Correlates of students' internalization and defiance of classroom rules: A self-determination theory perspective

Autonomy-Supportive Teaching Enhances Prosocial and Reduces Antisocial Behavior via Classroom Climate and Psychological Needs: A Multilevel Randomized Control Intervention

Autonomy-supportive teaching increases prosocial and decreases antisocial behavior. Previous research showed that these effects occur because autonomy-supportive teaching improves students' need states (a student-level process). However, the present study investigated whether these effects also occur because autonomy-supportive teaching improves the classroom climate (a classroom-level process). Teachers from 80 physical education classrooms were randomly assigned to participate (or not) in an autonomy-supportive teaching intervention, while their 2,227 secondary-grade students reported their need satisfaction and frustration, supportive and hierarchical classroom climates, and prosocial and antisocial behaviors at the beginning, middle, and end of an academic year. A doubly latent, multilevel structural equation model showed that teacher participation in the intervention (experimental condition) increased class-wide need satisfaction, a supportive climate, and prosocial behavior and decreased class-wide need frustration, a hierarchical climate, and antisocial behavior. Together, greater collective need satisfaction and a more supportive climate combined to explain increased prosocial behavior, while lesser need frustration and a less hierarchical climate combined to explain decreased antisocial behavior. These classroom climate effects have been overlooked, yet they are essential to explain why autonomy-supportive teaching improves students' social functioning.

An interventional study with the Maldives generalist teachers in primary school physical education: An application of self-determination theory

In Maldives’ primary schools, physical education (PE) is mainly taught by generalist classroom teachers who often lack knowledge and confidence to teach PE. Also, PE programs in primary schools are affected by a perceived lack of infrastructure, resources and equipment. Children in primary schools are allocated one 35 minute period of PE per week. Researchers have previously investigated interventions implemented by specialist PE teachers to enhance the motivation of secondary school students in PE classes. However, limited research has been conducted with generalist teachers’ implementing PE intervention with primary school children. In this study we applied self-determination theory to investigate the effects of a professional learning program and an associated resource support package, that was then delivered by the Maldives generalist teachers’ delivering PE. The participants were 30 primary school teachers (control group, n = 15; intervention group, n = 15), and their 725 primary school students aged 9–12 years (mean age of 10.5 years). The teachers in the group undertook eight hours of professional learning that focused on strategies and behaviours to support student satisfaction for the three main elements of self-determination theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. A repeated measure ANCOVA was carried out for each of the dependent variables. Overall results when compared to pre-intervention measures, the students of teachers in the intervention group significantly increased their post-intervention perceptions for autonomy, competence, and relatedness; and, increased their psychological need satisfaction. Moreover, intervention-students in the post-intervention phase reported reduced need frustration for autonomy, competence, and relatedness; and, experienced higher levels of self-efficacy, enjoyment and engagement. We contend that these results accentuate the usefulness of professional learning programs for generalist teachers delivering PE to promote students’ psychological need satisfaction, whilst reducing thwarting behaviours to enhance students’ self-determined motivation toward PE classes. The intervention program significantly enhanced the students’ perceived need support, and autonomous motivation, it also reduced teachers’ need frustrating behaviours within PE classes. Facilitating teachers to provide more moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and psychological need support could reduce the rate of non-communicable diseases that are currently prevalent in the Maldives.

Social-emotional need satisfaction, prosocial motivation, and students' positive behavioral and well-being outcomes

This study investigated the extent to which students’ social-emotional basic psychological need satisfaction (of social-emotional autonomy, social competence, relatedness with students, and relatedness with teachers) is associated with their prosocial motivation and, in turn, behavioral and emotional well-being outcomes. For motivation, autonomous prosocial motivation and controlled prosocial motivation (by way of introjected and external regulation) were examined. Behavioral outcomes comprised prosocial behavior and conduct problems reported by parents/carers, and emotional well-being were positive and negative affect reported by students. With data from 408 secondary school students (and their parents/carers), structural equation modeling showed that perceived autonomy was associated with lower negative affect. Perceived social competence was associated with greater autonomous prosocial motivation, lower external prosocial regulation, greater positive affect, and lower negative affect. Relatedness with teachers was associated with greater autonomous prosocial motivation. In turn, autonomous prosocial motivation was associated with greater prosocial behavior, whereas external prosocial regulation was associated with lower prosocial behavior. Introjected prosocial regulation was only associated with greater negative affect. The results hold implications for promoting social and emotional competence among students.

The type of motivation does matter for university preparation

Abstract Using Self-Determination Theory, the relationship between motivation (autonomous and controlled), academic self-efficacy, test anxiety, life satisfaction and academic achievement was studied in a group of pre-university students from Lima-Peru. A total of 252 students of both sexes with ages between 16 and 30 years (Mage = 17.69) were assessed. Correlational analyses showed the expected relationships among the studied variables. The path analysis performed gave evidence of the fulfillment of the hypotheses proposed for this study since academic self-efficacy mediated the relationship between autonomous motivation and academic achievement and life satisfaction; also test anxiety mediated the relationship between controlled motivation and academic achievement and life satisfaction. The implications of these empirical findings are discussed in relation to pre-university education in Peru.

