Psychological Education and Academic Development: Evidence on Student Motivation from the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory

ObjectiveThe study aimed to enhance the learning motivation of college physical education students and improve their learning outcomes. Based on the perspective of the self-determination theory, this study explores the influence of “Small Private Online Course (SPOC) + flipped classroom” teaching on the learning motivation of students majoring in physical education and profoundly analyzes the influencing factors and promotion paths of learning motivation using this model.Materials and methodsA total of four classes (64 students) of physical education majors in a university were selected and randomly divided into an experimental group (34 students) and a control group (30 students). The experimental group received “SPOC + flipped classroom” teaching, the control group received traditional teaching. Before and after the 16-week intervention, learning motivation, teacher support perception, basic psychological need satisfaction, and academic emotions of the 64 students were measured, and the data were analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance and partial least square regression.Results(1) The instructional intervention reduced non-regulation, external regulation, and introjected regulation, while increased identified regulation, intrinsic regulation, and self-determination levels in the students. The levels of non-regulation, external regulation, identified regulation, and self-determination were also significantly different from those of the control group. (2) After the intervention, the scores of support for autonomy, support for competence, support for relatedness, and need for relatedness in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group. (3) Support for autonomy, support for competence, support for relatedness, need for competence and need for relatedness positively predicted the self-determination level, and intrinsic regulation and identified regulation negatively predicted non-regulation, external regulation, and introjected regulation.Conclusion“SPOC + flipped classroom” teaching has a positive impact on students’ learning motivation of basketball skills and promotes students’ motivation autonomy. The improvement of support for autonomy, support for competence, support for relatedness, need for competence, and need for relatedness may be related to the improvement of learning motivation of college students majoring in Physical Education (PE). “SPOC + flipped classroom” teaching enables students to obtain more demand satisfaction by giving them more demand support, while demand support and demand satisfaction can promote the internalization of learning motivation so that students can maintain high autonomy motivation.

PurposeThe current work explores the attributes that serve as motivation regulations for students' selection of a higher education institute (HEI).Design/methodology/approachWith a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective, the current study used a mixed-method approach to develop a scale to measure HEI attribute-based motivation regulations.FindingsA total of eight regulations were proposed: academic/extracurricular activities, infrastructure, faculty research expertise, teaching and learning quality, placement opportunities, marketing and promotion, education cost and social influence. The first four were autonomous motivations and the remaining were controlled motivations.Research limitations/implicationsThe study leverages the SDT motivation continuum into a structured HEI attribute-based student motivation framework.Practical implicationsThe study guides HEI managers with specific attributes to position the institute appropriately.Originality/valueThis is one of the few works in the higher education utilizing the complete SDT framework.

Considering the results driven by two decades of empirical work on Self-determination Theory, it is claimed students benefit from intrinsic motivation. However, teachers need to be intrinsically motivated for the profession to fully support intrinsic motivation of students. This study aims to identify the variables in a positive relationship with intrinsic, or self-determined motivation of teachers and teacher candidates based on the existing studies. It is also aimed to make suggestions on how to increase their intrinsic motivation from the perspective of self-determination theory. In this review study, qualitative document analysis method was used. 48 existing studies fulfilling the pre-determined criteria were reviewed and their results sections were analyzed to answer the research questions. Concerning the results, teachers’ and teacher candidates’ intrinsic motivation has an effect on competence in teaching, job satisfaction and retention, students’ motivation for learning, willingness to be involved in and sustain professional development, reduced teacher burnout, goal orientation, decrease in severity of reality shock, productive teaching style, and learning styles. Besides, in case three needs (for autonomy, relatedness and competence) are fulfilled, they are likely to become more intrinsically motivated towards the teaching profession. The results are significant in terms of presenting a frame for teachers’ intrinsic motivation and shedding light on the possible directions for future studies.

