Search

Teachers' behavior is a key factor that influences students' motivation. Many theoretical models have tried to explain this influence, with one of the most thoroughly researched being self-determination theory (SDT). We used a Delphi method to create a classification of teacher behaviors consistent with SDT. This is useful because SDT-based interventions have been widely used to improve educational outcomes. However, these interventions contain many components. Reliably classifying and labeling those components is essential for implementation, reproducibility, and evidence synthesis. We used an international expert panel (N = 34) to develop this classification system. We started by identifying behaviors from existing literature, then refined labels, descriptions, and examples using the Delphi panel's input. Next, the panel of experts iteratively rated the relevance of each behavior to SDT, the psychological need that each behavior influenced, and its likely effect on motivation. To create a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of behaviors, experts nominated overlapping behaviors that were redundant, and suggested new ones missing from the classification. After three rounds, the expert panel agreed upon 57 teacher motivational behaviors (TMBs) that were consistent with SDT. For most behaviors (77%), experts reached consensus on both the most relevant psychological need and influence on motivation. Our classification system provides a comprehensive list of TMBs and consistent terminology in how those behaviors are labeled. Researchers and practitioners designing interventions could use these behaviors to design interventions, to reproduce interventions, to assess whether these behaviors moderate intervention effects, and could focus new research on areas where experts disagreed.

This article will review many forms of home-based parent involvement (e.g., shared reading; books at home; helping with homework; visiting museums; monitoring grades), parent beliefs (e.g., about the importance of school readiness skills; growth mindset for their children), parent expectations, parent-school relationships, and parent autonomy and relatedness support, which all promote achievement. The extent to which the psychological side of parent involvement promotes intrinsic motivation, engagement, and psychological wellbeing for children and adolescents around the world will also be examined. The forms of parent involvement that promote student expectations, student autonomous motivation, and academic engagement should receive more emphasis. In order to help parent involvement researchers, psychologists and educators, a pre-K through 12th grade parent involvement model is proposed. The psychological side of the parent involvement model can be readily memorized with the following acronym: Beliefs, Expectations, Autonomy Support, and Relationships (BEAR). Explanations are provided of how to apply BEAR in the schools and in future intervention research.

Classroom management systems emphasizing rewards and consequences have long existed in schools within the US, but parental perceptions of the effects of these systems have largely been ignored. This survey study examined the ways in which 99 parents observed their children responding to various elementary classroom management systems. Regression results showed that behavior chart systems were negatively associated with student autonomous motivation to learn, whereas parent-school relationships and teacher autonomy support were positively associated with autonomous motivation. In hierarchical regression models, the frequency of students receiving rewards was negatively related to parent-school relationships. However, when teacher autonomy support (a strong positive predictor) was added to the model, the effects of reward frequency became non-significant. Parents' open-ended responses revealed frustrations with systems that caused student anxiety, encouraged dependence on rewards, and oppressed students' personalities. Implications include consideration of classroom management styles that better promote student autonomous motivation.

Social perception is important because it can affect the way intelligence is expressed during social interactions at school, home, and work. This study (N = 800) of adolescents and adults (age range = 16-91) examined which specific aspects of intelligence are associated with social perception (a composite of affect labelling, linking prosody to facial expressions, and interpreting the intent of a speaker). Women scored higher on social perception than men. Verbal comprehension (VC), perceptual reasoning (PR), working memory (WM), and processing speed (PS) accounted for 20% of the social perception variation, significantly (p < 0.05) more than did Full Scale IQ alone. VC had the largest effect on social perception, followed by PS and PR. WM had a non-significant effect on social perception. Implications for theory and research on intelligence and emotional intelligence are discussed along with implications for educational practice.