Applying Self-Determination Theory to Education: Regulations Types, Psychological Needs, and Autonomy Supporting Behaviors

The self-determination theory (SDT) has been used to understand students’ motivation at school in general as well as in various school subjects. This literature review conducted on a number of SDT studies showed that (1) autonomous types of extrinsic motivation as well as intrinsic motivation leads to positive consequences for students; (2) the types of goals and the regulation behind them are also important to predict school outcomes; (3) when the psychological needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness are satisfied this leads to autonomous motivation or autonomous goals endorsement; (4) autonomy supportive practices by parents and teachers are important catalyzers of needs’ fulfillment; (5) intervention programs designed for teachers or parents focusing on these psychological needs usually lead to greater autonomous extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation and better adjustment outcomes. The implication of this theory for school psychologists is underscored as well as its implications for the practice of teaching.

Evaluating the self-determination continuum towards seeking support among people with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND

Providing professional support for people with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (IDs) is supposed to support their autonomous participation in society and, in turn, enhance their well-being and quality of life. However, the motivation for seeking support may differ for people with mild to borderline IDs, varying in the extent to which the person's autonomy is self-determined. The present study tested the association between different types of motivation for seeking support and well-being.

METHOD

Adults with mild to borderline IDs (N = 154) participated in a cross-sectional survey. Researchers administered the Self-Regulation Questionnaire - Support - II (SRQ-S-II) and a life satisfaction questionnaire. To determine the test-retest reliability of the SRQ-S-II, 30 participants completed a follow-up questionnaire.

RESULTS

The motivations cited by people with mild to borderline IDs for seeking support ranged from amotivation to intrinsic motivation. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the model explained 56.6% of the variance, with intrinsic motivation (β = 0.361, P < 0.001) and identified motivation (β = 0.381, P = 0.001) proving to be significant predictors in terms of explaining the highest percentage of variance in well-being. Amotivation (β = -0.247, P = 0.004) and introjected motivation (β = -0.145, P = 0.03) contributed significantly to the model with negative beta coefficients. Finally, reliability measures (Cronbach's alphas, MacDonald's omegas and test-retest reliabilities) indicated that all types of motivation for seeking support could be reliably assessed.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the present study showed that people with mild to borderline IDs displayed the full range of types of motivations for seeking support and, moreover, that it was associated with well-being. Studying these motivational states, and increasing our awareness of what motivates this population to seek support, can aid the design of more effective support that respects self-determination and well-being. The SRQ-S-II is thus an important instrument for understanding the role of support in promoting well-being.

Predicting Student Performance Using Data Mining and Learning Analytics Techniques: A Systematic Literature Review

The prediction of student academic performance has drawn considerable attention in education. However, although the learning outcomes are believed to improve learning and teaching, prognosticating the attainment of student outcomes remains underexplored. A decade of research work conducted between 2010 and November 2020 was surveyed to present a fundamental understanding of the intelligent techniques used for the prediction of student performance, where academic success is strictly measured using student learning outcomes. The electronic bibliographic databases searched include ACM, IEEE Xplore, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, Springer, and Web of Science. Eventually, we synthesized and analyzed a total of 62 relevant papers with a focus on three perspectives, (1) the forms in which the learning outcomes are predicted, (2) the predictive analytics models developed to forecast student learning, and (3) the dominant factors impacting student outcomes. The best practices for conducting systematic literature reviews, e.g., PICO and PRISMA, were applied to synthesize and report the main results. The attainment of learning outcomes was measured mainly as performance class standings (i.e., ranks) and achievement scores (i.e., grades). Regression and supervised machine learning models were frequently employed to classify student performance. Finally, student online learning activities, term assessment grades, and student academic emotions were the most evident predictors of learning outcomes. We conclude the survey by highlighting some major research challenges and suggesting a summary of significant recommendations to motivate future works in this field.

Student Misbehaviour and Teacher Coercion. A Comparative Study of Contextual Factors in Primary and Secondary Education Teachers

This study analyses the relation between student misbehaviour and teacher coercion from a teacher perspective by taking further contextual variables into account. Our participants were 480 male/female secondary education and 351 primary education teachers from the Spanish Autonomous Community of Aragón (Spain). This study forms part of the 2017 Coexistence Study in Aragón Education Centres. According to the theoretical framework and the SEM (structural equation modeling), the results revealed a close relationship between student misbehaviour and teacher coercion, although other contextual variables also appeared in the regression equation: in coexistence rules and in teacher competence. We ultimately found a certain degree of difference between the primary and secondary education levels. On the secondary school level, teacher conflicts were associated with student misbehaviour, while coexistence rules and participative and inclusive activities predicted teacher coercion. Conversely, on the primary school level, participative and inclusive activities predict a lower frequency of student misbehaviour, while teacher competence predicts a lower frequency of teacher coercion.