This study explores the perceptions and motivation for weight loss among participants who completed a free community-based weight loss program in a predominantly Hispanic and low-income region along the US-Mexico border using a Self-Determination Theory (SDT) perspective. This manuscript is timely as qualitative research on the effect of motivation as a factor in behavioral interventions to reduce overweight or obesity is currently lacking. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants (80%, n = 16 female) who completed a community weight-loss intervention to assess motivation for weight loss and participating, and the role of social support and self-efficacy in weight loss. Directed content analysis was used with SDT guiding the questions and subsequent theme analysis. The findings communicate perspectives of participants relevant to 8 prominent themes. The regulation types and constructs related to SDT included: non-regulation, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation, and intrinsic regulation as well as competence and relatedness. Participants mentioned external sources of motivation, such as wanting to improve their physical appearance, and motivation due to financial incentives. Fewer participants reported intrinsic motivators, which the literature suggests are more likely to create lasting change and improved health behaviors. Understanding the motivation for behavior change and completion of weight loss programs is essential to help participants reach their goals effectively and sustain weight loss. A greater emphasis during weight loss programs on the motives for individuals to lose weight may help improve outcomes in weight-loss interventions. Additionally, increasing strategies targeted at enhancing intrinsic motivation for weight loss may be beneficial.

Profiles of motivations for responsible drinking among college students: A self-determination theory perspective

BackgroundMedical schools try to implement selection procedures that will allow them to select the most motivated students for their programs. Though there is a general feeling that selection stimulates student motivation, conclusive evidence for this is lacking. The current study aims to use the perspective of Self-determination Theory (SDT) of motivation as a lens to examine how medical students’ motivation differs in relation to different selection procedures. The hypotheses were that 1) selected students report higher strength and autonomous motivation than non-selected students, and 2) recently selected students report higher strength and autonomous motivation than non-selected students and students who were selected longer ago.MethodsFirst- (Y1) and fourth-year (Y4) medical students in the six-year regular programme and first-year students in the four-year graduate entry programme (GE) completed questionnaires measuring motivation strength and type (autonomous-AM, controlled-CM). Scores were compared between students admitted based on selection, lottery or top pre-university GPA (top GPA) using ANCOVAs. Selected students’ answers on open-ended questions were analysed using inductive thematic analysis to identify reasons for changes in motivation.ResultsThe response rate was 61.4 % (n = 357). Selected students (Y1, Y4 and GE) reported a significantly higher strength of motivation than non-selected students (Y1 and Y4 lottery and top GPA) (p < 0.01). Recently selected students (Y1 and GE) reported significantly higher strength (p < 0.01) and higher AM (p < 0.01) and CM (p < 0.05) than non-selected students (lottery and top GPA) and Y4 students who were selected three years ago. Students described that being selected enhanced their motivation as they felt autonomous, competent and that they belonged to a special group. These reported reasons are in alignment with the basic psychological needs described by Self-Determination Theory as important in enhancing autonomous motivation.ConclusionsA comprehensive selection procedure, compared to less demanding admission procedures, does not seem to yield a student population which stands out in terms of autonomous motivation. The current findings indicate that selection might temporarily enhance students’ motivation. The mechanism through which this occurs seems to be through feelings of autonomy, competence and relatedness inspired by selection.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0560-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Grounded in self-determination theory's (SDT; Ryan &amp; Deci, 2017) organismic perspective, we present a process view of integrative emotion regulation. SDT describes three general types of emotion regulation: integrative emotion regulation, which focuses on emotions as carrying information that is brought to awareness; controlled emotion regulation, which is focused on diminishing emotions through avoidance, suppression, or enforced expression or reappraisal; and amotivated emotion regulation, in which emotions are uncontrolled or dysregulated. We review survey and experimental research contrasting these emotion regulation styles, providing evidence for the benefits of integrative emotion regulation for volitional functioning, personal well-being, and high-quality relationships, and for the costs of controlled emotion regulation and dysregulation. The development of emotion regulation styles is discussed, especially the role of autonomy-supportive parenting in fostering more integrative emotion regulation, and the role of controlling parenting in contributing to controlled or dysregulated emotion processing. Overall, integrative emotion regulation represents a beneficial style of processing emotions, which develops most effectively in a nonjudgmental and autonomy-supportive environment, an issue relevant to both development and psychotherapy.

