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Using Self-Determination Theory to Investigate Student Engagement in the Classroom
Abstract
This is a report on a study that: a. explored teacher perceptions of the term engagement and b. tracked the engagement of nine early primary students who were identified by their teachers as often disengaged. In the first section of the research, teacher perceptions of the term engagement were found to focus on behavioural and emotional aspects, with little reference to the cognitive component. In the second section, the researchers used an observation rating scale to observe the students in their classrooms and recorded their levels of behavioural, emotional and cognitive engagement. At the same time, the students' learning activities were rated according to the extent to which the activities addressed their perceived competence, sense of belonging and autonomy support (aspects of Self-Determination Theory). It was found that students who were 'needy' in terms of their perceived competence or sense of belonging responded to activities that addressed these needs. This study points to the need for further investigation of Self-Determination Theory as a planning framework to address engagement issues in the classroom.©Common Ground, Leanne Fried, Deslea Konza, All Rights Reserved, Permissions.
... Autonomy is concerned with choice, opportunities for self-direction and student ownership of their learning (Ryan and Deci 2000). Competence includes students' perceptions about their capacity to achieve success, (Fried and Konza 2013) while relatedness refers to a sense of belonging, support and inclusion in the classroom (Ryan and Deci 2000). ...
... Contrary to many other L2 motivation theories, SDT recognises that, within educational settings, the catalyst for behaviour is often external to the individual (Ryan and Deci 2000). SDT therefore enables exploration and analysis of FL teachers' motivational strategies and each student's experience of them (Fried and Konza 2013) and so provides a useful theoretical framework and motivational lens, through which to explore students' perceptions of TPRS, leading to the following research questions: ...
... Although Millward (2012: 416) posits that FGI are 'not suitable to the formal testing of hypotheses', Stanton et al. (1993) successfully used 'protection motivation theory' to frame a group discussion with adolescents about sexual risk, while Fried and Konza (2013) used FGI to study engagement in schools through an SDT lens. Indeed, employing theory as the focusing vehicle in FGI has been found to be highly effective (Stanton et al. 1993). ...
This paper explores a group of secondary school students' feelings about Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) using a self-determination theory (SDT) lens. It adds to the limited, existing literature on TPRS and is the first to study it from a purely motivational perspective. The paper analyses the extent to which students perceived that TPRS satisfied SDT's three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. It employs a case study approach, using data from classroom observations, background group interviews and focus group interviews. The findings conclude that TPRS is a decidedly motivating and engaging method for foreign language (FL) learners. The three needs of SDT were found to be highly interrelated with satisfaction of one influencing positively on the others. The findings suggest that the autonomous nature of co-creating stories with the teacher, result in a heightened sense of personal ability and belongingness to the group. The results reinforce conclusions from other studies, suggesting that activities that are perceived as fun, interesting, novel and different are most likely to develop intrinsic motivation in FL learners. The findings have implications for increasing intrinsic motivation in FL classrooms around the world.
... Competence includes students' perceptions about their capacity to achieve success, (Fried and Konza, 2013) while relatedness refers to a sense of belonging, support and inclusion in the classroom (Ryan and Deci, 2000). ...
... Contrary to many other L2 motivation theories, SDT recognises that, within educational settings, the catalyst for behaviour is often external to the individual (Ryan and Deci, 2000). SDT therefore enables exploration and analysis of FL teachers' motivational strategies and each student's experience of them (Fried and Konza, 2013) and so provides a useful theoretical framework and motivational lens, through which to explore both students' perceptions of TPRS, leading to the following research questions: ...
... Although Millward (2012, p.416) posits that FGI are 'not suitable to the formal testing of hypotheses', Stanton et al. (1993) successfully used 'protection motivation theory' to frame a group discussion with adolescents about sexual risk, while Fried and Konza (2013) used FGI to study engagement in schools through an SDT lens. Indeed, employing theory as the focusing vehicle in FGI has been found to be highly effective (Stanton et al., 1993). ...
This paper explores a group of secondary, international school students’ feelings about Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) using a self-determination theory (SDT) lens. It adds to the limited existing literature on TPRS and is the first to study the approach from a purely motivational perspective. The paper analyses the extent to which students perceived that TPRS satisfied SDT’s three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. It employs a case study approach, using data obtained from classroom observations as well as background group interviews and focus group interviews. The findings conclude that TPRS is a decidedly motivating and engaging method for foreign language (FL) learners. The three needs of SDT were found to be highly interrelated with satisfaction of one influencing positively on the others. The findings suggest that the autonomous nature of TPRS, where students co-create the stories with the teacher, result in a heightened sense of personal ability and belongingness to the group. Additionally, the results reinforce the conclusions from other studies, which suggest that activities that are perceived as fun, interesting, novel and different are most likely to develop intrinsic motivation in FL learners. The findings have implications for both pre-service and in-service FL teachers and replication studies applying SDT to TPRS in other contexts are warranted.
