ac o s
(e.g., men al heal h p oblems o pa en s; Bea dslee e al., 2011), expe ience
o iolence and abuse (Baldwin e al., 2023), and mobbing (Du y & Spe y,
2012), o example show ele an oles in p edic ing men al heal h p oblems,
which can mani es in diagnoses o men al diso de s in he ex eme case. In
child en and adolescen s, he diso de ca ego ies o dep ession, anxie y, and
psychosoma ic p oblems a e pa icula ly p e alen (Deu sche Akademie de
Na u o sche Leopoldina, 2024).
In summa y, he cu en numbe s and longi udinal ends in bo h domains,
academic achie emen s. ailu e and socio-emo ional well-being s. men al
heal h p oblems, a e ala ming and call o inc eased poli ical and socie al e o s
o add ess and educe hese p oblems. The ac ha impo an isk ac o s o
bo h p oblem domains a e pa ly he same may lead o he expec a ion ha
he e should be a posi i e ela ionship be ween bo h p oblem domains. So, wha
is he scien i ic e idence o such an associa ion?
2. The ela ion o academic achie emen and well-being: Theo e ical
a gumen s and empi ical indings
Rega ding heo e ical conside a ions, one can ind a gumen s o , bo h, a pos‐
i i e (“win-win”) ela ion, as well as a nega i e (“ ade-o ”) ela ion be ween
academic achie emen and well-being. A gumen s o a posi i e ela ion o ‐
en posi posi i e ecip ocal e ec s be ween bo h domains. Fo example, he
B oaden-and-Build Theo y (F ed ickson, 2001) p oposes ha well-being can
Lea ning o a - isk s uden s 53
os e lea ning p ocesses h ough a b oadening o hough -ac ion epe oi es,
which can allow o build pe sonal esou ces ha , in u n, enhance well-being.
Sel -de e mina ion heo y (Ryan & Deci, 2000) also assumes ecip ocal ela‐
ions, wi h academic success sa is ying he need o compe ence. Being one
o he basic psychological needs acco ding o his heo y, i s sa is ac ion con‐
ibu es o well-being. Fu he mo e, i se es a basis o he de elopmen o in‐
insic mo i a ion, which in u n is again bene icial o academic pe o mance.
Recip ocal e ec s a e also cen al o De elopmen al Cascades Theo y (Moilanen
e al., 2010), which posi s ha ex e nalizing and in e nalizing symp oms and
academic ailu e can mu ually enhance each o he .
Howe e , a gumen s can also be ound o a nega i e ela ionship be ween
he wo domains (see Högbe g, 2023, o a summa y). The simple ac ha ime
is limi ed po en ially leads o oppo uni y cos s: s uden s who in es a lo o
ime in lea ning ha e less ime le o o he (e.g., leisu e and social) ac i i‐
ies ha a e bene icial o hei socio-emo ional well-being. In addi ion, high-
achie ing con ex s (such as eli e schools) a e o en cha ac e ized by a compe i‐
i e clima e and a disp opo iona e emphasis on pe o mance, which can ha e
nega i e emo ional consequences. Gi en ha hese di e en heo e ical mecha‐
nisms may all con ibu e o he o e all ela ionship be ween academic achie e‐
men and well-being and hus (pa ially) coun e ac each o he , i is pe haps
no su p ising ha empi ical e idence is mixed and quan i a i e me a-analy ic
summa ies sugges a he weak ela ionships. A me a-analysis by Bücke e al.
(2018) epo s an a e age co ela ion o .16 and ano he one by Kaya and E dem
(2021) esul s in an a e age ela ionship (Fishe ’s z) o .17. Looking a hese
numbe s alone, one migh be emp ed o conclude ha academic achie emen
and socio-emo ional well-being a e ela i ely independen om each o he and
he e o e could also be add essed by independen measu es. In he ollowing,
howe e , I would like o highligh ha such an a e age ela ion o be ween-
pe son di e ences may no be in o ma i e abou he mechanisms ha link aca‐
demic achie emen and well-being a he le el o indi idual s uden s, ha hese
mechanisms may in ac be qui e he e ogeneous ac oss s uden s, and ha he e
is he e o e much o be gained by also conside ing ela ionships a he le el
o wi hin-pe son a iabili y by aking a dynamic pe spec i e on he in e play
be ween academic achie emen and well-being.