Teacher-student relationships have been linked to autonomous motivation and achievement. However, relatively little is known about whether satisfying students' psychological needs mediates the association between teacher-student relationships and student happiness. Furthermore, this relationship needs to be examined in samples of students from different ethnic and racial backgrounds. In this structural equation modeling study (N = 1,961), we found that teacher-student relationships were positively and moderately associated with the satisfaction of psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Satisfying psychological needs, in turn, was moderately positively associated with happiness. These findings held across African American, Asian American, and Latinx subsamples. For the overall sample, students in higher grade levels perceived that their psychological needs were met to a lesser degree than students in earlier grades. However, only the Latinx subsample replicated this effect. Teacher-student relationships may promote happiness via meeting psychological needs.

The current study examines associations among parents' school readiness beliefs, home-based involvement, and measures of school readiness using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (N = 13,999). A structural equation model was estimated, and results show that parents' school readiness beliefs and home-based involvement practices were positively associated with children's academic achievement and socio-emotional competencies. In addition, parents' school readiness beliefs were positively related to their home-based involvement practices. In other words, parents who placed more importance on school readiness engaged in more home-based involvement practices and had children with higher levels of academic achievement and socio-emotional competencies. Results also showed that parents' school readiness beliefs were more strongly related to academic achievement in comparison to socio-emotional competencies. Findings also demonstrated variation in parents' school readiness beliefs and involvement by race/ethnicity and socio-economic status. Overall, findings suggest that efforts to encourage and support parental involvement should pay attention to parents' school readiness beliefs and home-based involvement practices.

School psychologists can work within a Response to Intervention (RtI) framework to increasingly promote the mental health of students. This article shares the unfolding of two composite case studies that exemplify how a practicing school psychologist can use a problem-solving framework to deliver effective mental health interventions to individual students. The first case involved an elementary school student who markedly improved in terms of on-task behavior, and the second case concerned a high school student who overcame school refusal and negative affect. The advantages of providing brief counseling and psychological consultation prior to a possible full evaluation or special education placement are discussed. (Contains 2 figures.)

This longitudinal study examined the relationships among parental autonomy support, student intrinsic life goals (i.e. community feeling), student expectations for long-term educational attainment and later academic performance (measured by GPA) in 227 students in an ethnically and racially diverse high school. Hypotheses were tested with structural equation models, which included gender, parent education and prior GPA as control variables. As self-determination theory suggests, parental autonomy support was indirectly and positively related to academic performance via intrinsic life goals. Intrinsic life goals and student expectations were moderately and positively related and both contributed to growth in academic performance, which suggests that self-determination theory and expectancy-value theory provide additive insight in predicting educational achievement. Fifty per cent of the variance in intrinsic life goals was explained by parental autonomy support and 77% of the variance in later GPA was explained collectively by variables in the study. The way in which student expectations and intrinsic life goals work in concert to promote achievement should be examined in future intervention studies. The significant indirect effect of parental autonomy support on GPA via intrinsic life goals and student expectations suggests that students will benefit from parents fostering intrinsic life goals through autonomy supportive communication.

Among 110 Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, teacher autonomy support in 9th grade significantly predicted intrinsic motivation for math in 9th grade as well as math course-taking over the next 2 years, both of which in turn significantly predicted math achievement by 11th grade. In a second model, teacher autonomy support was positively associated with sense of school belonging; however, school belonging did not predict math achievement. Because of the Hawaiian cultural concept of Aloha and the effect of teacher autonomy support on intrinsic motivation, school belonging, math course-taking, and math achievement, researchers may wish to develop interventions for Hawaiian students that focus on elevating intrinsic motivation and belonging via increasing teacher autonomy support. Because Native Hawaiians and most other Pacific Islanders are involuntary minorities, this research may have implications for other involuntary minorities across the world, such as the Buraku in Japan, and the Maori people of New Zealand.

