In this issue, seven contributions inquire into the question how societal values and multiple goals affect students' school motivation. To do this they use cross-sectional and longitudinal designs within and between Western countries as well as interview and questionnaire data. Despite these differences in methodology, they share the notion that students try to achieve multiple goals across various contexts (e.g., at home, in school, etc.): achievement-, social-emotional-and personality-related goals. This insight is not entirely new, but seems to gain ever more significance within the last years. Societal values may have changed the priority students give to academic achievement. The value preferences may also vary between Western countries. Therefore, when looking at contemporary students' learning motivation, other goals like well-being in and outside school have to be considered in addition to achievement goals. This view will be elaborated further prior to the provision of a short outline of each of the seven contributions. First, the value changes in Western societies will be specified. Then, related issues concerning cultural diversity will be taken into account. Next, the focus of the discussion shifts to the situation of adolescents growing older and increasing their participation in social life of postindustrialized societies. At last, we characterize current motivation theories in Educational Psychology as largely failing to deal with the phenomenon of values and multiple goals in the school context.