... When teachers create lessons with a focus on intrinsic motivation, they drive students to participate and excel in their performances (Beachboard, 2020). Because students who have an eagerness to perceive competence or belongingness respond to activities to address these needs (Konza and Fried, 2013). However, Ryan and Niemiec (2009) suggested that teachers should support basic psychological needs for autonomy; relatedness facilitates autonomous regulation for learning, academic performance and wellbeing. ...
... When teachers create lessons focusing on intrinsic motivation, they drive students to participate and excel in their performances (Beachboard, 2020). Because students who have an eagerness to perceive competence or belongingness respond to activities to address these needs (Konza and Fried, 2013). Table 9. ...
Education is a means of assisting students in developing their perspectives and preparing them for various aspects of life. Motivation is a vital part of student learning and choice is important for intrinsic drive and self-determination. Hence, teachers must consider how they present their instruction from a motivational perspective because it affects students' performance in school. Thus, this study is interested in measuring the level of intrinsic motivation among Grade 5 pupils in Cateel Central Elementary School. It is anchored on self-determination theory, which identifies that motivation is influenced by mastery, autonomy, and purpose. The data collection was conducted on April 2022 with 115 respondents. The data were collected and tallied. The results showed that the majority of respondents in terms of sex were girls, had lower economic status, and in terms of parental status, the majority of them lived with their parents. Additionally, the results also revealed that the level of intrinsic motivation of respondents was described as sometimes but differed significantly towards sex. Lastly, this study proposes an intervention to improve the level of intrinsic motivation, which is a gender-sensitive practical teaching approach. Specifically, drill and homework assignments for mastery, discovery learning for autonomy, and the teaching process should be anchored to curriculum competency.
... Kingery et al. (2011) measured peer acceptance and friendship quality in relation to predicting adjustment across the transition to middle school and found that both these factors play a significant role in student loneliness and school involvement. Fried and Konza (2013) believe that teachers should think about peer relations when preparing learning activities. Peer interaction gives students a better chance of increasing their sense of relatedness. ...
... From the literature, it is evident that cooperative learning is seen as a way of increasing students' experience of relatedness at school (Fried & Konza, 2013). Students' sense of belonging flourishes when they experience others paying attention and reacting to them. ...
This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design to determine levels of motivation and engagement, and the school-related conditions that might influence such levels among Sri Lankan secondary school students. This study surveyed 100 Sinhala-medium and 100 Tamil-medium eighth-grade students (50 students from each gender). The mean age of the students was 12.8 years. Schools were represented by type 2 “government” schools located in the Monaragala and Nuwara Eliya districts in Sri Lanka. Twenty-four low-motivated students (12 from each gender) were selected based on the MQ scores of the MES-JS. Students who attained the lowest MQ scores for booster thoughts and booster behaviours, and highest MQ scores for mufflers and guzzlers were selected for conducting semi-structured interviews. The mean age of interviewed students was 12.9 years. Twelve teachers and 12 principals were also interviewed. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to measure the construct validity of the scale. Since this did not provide a robust solution, exploratory factor analysis was also conducted. Four factors were identified; Failure Avoidance and Anxiety (FAA), Positive Motivation (PM), Uncertain Control (UC), and Positive Engagement (PE). Based on those four factors, parametric tests – t-tests, two-way MANOVA, two-way ANOVA, one-way ANOVA –and non-parametric tests – Kruskal-Wallis H tests – were employed to analyse quantitative data and thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative data. The findings of the quantitative phase of the study indicated that early adolescents’ motivation and engagement was not a major problem across the study population but there was a group of students who exhibiting low motivation and engagement. Interviews were conducted with this group. This qualitative phase of the study indicated that the quality of classroom relationships and the curriculum and resources impacted on the least motivated and engaged students’ learning. Especially, negative teacher-student relationships, lack of intrinsic motivation, the influence of peers, harsh punishments, inadequate encouragement, un-engaging teaching, unfriendly teaching-learning environment, inadequate quality learning activities, difficult subject matter, difficult and excessive homework, regular tests, inadequate classroom resources, and inadequate quality teaching-learning resources were revealed as contributing to low motivation and iii engagement. Some teachers and principals stated that they had employed: raising parental awareness, providing individual support, and short-term initiatives. It was revealed that, there was a link between the least motivated and engaged early adolescents’ learning and the impact of school-related conditions in low socio-economic districts in Sri Lanka, particularly in Tamil-medium schools. This study proposes a model to increase the motivation and engagement in learning of early adolescents in low socio-economic districts in Sri Lanka through a self-determination theory approach.