A survey of 2,520 college students was conducted to test relationships between academic success and college student motivational orientation, conceptualized from a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective, while also considering the moderating effects of background characteristics such as gender, socioeconomic status, race/ ethnicity, and institutional type. Findings indicated that going to college to fulfill intrinsic motivation needs for autonomy and competence was positively associated with intention to persist and GPA but that motivation geared toward the fulfillment of relatedness needs had a more nuanced relationship to the outcome variables. Implications for recognizing the importance of motivational orientation in student affair research, theory, and practice are provided.

Promoting adolescent physical activity is crucial as this marks a time when physical activity rates decline. This study examined motivation for physical activity from a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective in a large sample of adolescents in the USA across three settings: in school, out of school, and on weekends. Participants (N = 1,661) were adolescents from the National Cancer Institute's Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating study. Participants had a mean age of 14.47 (standard deviation = 1.61) and were 50.2% female. In this national sample balanced to match the U.S. population on several key demographics, 64.2% were non-Hispanic White. Analyses included three linear regression models in which estimated weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in school, out of school, and on weekends were entered as dependent variables. Five forms of motivation (intrinsic, integrated, identified, introjected, and external) were entered simultaneously as independent variables. Age, body mass index, gender, and race/ethnicity were also included as covariates. All models were significant. For MVPA in school, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, and intrinsic motivation were positively associated with MVPA. For MVPA out of school, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation, and intrinsic motivation were positively associated with MVPA. For MVPA on weekends, integrated regulation, and intrinsic motivation were positively associated with MVPA. The relationship between motivation and MVPA varies across settings. These findings have important implications for motivating adolescents to engage in physical activity and may inform future interventions aimed at increasing physical activity.

This chapter reviews the burgeoning research conducted from a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective concerning people’s motivation for learning new languages. To guide the review, a conceptual model of motivational processes, grounded in SDT principles, is presented. The model highlights the central role of basic psychological needs in motivational dynamics, including behavioral regulation (or orientations) and engagement, and ultimately the diverse outcomes that follow from language learning. These resultant resources include not only linguistic proficiency but also sociocultural (e.g., relationships with members of the target ethnolinguistic community, a broader cultural perspective) and psychological (e.g., well-being, personal growth) capital. The model emphasizes that language learning takes place across diverse sociopolitical and sociocultural milieu and that, depending on the context, teachers, family members, members of the target-language community, and many others could support (or not) learners’ motivation. The chapter ends with directions for future interdisciplinary research on language learning and teaching from a SDT perspective.

This paper presents a Self-Determination Theory (SDT) perspective on the relationship between human flourishing and emotion regulation. It argues that SDT's organismic approach to motivation, development, and wellness enables it to directly address this relationship, placing emotion regulation within comprehensive conceptions of eudaimonic functioning (i.e., flourishing) and regulation (i.e., self-determination). This is in contrast to the dominant goal-directed process model of emotion regulation, which addresses only limited aspects of well-being, ignores forms of motivation that are essential to flourishing, and blurs the line between emotion regulation and other forms of regulation.