Assessing and Mapping Reading and Writing Motivation in Third to Eight Graders: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

The twofold aim of this study was to substantiate the validity of the Self-Regulation Questionnaire-Reading Motivation and Self-Regulation Questionnaire-Writing Motivation for third to eight graders and to map motivational trends in elementary and secondary education students’ academic and recreational reading and writing. More specifically, we adopted the innovative and coherent theoretical framework of the Self-Determination Theory to study qualitatively different motives for reading and writing and to examine the relationships between them. In total, 2,343 students from third to eighth grade were involved. Based on confirmatory factor analyses, a two-factor model, distinguishing between autonomous and controlled motivation, for academic and recreational reading and writing was confirmed in all grades. Furthermore, the scales were reliable, and the measurement models were invariant across students’ gender and their general achievement level. Despite the absence of strong invariance for the measurement models across each of the different grades, we found evidence that students within the same grade level (i.e., middle elementary, upper elementary, and lower secondary grade) interpreted the SRQ-Reading and Writing scale items in a conceptually similar way. Factor correlations confirmed the interrelatedness of reading and writing motives, as well as strong associations between students’ motivation to read and write in either academic and recreational contexts. Finally, concerning the motivational trends, the present results advert to a significant decline of students’ autonomous motivation to read and write, both in and outside school. Accordingly, we point out that the late elementary and the lower secondary grades are crucial phases to engage students in motivating literacy activities. In light of these alarming results, we recommend future experimental research studies to focus on evaluating the effectiveness of instructional reading and writing activities that foster students’ innate need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Sex and Careers of University Students in Educational Practices as Factors of Individual Differences in Learning Environment and Psychological Factors during COVID-19

The present research was carried out in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic following emergency school closures in an attempt to avoid the spread of infection. As a result, university students undertaking the final year of education degrees (teaching placements) have been obliged to deliver their teaching from home, adapting their teaching contexts to learning in virtual settings. A novel instrument was designed and validated in order to analyze the impact of learning environments and psychological factors in university students during a period of teaching placements. This took place in an adaptive context (state of confinement). Associations were determined between learning environments and psychological factors in adaptive contexts, in relation to the group to which they belonged (whether undertaking a degree in primary education, physical education and sport, early education or social education), and sex. The present study used a Delphi method, alongside a descriptive and quantitative analysis. The data demonstrate that learning environments differ according to the degree studied. The four analyzed groups revealed significant differences in relation to learning environments and psychological factors in adaptive confinement contexts. The subjects of Primary and Social Education were seen to be related with a greater possibility of being overwhelmed and reporting difficulties. Those more used to physical exercise showed more positive psychological indices. Females reported more negative responses. The conclusion reached is that the results of the present research will enable future additional multi-dimensional analysis to be conducted.

Basic Psychological Needs as a Motivational Competence: Examining Validity and Measurement Invariance of Spanish BPNSF Scale

Motivation is an essential component in higher education. In this area, researchers have described three psychological needs that drive human behavior: Autonomy, competence, and relatedness. These three needs are central dimensions of Self-Determination Theory. Various measurement tools have been used to evaluate these dimensions. Despite the universality of these, the literature lacks validation of them in the Spanish university context. The present study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) in this context. This scale was administered to a sample of 1075 Spanish university students. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded that the six-factor structure fitted the data. Results supported the reliability and validity of all the subscales. The obtained factor structure provided evidence in support of the comparability of the model between male and female students and different types of studies.

López-Walle J, Vergara-Torres A, Tristan J, Gastélum-Cuadras G, Guedea Delgado JC, Soto Peña JL, Rentería I, Vargas Vitoria R, Almonacid Fierro AA, Valero-Valenzuela A, Flandez J, Nodari Júnior RJ, Fin G, Calomeni MR, Martins de Souza D, de Souza Santos CA. Assessing the Relationship between Autonomy Support and Student Group Cohesion across Ibero-American Countries

Teacher-endorsed supporting behaviors present themselves as key influencers of student adaptive academic and social functions. The objective of this paper was twofold. First, this study sought to test a model in which student-perceived autonomy support was associated with group cohesion, considering the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and intrinsic motivation. Second, the current study examined the dimensionality of the model across five Western countries, namely Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. A convenience sample of 3033 college students (Mage = 21.51 ± SD = 3.71) were recruited for the analysis. The results revealed that perceived autonomy support was positively associated with needs satisfaction, being consequently associated with intrinsic motivation and, ultimately, with group cohesion. Additionally, a multigroup analysis revealed that the model was invariant across college students from the different countries. The current results are discussed around the promotion of teacher uses of autonomy-supportive behaviors fostering adaptive outcomes in students regarding positive social relations and that the cultures of Ibero-American countries are equivalent in this process.