... For instance, self-determination theory postulates students' academic motivation follows from their ability to meet basic psychological needsone of which is the ability to develop feelings of belongingness with important social others (Ryan and Deci 2000). Therefore, students who experience a stronger sense of belonging may be more willing to devote effort to academic tasks and persist when confronted with academic challenge because of the motivational benefits associated with perceived belongingness (Fried and Konza 2013;Gagné and Deci 2005;Niemiec and Ryan 2009). Further, the academic benefits of sense of belonging may be related to the association between social connection and mental health. ...
To improve sub-standard retention and 4-year graduation rates, colleges and universities have tried to foster in students more social connections and a greater sense of belonging to the institution. Repeated positive interactions with faculty members are crucial for helping students develop this sense of belonging. Classroom-level belonging specifically is associated with increased self-efficacy and academic motivation compared to campus-level belonging. Additionally, a sense of belonging may support student success by reducing psychological distress and the risk of mental health problems. However, research about how to foster classroom-level belonging has been relatively scarce despite the demonstrated importance of this construct. To address this gap, we asked psychology and education college students to evaluate a course using the Teacher Behaviour Checklist (TBC), the Classroom Community Scale, and the Classroom Climate Scale in an online survey. We found that caring and supportive teacher behaviour (a TBC factor) predicted 1) a community of connectedness and 2) a climate of high instructor organisation and support, professional competency and communication (a TBC factor) predicted 3) a stronger community of learning and 4) a climate of higher academic expectations. Exploratory analyses also revealed that caring and supportive teacher behaviour predicted higher learning and academic expectations; professional competency and communication predicted higher connectedness and instructor organisation and support. It appears that high-impact teaching practices, in general, improve classroom belonging. Our results echo others, highlighting the importance of caring and professional competence to classroom-level belonging in higher education. Implications for student success and faculty development initiatives are also discussed.
... Student engagement is multidimensional and comprises interconnected capacities that come together to produce a holistic psychosocial experience. Drawing on the literature, we present provisional descriptions of five such components of engagement (Blumenfeld et al., 2005;Bowden et al., 2019;Christenson, Reschly, & Wylie, 2012;Eldegwy, Elsharnouby, & Kortam, 2018;Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004;Fried & Konza, 2013;Kahu et al., 2015;Khademi Ashkzari, Piryaei, & Kamelifar, 2018;Klem & Connell, 2004;K. L. Krause & Coates, 2008;G. ...
Higher Education Institutions' approach to monitoring, managing and maintaining student engagement is evolving, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic and aligned prevalence of blended learning models. "Digital mediation", i.e. the use of digital and analytic tools by higher education staff in managing, monitoring and maintaining students' engagement, offers new opportunities in how interpersonal communication is facilitated and student data is collected. However, optimising its utility and effectiveness necessitates continually calibrating how digital and in-person engagement can be reciprocally and seamlessly integrated into student experiences. Here, University College Dublin's 'Live Engagement & Attendance Project' (UCD LEAP) has developed an online engagement monitoring resource providing Student Advisors with real-time programme-level engagement data. This resource supports them in providing students with timely and tailored interventions following potential disengagement. The purpose of UCD LEAP is twofold: achieving a more comprehensive picture of the student experience than would be available within module-specific engagement metrics, and helping staff create additional pathways for digitally-mediated student support. This paper explores ongoing learning from UCD LEAP, alongside the growth, evolution, and institutional embedding of digitally-mediated support interventions in higher education.
... Student engagement can be considered multidimensional-consisting of distinct, yet interrelated, capacities that when positively fostered and expressed, can create a healthy learning experience. We describe five such engagement components based on literature (Blumenfeld et al., 2005;Bowden, 2013;Bowden et al., 2019;Christenson et al., 2012;Eldegwy et al., 2018;Fredricks et al., 2004;Fried & Konza, 2013;Kahu et al., 2015;Khademi Ashkzari et al., 2018;Klem & Connell, 2004;Krause & Coates, 2008;Kuh, 2006;Mahatmya et al., 2012;National Center on Effective Secondary Schools, 1992;Nguyen et al., 2016;Reeve, 2012Reeve, , 2013Reeve & Shin, 2020;Reeve & Tseng, 2011;Schaufeli et al., 2002;Vivek et al., 2014;Wentzel, 2012;Yazzie-Mintz & McCormick, 2012): i. ...