54 Flo ian Schmiedek
3. The ela ionship be ween academic achie emen and well-being:
Wi hin-pe son ela ionships
A cen al insigh ha has ecei ed inc easing a en ion in psychology in ecen
decades is ha ela ions obse ed a he le el o be ween-pe son di e ences
may no be in o ma i e abou ela ions a he le el o he indi iduals unde lying
hese be ween-pe son di e ences. Only unde s ic condi ions (i.e., e godici y;
Molenaa , 2004), in e ences om be ween-pe son ela ions o wi hin-pe son
ela ions a e possible. Indi iduals may di e om each o he in hei wi hin-
pe son ela ions and he a e age wi hin-pe son ela ion may di e om he
be ween-pe son ela ion. Figu e 1 p o ides an illus a i e example. I shows
esul s om he FLUX s udy (Di k & Schmiedek, 2016), in which 110 hi d
and ou h g ade s pa icipa ed in sma phone-based ambula o y assessmen s
se e al imes a day o up o 31 days. On hese occasions, hey comple ed di ‐
e en wo king memo y asks and se e al sel - epo measu es, including a ‐
ings o ask- ela ed enjoymen . The main sca e plo shows he posi i e ela‐
ionship be ween wo king memo y pe o mance and enjoymen a e aged o e
all measu emen occasions o each child and indica es a posi i e ela ion‐
ship ( = .33) – child en who pe o m be e on a e age end o enjoy wo k‐
ing on he asks mo e. Howe e , when looking a he le el o wi hin-pe son
a ia ion ac oss he di e en measu emen occasions o indi idual s uden s,
he pic u e can be qui e di e en . In he example, wo s uden s (Child 1 and
Child 2) wi h e y simila a e age le els o pe o mance and enjoymen show
adically di e en wi hin-pe son ela ionships – o Child 1 his ela ionship
is qui e s ong ( = .56), o Child 2 he e is no sys ema ic ela ionship a all
( = -.01). Nei he one is well cha ac e ized by he be ween-pe son co ela ion
o .33. Mu ayama e al. (2017) p o ide u he illus a i e examples o he e o‐
geneous wi hin-pe son ela ionships in educa ional psychology esea ch con‐
ex s.
Such he e ogenei y o wi hin-pe son ela ionships sugges s ha he causal
mechanisms p oducing he obse ed ela ionships may also di e ac oss indi‐
iduals. And e en when simila wi hin-pe son ela ionships a e obse ed, he
unde lying causal mechanisms may s ill be di e en . Conside ing he ela ion‐
ship be ween academic achie emen and socio-emo ional well-being, he e may
be achie emen -o ien ed s uden s o whom achie emen is a p ima y sou ce o
sel -es eem and well-being. Fo o he s, hei success in lea ning may be highly
dependen on he absence o nega i e emo ions – which would also p oduce
a posi i e wi hin-pe son ela ionship be ween achie emen and well-being, ye
based on a di e en causal mechanism. I may also be he case ha an obse ed
posi i e ela ionship is p oduced by hi d a iables ha mu ually in luence bo h

Lea ning o a - isk s uden s 55
Figu e 1. Compa ison o he be ween-pe son ela ionship o wo king memo y pe o mance and ask-
ela ed enjoymen in N= 110 child en pa icipa ing in up o 31 days o ambula o y assessmen in he
FLUX s udy (Di k & Schmiedek, 2016) wi h he wi hin-pe son ela ionships o wo selec ed child en
ac oss s udy occasions. Wo king memo y (WM) pe o mance is a composi e o accu acy on nume ical
and igu al-spa ial WM upda ing asks wi h di e en memo y load condi ions (see Di k & Schmiedek,
2016). Task- ela ed joy is a composi e o sel - a ing on he i ems “I jus had a lo o un wo king on he
( asks and) ques ions o e all.”, “I jus enjoyed wo king on he ( asks and) ques ions.”, and “I jus ound
wo king on he ( asks and) ques ions bo ing.” ( e e sed i em) wi h 5-poin Like scales.
achie emen and well-being, such as day- o-day a ia ions in sleep quali y o
heal h s a us. I is e en possible ha he ela ionship may be nega i e o in‐
di idual s uden s. Conside a child who pe o ms bes a imes when pa en al
p essu e o pe o m well is high, which o his child is associa ed wi h lowe
le els o well-being due o s ess and es anxie y. O conside an adolescen
who goes h ough pe iods o spending a lo o ime wi h pee s, which has a
posi i e impac on socio-emo ional well-being by mee ing he need o social
inclusion, bu a nega i e impac on ime spen lea ning. While hese examples
a e specula i e, hey should se e o illus a e ha a weak be ween-pe son co ‐
ela ion be ween achie emen and well-being may mask a la ge he e ogenei y
o indi idual ela ions and unde lying causal mechanisms. I known, hese di ‐
e en mechanisms would also sugges di e en indi idual s a ing poin s o
in e en ions aimed a imp o ing achie emen and well-being. Howe e , i is
only by examining wi hin-pe son a ia ion wi h measu emen -in ensi e longi‐
udinal s udies ha we may be able o iden i y such be ween-pe son a iabili y
in ela ionships and mechanisms.
