Page 97 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Cooperation Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 97
support for autonomy, competence and relatedness ...
environment supports all three basic needs, this natural urge emerges and
learning is intrinsically motivated and of higher quality (in a school setting
if all these needs are met this would relate to lower levels of ESL). Students
who are externally motivated persisted much less than students who are in-
ternally motivated (Valleard et al., 1997), which leads us to believe that they
are also less persistent when it comes to schooling.
SDT in the classroom and its role in ESL
Research (Ryan & Grolnick, 1986; Tsai et al., 2008) shows that ESL students
typically have a lower level of intrinsic motivation and identified regula-
tion and higher levels of amotivation. Students become more intrinsical-
ly motivated when their basic psychological needs of autonomy, compe-
tence and relatedness are fulfilled. The need for competence and autonomy
are the most important (the strongest predictors) ones in the development
of intrinsic motivation, whereas the need for relatedness is crucial in sup-
porting the process of transforming external motivation into more au-
tonomous motivation. Legault and colleagues (Legaut, Green-Demers, &
Pelletier, 2006) found that a lack of support for these three needs contrib-
uted to amotivation (a total lack of motivation or the lowest level of self-de-
termination). Amotivated students do not want to study and feel they can-
not change their academic outcomes, with the most likely consequence of
those feelings being that these students would leave school as soon as they
can. They also perceive themselves as being less competent and less auton-
omous in school activities (Valleard et al., 1997).
Experimental work shows when students are tested or given rewards
for activities that are intrinsically motivated their intrinsic motivation de-
creases due to lowering their sense of autonomy. In contrast, providing stu-
dents with choice (thus supporting autonomy) and positive feedback (thus
supporting competence) typically increases intrinsic motivation. The sat-
isfaction of all three needs results in strong intrinsic goals (e.g. person-
al growth, affiliation, community) that are linked to greater psychologi-
cal well-being and better academic and non-academic outcomes (Ryan &
Deci, 2009). Similarly, Otis, Grouzet and Pelletier (2005) investigated the
transition to the first year of high school and found that the ESL intention
was correlated with a decrease in self-determined motivation.
Autonomy and competence support:
Valleard and colleagues (1997) introduced a model in which low levels of au-
tonomy supportive behaviours from critical social agents (teachers, parents,
97
environment supports all three basic needs, this natural urge emerges and
learning is intrinsically motivated and of higher quality (in a school setting
if all these needs are met this would relate to lower levels of ESL). Students
who are externally motivated persisted much less than students who are in-
ternally motivated (Valleard et al., 1997), which leads us to believe that they
are also less persistent when it comes to schooling.
SDT in the classroom and its role in ESL
Research (Ryan & Grolnick, 1986; Tsai et al., 2008) shows that ESL students
typically have a lower level of intrinsic motivation and identified regula-
tion and higher levels of amotivation. Students become more intrinsical-
ly motivated when their basic psychological needs of autonomy, compe-
tence and relatedness are fulfilled. The need for competence and autonomy
are the most important (the strongest predictors) ones in the development
of intrinsic motivation, whereas the need for relatedness is crucial in sup-
porting the process of transforming external motivation into more au-
tonomous motivation. Legault and colleagues (Legaut, Green-Demers, &
Pelletier, 2006) found that a lack of support for these three needs contrib-
uted to amotivation (a total lack of motivation or the lowest level of self-de-
termination). Amotivated students do not want to study and feel they can-
not change their academic outcomes, with the most likely consequence of
those feelings being that these students would leave school as soon as they
can. They also perceive themselves as being less competent and less auton-
omous in school activities (Valleard et al., 1997).
Experimental work shows when students are tested or given rewards
for activities that are intrinsically motivated their intrinsic motivation de-
creases due to lowering their sense of autonomy. In contrast, providing stu-
dents with choice (thus supporting autonomy) and positive feedback (thus
supporting competence) typically increases intrinsic motivation. The sat-
isfaction of all three needs results in strong intrinsic goals (e.g. person-
al growth, affiliation, community) that are linked to greater psychologi-
cal well-being and better academic and non-academic outcomes (Ryan &
Deci, 2009). Similarly, Otis, Grouzet and Pelletier (2005) investigated the
transition to the first year of high school and found that the ESL intention
was correlated with a decrease in self-determined motivation.
Autonomy and competence support:
Valleard and colleagues (1997) introduced a model in which low levels of au-
tonomy supportive behaviours from critical social agents (teachers, parents,
97