Using structural equation models, with gender, parent education, and prior grade point average (GPA) as control variables, we examined the relationships among intrinsic motivation to learn, learning goals, behavioral engagement at school, and academic performance (measured by GPA) in 1,575 students in an ethnically and racially diverse high school. Intrinsic motivation to learn was indirectly and positively related to academic performance via classroom engagement. Seventy-five percent of the variance in engagement and 33% of the variance in GPA were explained by variables in the study. Results were generally replicated when the model was tested separately with the 336 African American students and the 311 Latin@ students. The significant indirect effect of intrinsic motivation to learn on GPA via engagement, as well as the positive direct association between learning goals and academic performance, suggest that students will benefit from schools fostering intrinsic motivation to learn and learning goals.

Factors related to parent ratings of young children's (mean age = 3.72, range = 3-6) fidgeting and reports of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were examined in a nationally representative sample of US families via the National Household Education Surveys. In structural equation models, the number of television hours viewed daily was associated with more fidgeting (a sign of hyperactivity), which, in turn, was related to ADHD, when controlling for race/ethnicity, SES, family structure, autism, emotional disturbance and gender. The home literacy environment (shared reading, children's books and library visits) was negatively associated with both fidgeting and hours of television. Home literacy was indirectly negatively related with ADHD via fidgeting. Boys and children with autism fidgeted more frequently, whereas children from two-parent families were less likely to have ADHD. Overworked parents allowed more television viewing than other parents. The implications for future studies involving television viewing, home literacy, attention and hyperactivity are discussed.

Numerous studies indicate that intrinsic motivation predicts academic achievement. However, relatively few have examined various subtypes of intrinsic motivation that predict overall achievement, such as motivation for exercise and physical activity. Based upon the 16 basic desires theory of personality, the current study examined the motives of 178 senior high school (gymnasium) students (mean age?=?17.6, range?=?16-20) from Finland, using the Reiss School Motivation Profile. In structural equation models that controlled for gender and age, intellectual curiosity was positively associated with achievement, whereas the family motive was negatively associated with achievement. Boys had a higher intellectual curiosity and a lower family motive than girls. The physical activity motive had a significant negative interaction with intellectual curiosity, such that youth with higher intellectual curiosity had the strongest achievement when their physical activity motive was lower. This suggests that adolescents with a strong desire for exercise may have some difficulty in selective high schools that require rigorous study and long hours of sitting, even when they enjoy learning. Implications for motivational theory, education research, physical education for promoting fitness, and school psychology practice are discussed.

Although previous research helped to define differences in intelligence between neurotypicals and those with ASD, results were limited by small sample sizes or restricted subtests. Using data from the NIMH Data Archive, this study examined the intelligence of children with ASD (N = 671). Results demonstrate an average standard deviation of 25.75, which is 1.72 times greater than that of the normative sample for the WISC-III. Moreover, students with ASD are 12 times more likely than the general population of students to score within the intellectual disability range, but are also 1.5 times more likely to score in the superior range, suggesting that more students with ASD should be considered for giftedness. Determining the diversity of intelligence among those with ASD has implications for research, clinical practice, and neurological understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to increasing research and policy interest in the neighborhood context of early school success, this study examined relations among neighborhood social networks, home literacy practices/resources, and children's expressive vocabulary in a suburban at-risk sample in the USA at the beginning of the school year. In a Structural Equation Model, neighborhood social networks predicted home literacy, which in turn predicted expressive vocabulary. The indirect effect of neighborhood social networks on expressive vocabulary was also significant. Implications for future research and preventive interventions concerning the role of neighborhoods in enhancing family reading behavior and the early literacy of at-risk preschool children are discussed.

Researchers examined associations of parental expectations and parental school relationships with school outcomes among U.S. middle and high school students. Nationally representative data involving families from the National Household Education Surveys were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Measures included interview responses about parent expectations for their children's long term educational attainment (ranging from dropping out of high school to obtaining a JD/PhD/MD) and how much parents feel welcomed at school, trust and have positive interactions with educators. The latter three variables formed a latent variable called parent school relationship. Analyses controlled for SES (parents' educational attainment and household income), family structure, gender, and ethnicity. The school outcomes variable was derived from parental report of students' grades, retention in any grade and behavior problems at school. Parental expectations were positively related (standardized path coefficient = 0.44, p<0.01) to positive school outcomes and had a stronger effect than SES (standardized path coefficient = 0.24). Parent school relationships were also positively related to school outcomes. These findings suggest that psychologists and educators should be aware of the potential for parents to play a significant role (e.g., via expectations and developing supportive relationships with educators) in children's education, even in middle and high school.

