Relations between the development of future time perspective in three life domains, investment in learning, and academic achievement

Relations between the development of future time perspectives in three life domains (i.e., school and professional career, social relations, and leisure time) and changes in students’ investment in learning and academic achievement were examined in this study. Participants were 584 students in the first and 584 in the second year of the lower vocational education in the Netherlands who completed self-report measures at four different time points during a school year. The data were analysed using multivariate latent growth curve modelling. Future time perspective influenced the development of academic achievement via the growth of investment in learning. Long-term time perspective in leisure time had a negative effect on the development of investment in learning, whereas the effects of the long-term time perspective in school and professional career, as well as in social relations, were positive.

Research highlights
► Relations between development in different time perspectives and changes in students' learning investment and academic achievement were examined in this study.
► Participants were 584 students in the first and 584 in the second year of the lowest level of secondary school in the Netherlands.
► The data were analysed using multivariate latent growth curve modelling.
► Future time perspectives can partly explain the well-known decrease in students' motivation after starting secondary school.
► Development in long-term time perspective on leisure time had a negative effect on development in learning investment, while the effects of the longterm time perspective on school and professional career and social relations were positive.