Getting students engaged might not be enough: the importance of psychological needs satisfaction on social-emotional and behavioral functioning among early adolescents

Structural relationship of the social-ecological factors and psychological factors on physical activity

The present study examines the mediating effect of psychological factors in the structural relationships between social and physical environmental factors and the amount of physical activity among undergraduate students at Universiti Sains Malaysia. The sample consisted of 422 students with a mean age of 20.2 years (SD = 1.27). The majority of the students were female (69.7%) and Malay (81.3%). Standardized scales were used to measure the total amount of physical activity and all the study variables. The final SEM had a good fit to the data: CFI = 0.968, TLI = 0.948, SRMR = 0.036, RMSEA (90%CI) = 0.046 (0.025, 0.065), RMSEA p-value = 0.609 with 11 paths relationships. Family support had a significant effect on perceived benefits and perceived barriers. The effect of friend support on physical activity was significantly mediated by perceived benefits, self-efficacy, and psychological needs satisfaction. The effect of the availability of exercise facilities on physical activity was significantly mediated by perceived benefits and psychological needs satisfaction. Furthermore, psychological needs satisfaction mediated the effect of perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy on physical activity. The study findings illustrated that the application of the social-ecological model and psychological factors is important in order to understand and promote positive physical activity behaviour.

The happy learner: Effects of academic boredom, burnout, and engagement

This study aimed to investigate the impact of demographic and contextual variables on boredom in English and mathematics, and to test structural models of boredom, learner burnout, learner engagement, and life satisfaction. Using a cross-sectional survey design and employing a convenience sampling technique, 544 secondary school learners in the Sedibeng District, Gauteng, South Africa, took part in the study. The participants completed the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire - English, the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire - Mathematics, the Schoolwork Engagement Inventory, the School Burnout Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Latent variable modeling was used to test measurement and structural models of boredom, burnout, engagement, and life satisfaction. The indirect effects of boredom on life satisfaction were also computed. The results showed that Afrikaans as the home language, the final mark for English in the previous examination, caregivers that cannot help with English homework, and disliking the English teacher predicted boredom in English. Afrikaans as the home language, marks for mathematics in the previous examination, not having the ability to focus on schoolwork at home, and disliking the mathematics teacher predicted boredom in mathematics. Boredom in mathematics and English resulted in an increase in learner burnout and a decrease in learner engagement. Furthermore, boredom in mathematics and English indirectly affected life satisfaction via learner burnout and engagement.

Why feeling competent matters

Physical education is an important setting for the promotion of personal resources of children and adolescents. One of the main personal resources in education in general and physical education in particular is self-efficacy. The current study investigated the association between physical education-related self-efficacy and basic psychological need satisfaction according to Self-Determination Theory in adolescent students. A total of 708 students from grades nine to eleven were surveyed using questionnaires. The results of a linear regression analysis indicated that there is a relationship between the need for competence satisfaction and physical education-related self-efficacy (R2corr = 0.29, p < 0.001, f2 = 0.40), while the need for autonomy and the need for relatedness were not related to self-efficacy. One possible interpretation is that the feeling of being competent in physical education enables the development of positive self-efficacy. As practical implications, the implementation of assessment systems in physical education is recommended, focusing on students’ individual performance to positively influence competence satisfaction and, subsequently, self-efficacy.

Influence of Psychological Need-Based Teachers' Autonomy Support on Effectiveness and Engagement in English Learning

It is to explore the effects of psychological needs and teachers' autonomy support on students' English learning, hoping to provide a realistic basis for the innovation of English teaching. Four hypotheses are proposed first, and 420 students are then randomly selected from seven classes in Xi'an Ai Zhi Zhong Xue in Shaanxi Province as the research subjects, with 420 questionnaires distributed. After invalid questionnaires are excluded, a total of 400 valid questionnaires are collected. Then, SPSS26.0 is employed to analyze the collected scale data. The average value of emotional exhaustion and the average value of low sense of achievement are relatively close in the direction of English learning burnout, which are larger than that in the other two directions. The three directions in English learning burnout are positively correlated with each other. The three directions in English learning engagement are positively correlated with those of psychological needs. Besides, there is an obvious positive correlation between the three directions of English learning engagement with teachers' autonomy support (p < 0.01). However, the three directions in teachers' autonomy support and the three directions in psychological needs are all negatively correlated with English learning burnout (p < 0.01). To sum up, the psychological needs of middle school students are effectively met, and teachers' autonomy support can obviously promote the effectiveness and engagement of middle school students' English learning.

"Want to Learn" and "Can Learn": Influence of Academic Passion on College Students' Academic Engagement

Although research exists on the relationship between passion and engagement among employees, the mechanisms of academic passion on academic engagement among students needs to be elucidated. Guided by the broaden-and-build and situated cognition theories, we explored the positive effect of academic passion on academic engagement, the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy, and the role of teacher developmental feedback as a moderator in the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement. Based on a sample of 1,029 college students from universities in the Henan Province of China, the results showed that academic passion was positively related to academic engagement, academic self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement, and teacher developmental feedback effectively moderated the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement. These findings explained the mechanism underlying the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement. Moreover, the findings highlighted important factors that promote college students' academic engagement.

Escala de Necesidades Psicológicas Básicas: adaptación al ámbito educativo en una muestra de adolescentes argentinos

La Teoría de la Autodeterminación refiere a tres necesidades psicológicas básicas, presentes en el transcurso de la vida de un individuo: autonomía, competencia y relación. El objetivo del presente trabajo es evaluar las propiedades psicométricas de la adaptación al contexto educativo de la Escala de Necesidades Psicológicas Básicas de Deci y Ryan (2000) en población adolescente Argentina. La adaptación cobra relevancia debido a que no existe hasta el momento en Argentina una versión de la escala que permita evaluar dichas necesidades en estudiantes de nivel secundario. Para medir la validez de constructo de la nueva versión se realizó un Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio evaluando la presencia de las dimensiones propuestas por los autores originales. Se utilizó el método de máxima verosimilitud, teniendo en cuenta el valor chi cuadrado, chi/gl, los índices CFI, GFI, AGFI, RMR y RMSEA. Para estudiar la validez convergente se realizó un análisis de correlación con la Utrecht-Work Compromiso Scale en su versión para estudiantes y con el rendimiento académico de los alumnos. Para evaluar la consistencia interna del instrumento se utilizó el coeficiente Omega. La muestra estuvo conformada por 313 estudiantes de nivel secundario, con edades comprendidas entre los 12 y los 16 años (M = 13.46; DT = 1.05). Los resultados del presente estudio aportan evidencias empíricas que avalan buenos niveles de validez y confiabilidad de la Escala de Necesidades Psicológicas Básicas en el contexto educacional y en la población adolescente. De este modo, las propiedades psicométricas de la versión adaptada del instrumento son aceptables.