This study investigated the effects of intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, classroom engagement and extrinsic motivation on reading development among youth. Using a nationally representative sample of students in the US, the researchers followed students longitudinally from fifth to eighth grade. Reading achievement was measured using composite tests of vocabulary, reading comprehension and sight-word identification. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the effect of students' perceived intrinsic motivation and competence, as well as teacher rated classroom engagement in the 5th grade, on reading achievement in the 8th grade. Important control variables were utilised such as gender, family SES, race/ethnicity and prior reading achievement. The results showed that intrinsic motivation to read, perceived competence and engagement in 5th grade significantly predict reading achievement in 8th grade. The importance students placed upon grades also predicted reading development. Implications for promoting intrinsic motivation and strong engagement in schools are discussed.

In response to growing research and policy interest in the developmental contexts of early literacy, this study examined relations between neighborhood socioeconomic well-being, home literacy (parent-child shared reading and number of books at home), and directly assessed early literacy outcomes among 551 Head Start students in the fall of preschool. In Structural Equation Models, neighborhood socioeconomic well-being predicted home literacy, which in turn predicted early literacy (a latent variable derived from receptive vocabulary, letter-word identification, and concepts about print). Implications for future research concerning parent involvement at home in the context of neighborhoods and the early literacy of at-risk preschoolers is discussed.

Building on social-cognitive theory and the expectancy-value theory, this study indicated that early parent expectations for children’s post-secondary educational attainment have a stronger effect on 8th-grade achievement than home-based parental involvement. With a nationally representative sample of kindergarten students and their parents in the United States of America, Structural Equation Modeling was employed in order to discern longitudinal effects on achievement via mediators. For instance, expectations held by parents in kindergarten exert much of their positive effect on adolescent academic achievement via expectations held in 8th grade. Student expectations (which are influenced by parental expectations) also significantly predict 8th grade achievement. Parent involvement in homework and grade checking in 8th grade has a slight negative effect on achievement. Home literacy in kindergarten predicts achievement in 8th grade indirectly via kindergarten achievement. These results indicate that parents can have a positive impact on academic achievement through early home literacy and maintaining a strong hope that their children will succeed in college. Because early parent expectations have long lasting effects on children, parent involvement interventions for young children need to be developed that also target elevating parental expectations. This study further clarifies the effects of the family environment on educational outcomes. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Intrinsic motivation (IM) to learn, if cultivated, can lead to many academic and social/emotional improvements among K-12 students. This article discusses intrinsic motivation to learn as it relates to Self Determination Theory and the trouble with relying solely on extrinsic motivators. The academic benefits of IM in the specific subject areas of reading and mathematics are reviewed, as well as various psychological benefits (e.g., enhanced persistence, prosocial behavior and happiness). Science-based methods of fostering IM in students are considered, especially enhancing children's environments through elevating teacher and parental autonomy support. Suggestions for integrating intrinsic motivation with behavioral interventions are also provided.

In a seven week quasi-experimental study, parents (n = 15) of elementary school students (n = 15) learned autonomy supportive communication techniques that included helping their children set learning goals for homework assignments. Treatment vs. comparison group (n = 30) ANCOVA analyses revealed that the parents in the treatment group perceived their children as becoming more autonomously motivated relative to the comparison group, F(1, 26) = 7.69, p less than 0.05. Children in the treatment group reported increased positive affect toward homework relative to the comparison group, F(1,26) = 5.35, p less than 0.05. Children did not significantly improve on general measures of self reported academic intrinsic motivation or relative autonomy. These preliminary findings suggest that autonomy supportive parenting styles may improve parent's perceptions of their children's autonomous motivation and children's subjective experience of positive affect surrounding homework. In order to draw firmer conclusions about the effects of the intervention, more rigorously controlled studies will be needed in the future.