56 Flo ian Schmiedek
Wi h he g ow h o measu emen -in ensi e s udies, empi ical e idence o
such be ween-pe son a iabili y is beginning o accumula e in se e al esea ch
a eas o psychology, including educa ional psychology. Fo example, Niepel
e al. (2022) in es iga ed he c oss-lagged ela ionships be ween ma hema ical
sel -concep and pe cei ed ma hema ics achie emen in 372 seconda y school
s uden s, using sel - epo measu es a e each ma hema ics lesson o e a h ee-
week pe iod. They ound signi ican a e age c oss-lagged e ec s in bo h di ec‐
ions (i.e., be e pe o mance in one lesson p edic ed be e sel -concep in he
nex lesson and ice e sa). The e we e also signi ican andom e ec s, indica ‐
ing be ween-pe son di e ences in he s eng h o hese wi hin-pe son e ec s.
In e es ingly, he co ela ion o hese andom e ec s was nega i e ( = -.56),
indica ing ha he ecip ocal e ec s ended o be s onge in one di ec ion o
he o he o di e en g oups o s uden s.
Such an indica ion o po en ial he e ogenei y in wi hin-pe son ela ions
o cons uc s ela ed o pe o mance and well-being was also epo ed by
Neubaue e al. (2019). Using da a om he FLUX s udy (see abo e) and
mix u e modeling, hey we e able o iden i y la en classes wi h di e en
pa e ns o ela ions be ween wo king memo y pe o mance and ou di‐
mensions o momen a y a ec i e well-being (posi i e and nega i e a ec ,
ac i a ion and deac i a ion). While wo o he la en classes showed el‐
a i ely s ong (o weak) wi hin-pe son ela ions o pe o mance wi h all
a ec dimensions, he o he wo la en classes we e cha ac e ized by pe ‐
o mance being speci ically associa ed wi h nega i e a ec and deac i a‐
ion o exclusi ely wi h ac i a ion. Again, such he e ogenei y may sug‐
ges di e en p omising app oaches when conside ing indi idualized in‐
e en ions (e.g., educing nega i e a ec o inc easing le els o ac i a‐
ion).
4. F om bi a ia e wi hin-pe son ela ions o complex dynamic
ne wo ks
In clinical psychology, esea ch on men al diso de s has in ecen yea s inc eas‐
ingly adop ed measu emen -in ensi e s udies and ocused on wi hin-pe son
p ocesses, ypically assessed in pa ien s’ e e yday li e con ex s using ambula‐
o y assessmen (T ull & Ebne -P ieme , 2013). This g ow h has os e ed a
pa allel new concep ual de elopmen based on dynamic sys ems heo y and
ne wo k modeling app oaches (Bo sboom, 2017). The gene al mo i a ion be‐
hind his is o mo e away om he adi ional iew in psychia y and clinical
psychology, which concep ualizes men al diso de s as sepa a e ca ego ies ha
Lea ning o a - isk s uden s 57
a e cha ac e ized by a la en s a e (e.g., “dep ession”) ha mani es s in a se o
ypical symp oms (e.g., lowe ed sel -es eem, loss o in e es , suicidal idea ion).
On he basis o hese symp oms, he clinician a emp s o make a ca ego i‐
cal diagnos ic decision abou whe he a, and i so which, diso de is p esen ,
and he apeu ic in e en ions a e hen based on ha diagnosis. The new iew
abandons he idea ha he e is a la en diso de s a e ha causes a speci ic
se o symp oms o eme ge o inc ease and ins ead iews indi iduals as com‐
plex sys ems (F ied, 2022). These can be modeled as mul i a ia e ne wo ks o
psychological (e.g., mood), physiological (e.g., sleep), and psychopa hological
symp om (e.g., ca as ophic hinking) a iables ha can in luence and in e ‐
ac wi h each o he in complex, dynamic, and po en ially highly idiosync a ic
ways. Men al diso de s a ise when such ne wo ks, o example h ough sel -
ein o cing cycles (e.g., dep essed mood → educed social and physical ac i i y
→dep essed mood), a e d i en in o unheal hy s a es om which i is di icul
o escape (see nex sec ion). The goal o applying hese concep ual ideas in
esea ch and clinical applica ion is o es ima e and unde s and he ne wo ks
o indi idual pa ien s, o use hem o e lec on he causal p ocesses ha induce
and s abilize diso de ed s a es, and o iden i y p omising a iables o in e ene
on and b eak up he malignan dynamics. While applica ions o dynamic ne ‐
wo ks ypically a e a he explo a o y in na u e (apa om ha he selec ion
o a iables ough o be d i en by heo e ical conside a ions) and ake an id‐
iog aphic pe spec i e, he e a e also de elopmen s owa ds con i ma o y ap‐
p oaches (Du e al., 2025) and owa ds in eg a ing idiog aphic and nomo he ic
pe spec i es by a emp ing o g oup simila indi idual ne wo k s uc u es (e.g.,
Bel z e al., 2016).