BackgroundApplied Calculus courses serve hundreds of thousands of undergraduates as quantitative preparation and gatekeepers across diverse fields of study. The current study investigated how motivational factors are associated with students’ learning outcomes in Applied Calculus courses from the perspective of self-determination theory—a sound comprehensive motivation theory that has been supported by considerable research in psychology and education. In order to have a nuanced understanding of students’ motivation and learning in Applied Calculus courses, we used three different types of learning measures to investigate students’ mathematics achievement, including course grades, a standardized knowledge exam, and students’ perceived knowledge transferability.ResultsWe tested the relationships between motivational factors and learning outcomes with a multi-semester sample of 3226 undergraduates from 188 Applied Calculus classrooms. To increase the precision of our analysis, we controlled for three demographic variables that are suggested to be relevant to mathematics achievement: gender, minority group status, and socioeconomic status. With a series of multilevel modeling analyses, the results reveal that: (1) competence satisfaction predicts college students’ mathematics achievement over and above the satisfaction of needs for autonomy and relatedness; and (2) autonomous motivation is a more powerful predictor of college students’ mathematics achievement than controlled motivation and amotivation. These findings are consistent across different types of learning outcomes.ConclusionsSelf-determination theory provides an effective framework for understanding college students’ motivation and learning in Applied Calculus courses. This study extends self-determination theory in the field of mathematics education and contributes to the dialogue on advancing undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education by providing evidence to understand how motivational factors are associated with students’ learning outcomes in undergraduate mathematics courses.

A long-term illness is stressful both for the person with the diagnosis and for his or her informal caregivers. Many people willingly assume the caregiving role, so it is important to understand why they stay in this role and how their motivation affects their health. Self-determination theory (SDT) is a theory of human motivation that has been successfully applied in human research domains. To our knowledge, there is no literature review on the application of SDT in a caregiver context. A systematic review of the literature could improve the understanding of motivation in caregiver work and contribute to the utility of SDT. To describe and explore empirical studies of caregivers' motivation from the perspective of self-determination theory. An integrative literature review according to Whittemore and Knafl was conducted with systematic repetitive searches in the MEDLINE, Scopus, PsychInfo, PsycNET, Chinal, Cochrane Library and EMBASE databases. The searches were performed from May through December 2018. The PRISMA diagram was used for study selection, and papers were assessed for quality based on the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data analysis consisted of a four-stage narrative analysis method. Of 159 articles, 10 were eligible for inclusion. All studies considered satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness as essential in predicting the quality of caregivers' motivation and thereby their well-being. In this review, autonomous motivation was the most important determinant of caregivers' well-being. Findings showed that SDT can be applied to identify, categorise, explain, predict, promote and support motivation among caregivers. This lends interesting support for SDT and promotes further study and application of the theory as a psychological approach to caregivers' health and health promotion.

This thesis explores the experiences of permanently excluded children and young people (CYP) from the perspective of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and the concept of the Basic Psychological Needs (BPNs). CYP who had experienced permanent exclusion from school were interviewed in order to explore how their BPN for Autonomy, Competence and Relatedness were perceived to have been satisfied or limited across three contexts: previous mainstream provision, current provision and outside of school. A thematic analysis of transcribed interview data was conducted and the role of BPN satisfaction in relation to the experience of permanent exclusion was explored. The experiences and perspectives expressed by participants suggested a range of social-contextual supports and limitations for BPNs across contexts. In line with existing SDT-based research, the findings suggest that participants’ experiences of reduced engagement, motivation, performance and well-being were associated with situations, events and relationships which were perceived to be limiting to BPNs. Where BPNs were perceived to have been supported, participants’ responses indicated increased engagement, autonomous motivation, performance and wellbeing. The researcher suggests that further research into the BPN satisfaction in schools is needed, including further qualitative exploration of the experiences of our most vulnerable and hard to reach CYP. Possible implications for teacher training, school management and the delivery of Educational Psychology (EP) services are discussed.

Many institutions have turned to course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) to involve more students in authentic research. However, research is lacking on how to best support and nurture student motivation in CUREs. Motivation is a critical construct to understand at the undergraduate level as lack of motivation has been identified as contributory to lower achievement as well as reduced interests in STEM college degrees and careers. Using mixed methods and self-determination theory (SDT), the purpose of the current study was to determine how students’ basic psychological needs were supported or frustrated during CURE activities. Findings suggested that student motivation was potentially reduced during all CURE activities (i.e. scientific practices, collaboration, discovery, and iteration). Furthermore, students reported that autonomy was the least supported motivational construct during the CURE. Considering these challenges, the authors recommended specific strategies to increase choice, support competence, improve collaboration, inspire discovery, and create more opportunities for iteration during CUREs.