Background: The importance of thriving is well-established, but little is known about thriving for undergraduate engineering students. We introduce engineering thriving as the process by which engineering students develop optimal functioning in undergraduate engineering programs. Since thriving is currently underexplored in the engineering education literature, we investigated the larger body of literature on engineering student success. Purpose: We introduce the concept of engineering thriving to synthesize the largely discrete existing bodies of literature on engineering student success to bring together many different perspectives, methodological approaches, and findings that shape our understanding of engineering thriving. Our work on thriving unites disparate lines of research on engineering student success, challenges the assumption that addressing barriers automatically leads to success, and strives to change the way engineering education views student success. Scope/Method: We used the scoping literature review method to investigate papers on undergraduate engineering student success. Four databases were searched, yielding 726 initial papers that studied separate dimensions of engineering student success, such as academic, personal, cognitive, and behavioral. We integrated the relationships among these dimensions to develop an understanding of engineering thriving. Our final analysis included 68 papers after removing duplicates and applying selection criteria. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that an engineering student thriving includes multiple dimensions of success, involves cyclical processes of growth and adaptation, and consists of synergistic competencies that should ideally be studied together with as many other competencies as possible. These findings support the conclusion that engineering thriving can be understood as helping students manage constantly changing internal and external factors within the broader engineering education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Behavioral engagement in schools is an important contributor to academic outcomes for adolescents, but may also protect them from substance abuse. Positive and negative attitudes to the past, present, and future have been linked to adaptive and maladaptive behaviors in adolescence, respectively, but there is a need for research that examines whether time attitudes promote behavioral engagement and lower risk for substance use. Methods: Structural equation models involving 1961 diverse high school students were utilized, which controlled for sex, GPA, and alcohol use. Results: Positive time attitudes were positively associated with behavioral engagement and students' GPA. Girls had stronger levels of behavioral engagement. Positive time attitudes were indirectly associated with less marijuana use via intrinsic motivation, engagement, and less alcohol use. The indirect effect of positive time attitudes on engagement via intrinsic motivation was significant and substantial. In a second structural model, we examined the effects of negative time attitudes, intrinsic motivation, and behavioral engagement on marijuana use. Negative time attitudes and intrinsic motivation were indirectly associated with less marijuana use via behavioral engagement. Both models explained 41% of the variance in engagement and 36% of the variance in marijuana use, suggesting that positive and negative time attitudes are equally valuable in understanding academic engagement and marijuana use among adolescents. A third model indicated that behavioral engagement was negatively related to a latent variable composed of binge drinking and alcohol use. Conclusions: Implications for practice and future research are discussed, as the current findings suggest the importance of positive time attitudes as promotive of behavioral engagement and protective against substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying intrinsic life goals and learning goals increases children's autonomous motivation to learn and enjoyment of learning. A paucity of field-based intervention studies have focused on helping students set intrinsic life goals and learning goals. In particular, there is a need for qualitative studies that examine intrinsic learning goal content over the course of an intervention. This qualitative study examined the homework goals that 15 upper elementary school students wrote over the course of 5 weeks within the context of a 7-week parent autonomy support and student life goals intervention. Three themes were identified: (1) overtly healthy attitudes toward the learning process (e.g., focusing on enjoyment, interest, persistence, creativity, and taking on challenges); (2) expressing motivation for helping others, which is a key intrinsic life goal; and (3) deeper purposes for academic subjects (i.e., spelling, reading, math, and science), which students usually experience as more meaningful and satisfying than extrinsic goals. Whereas most previous studies assess goal orientation by having students fill out forced-choice questionnaires, future intrinsic life goals intervention studies may benefit from considering these themes and the way children describe their own intrinsic goals, because they could help with training students to set goals that support autonomous motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]