Recen ly, simila concep ual ideas om dynamic ne wo k heo y ha e ound
hei way in o educa ional esea ch. Fo example, Moelle e al. (2022) ha e
p oposed he DYNAMICS amewo k, which concep ualizes he de elopmen
o achie emen - ela ed mo i a ional and emo ional ai s as g owing ou o
complex wi hin-pe son sho - e m p ocesses o a ne wo k o a iables ha a e
cen al o he si ua ed expec ancy- alue heo y (Eccles & Wig ield, 2020). Em‐
pi ical applica ions in educa ional esea ch a e s ill ew, wi h a nice example be‐
ing a s udy by Tamu a e al. (2022). In his s udy, daily ques ionnai es om ou
pa icipan s we e analyzed who p o ided sel - epo s on a e y ich se o 31
componen s o mo i a ional engagemen wi h ega d o hei daily wo k. This
se con ained mo i a ional easons, goals, expec ancy belie s, pe cei ed cos s,
sa is ac ion o di e en needs, as well as disc e e emo ions and global a ec i e
expe iences, including psychopa hological symp om a iables (e.g., s ess, de‐
p ession). Based on a o al o 595 da a poin s (o ou pa icipan s combined), a
dynamic ne wo k o con empo aneous ela ionships be ween all a iables was
58 Flo ian Schmiedek
es ima ed. This esul ed in ela i ely independen clus e s o mo i a ional a i‐
ables on he one hand and emo ional and psychopa hological symp om a i‐
ables on he o he hand. Al hough his s udy was a he explo a o y and based
on only e y ew pa icipan s, i illus a es how mo i a ional engagemen as a
cen al d i e o all academic achie emen can be examined om a dynamic
pe spec i e ha akes in o accoun a a ie y o ele an a iables, including
hose ele an o well-being and men al heal h. Gi en he applica ion o dy‐
namic ne wo k concep s in bo h clinical and educa ional esea ch, conside a‐
ion could be gi en o adop ing o he dynamic sys ems concep s de eloped in
men al heal h esea ch and assessing hei use ulness o educa ional esea ch,
including concep s o isk and esilience.
5. A dynamic sys ems pe spec i e on isk and esilience
In he ield o men al heal h esea ch, concep s de i ed om dynamic sys ems
heo y ha e also been employed o de elop no el pe spec i es on he concep s
o isk and esilience. A cen al concep in his ega d is ha o a ac o land‐
scapes (Heino e al., 2023). These a e employed o delinea e ela i ely s able
egions wi hin he o e all s a e-space (comp ising all po en ial s a es) o a sys‐
em. They ha e been u ilized ex ensi ely ac oss di e se scien i ic disciplines
(e.g., ecology) o model he eac ions o complex dynamic sys ems o ex e nal
in luences, hei empo al de elopmen , and he po en ial ansi ions be ween
s a es ha di e ma kedly om one ano he (e.g., be ween ain o es and sa‐
anna in opical egions). When depic ed as a wo-dimensional opog aphy,
hese dispa a e a ac o s can be concep ualized as alleys. These sys ems a e
cha ac e ized by he endency o mild pe u ba ions o p oduce a iabili y
a ound he equilib ium poin , which is loca ed a he bo om o he alley. Only
s ong pe u ba ions p o ide he ene gy necessa y o escape he a ac o and
po en ially mo e in o a di e en one.
The applica ion o hese gene al concep s o men al heal h esea ch is illus‐
a ed in Figu e 2, which depic s a simpli ied case wi h only one dimension
(i.e., nega i e a ec ) desc ibing he o e all s a e-space. This space con ains wo
a ac o s a es: one ep esen ing a ec i e well-being wi hin he no mal heal hy
ange and he o he ep esen ing dep ession. Panel A depic s a sys em ha can
be desc ibed as esilien . Mild pe u ba ions, such as hose caused by daily has‐
sles, may elici emo ional eac ions ha a e cha ac e ized by some sho - e m
and ansien a iabili y. Ge ing ou o he a ac o s a e o such no mal well-
being and in o a dep essed s a e would ake a qui e s ong pe u ba ion, o
example, a auma ic li e e en .
In con as , Panel B po ays a sys em a isk. In his scena io, he equilib‐