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Busy and unstructured school environments can present challenges for pupils diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although school restaurants may be demanding, limited research hasfocused on these pupils. This study explores how pupils diagnosed with ASD or ADHD navigate the physical, social, and pedagogical environments of school meals. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in four Swedish schools, involving observations, conversations, and interviews with five 12-year-old boys and their mothers, findings show how pupils valued having a teacher orclassmate nearby during lunchtime. Crowded and narrow spaces posed motor challenges, leading to spills and comments ontable manners. Socially, pupils alternated between engaging with others and seeking solitude to escape noise and interactions.The study calls for reflection on how societal norms and environmental structures of school meals impact pupils diagnosedwith ASD or ADHD, emphasizing the role of school nurses in identifying potential issues.

Both domain-general (e.g., working memory, executive functions) and domain-specific (e.g., number processing, phonological processing) cognitive factors have been found to predict learning in different age groups. Likewise, research has shown that various affective factors, such as different emotions (e.g., anxiety), self-concept, and interest, need to be considered when investigating individual differences in learning. However, few studies have investigated both cognitive and affective factors simultaneously in relation to learning. In particular, there is a lack of studies investigating the interplay (i.e., moderation and mediation) between cognitive and affective factors on learning.

The goal of this Research Topic is to deepen our knowledge on the relations between learning and both cognitive and affective factors in different age groups. We aim to provide a broad scope of emerging areas in research on cognitive and affective factors, especially related to academic learning (e.g., mathematics, reading, and other school subjects). Studies focusing simultaneously looking at the interplay of these constructs, as well as longitudinally, are of great interest. Further, we are interested in innovative study designs and recent advances in methodology in this field. To promote quality education for all and equity in education, cognitive and affective factors related to aspects of learning ranging from pre-school to tertiary provision, and inclusion of individuals with special educational needs, are of interest.

Schools are an important arena to curb the decline in physical activity (PA) in youth. School-based interventions with accelerometer-measured PA are warranted. This study aimed to increase accelerometer-measured PA in adolescents following a 12-month school-based intervention. Two school-classes of 16–18-year-old Swedish students were allocated to intervention group and control group. Accelerometer-measured PA was gathered at baseline, 6-and 12-month follow-up. Mixed-effects linear regression was used to investigate between-group and within-group differences in mean minutes per day (min/day) of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), light PA (LPA) and sedentary time (ST). Fifty-seven students participated (intervention group = 31, control group = 26). At 12-month follow-up, the intervention group performed 5.9 (95% CI: −4.3, 16.2) min/day more in MVPA, 1.8 (95% CI: −17.9, 14.2) min/day less in LPA, and 4.1 (95% CI: −27.3, 19.2) min/day less in ST compared to the control group. Within the intervention group, there was no significant change in PA. Within the control group, LPA decreased (95% CI: −19.6, −0.2; p = 0.044) and ST increased (95% CI: 1.8, 30.8; p = 0.028). Although no between-group differences in PA were statistically significant, the within-group changes may suggest a preventive impact on the decline in PA during adolescence.

The aim of this study was to investigate the interplay between test anxiety and working memory (WM) on mathematics performance in younger children. A sample of 624 grade 3 students completed a test battery consisting of a test anxiety scale, WM tasks and the Swedish national examination in mathematics for grade 3. The main effects of test anxiety and WM, and the two-way interaction between test anxiety and WM on mathematics performance, were modelled with structural equation modelling techniques. Additionally, the effects were also tested separately on tasks with high WM demands (mathematical problem-solving) versus low WM demands (basic arithmetic). As expected, WM positively predicted mathematics performance in all three models (overall mathematics performance, problem-solving tasks, and basic arithmetic). Test anxiety had a negative effect on problem-solving on the whole sample level but concerning basic arithmetic only students with lower WM were affected by the negative effects of test anxiety on performance. Thus, students with low WM are more vulnerable to the negative effects of test anxiety in low WM tasks like basic arithmetic. The results are discussed in relation to the early identification of test anxiety.