In this article, we explore first-year students’ transition into higher education (HE), focusing on the motivational factors that enhance their engagement. We argue that Student Support Professionals (SSPs) can play a pivotal role in heightening student motivation, given the broad range of academic, administrative, and pastoral responsibilities that this role entails. Against this background, we ask two questions: Firstly, how should we understand student motivation with specific regard to its antecedents, manifestations, and consequences? Secondly, what motivation-enhancement strategies can SSPs integrate into their practice to build a productive relationship with students? Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT) insights, we provide a taxonomy of student motivation, arguing that: Motivation exists in a continuum of self-regulation, motivation is contextual, motivation is multidimensional, and motivation is causally significant. Building on this taxonomy we offer practical guidance to SSPs who are looking to catalyse students’ intrinsic motivation, identifying three specific motivational enhancement strategies, namely: Fostering competence by establishing realistic expectations between oneself and students; fostering relatedness by providing resources for holistic student engagement; and fostering autonomy by empowering students in their decision-making. We argue that central to SSPs’ ability to foster engagement is possessing a conceptual and experiential understanding of student motivation, which can heighten their ability to respond to students’ needs. SSPs should approach this process of motivation enhancement as collaborative—working with students to discover both motivational impediments and motivation-enhancing resources to better engage with their HE experience.
... Student engagement is frequently described as being multi-dimensional, comprised of distinctyet-related capacities that, when positively attended to and expressed, coalesce to create a holistic experience. Drawing on the literature, we present provisional descriptions of five such components of engagement (Blumenfeld et al., 2005;Bowden, Tickle, & Naumann, 2019;Christenson, Reschly, & Wylie, 2012;Eldegwy, Elsharnouby, & Kortam, 2018;Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004;Fried & Konza, 2013;Kahu et al., 2015;Khademi Ashkzari, Piryaei, & Kamelifar, 2018;Klem & Connell, 2004;K. L. Krause & Coates, 2008;G. ...
... Kingery, Erdley, and Marshall (2011) measured peer acceptance and friendship quality in relation to predicting adjustment across the transition to middle school and found that both these factors play a significant role in student loneliness and school involvement. Fried and Konza (2013) believe that teachers should think about peer relations when preparing learning activities. Peer interaction gives students a better chance of increasing their sense of relatedness. ...
... Given this theory, intrinsic motivation is at the opposite end of the continuum and extrinsic motivation falls within the middle of the continuum (Ryan & Deci, 2000). SDT, when used as a theoretical lens, can argue that student involvement in learning arises from their motivation (Fried & Konza, 2013;Newbery, 2012). In other words, students' motivation leads to and facilitates their active involvement in the learning process (Lee & Reeve, 2012). ...
Learning motivation has been examined for its positive influence on learning outcomes. However, little attention has been addressed to the development of measuring instruments of learning motivation in the context of reading the Quran in Indonesian higher education. This study was designed to develop a Quran learning motivation questionnaire. The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) was applied as a theoretical framework to explore the type dan level of motivation. Participants involved in this study were 420 students. They were divided into subsample one for exploratory factor analysis (N = 200) and subsample two with confirmatory factor analysis (N = 220). The questionnaire was developed with 12 item-three factors using five points Likert scale that can measure the learning motivation in reading Quran. The results of the study show that the level of student motivation is relatively low (M= 3.12), and the intrinsic motivation type (M= 3.99) is more dominant than extrinsic motivation survival (M= 2.99) and approval (M= 2.38) with a p-value of 0.000. In addition, it was found that female students (M= 3.19) had significantly higher motivation than male students (M= 3.04), with a p-value of 0.017.
... Taylor and parsons [4] noted that building respectful and interactive relationships with students are very important to improve students. The study of Fried and Konza [5] revealed that students' engagements could be seen as vital components of academics at school, which may be a worthy outcome of school in its own right. ...
... The connection between motivation and engagement is explicit and direct, with a focus on motivation leading to and/or facilitating engagement (Dabbagh 2007;Lee and Reeve 2012;Reeve 2012;Skinner et al. 2008). SDT, when used as a lens, maintains that student engagement arises from motivation (Chen and Jang 2010;Dabbagh 2007;Fried and Konza 2013;Leach and Zepke 2012;Newbery 2012). As proposed by Ryan and Deci (2009), the taxonomy of human motivation represents an effective nexus to inform student engagement through an SDT lens; motivation is a private subjective experience and engagement is more objective with observed effect (Dabbagh 2007). ...
The emergence of online environments has changed the landscape of educational learning. Some students thrive in this learning environment, but others become amotivated and disengaged. Drawing on self-determination theory, we report the findings of a study of 574 undergraduate business students at an Australian higher education institution on their attitude toward online learning, and its impact on their motivation and educational engagement. Data was collected via an e-mail survey and analysed using structural equation modelling and the Hayes’ bootstrapping method. The results of the study were mixed. Attitude to online learning mediated the relationships of both intrinsic motivation to know and extrinsic motivation with engagement, indicating that the design of online learning environments can play a role in enhancing learning experiences. However, attitude to online learning was not found to mediate the intrinsic motivation to accomplish and engagement relationship. A negative mediation effect was partially supported between amotivation and engagement, with study mode found as a moderated mediator to this effect, being stronger and significant for online students as opposed to on-campus students. These results have implications for how students can be engaged online, and the need for educators to design online learning environments that support the learning experience for all students.
The study examined the extent that teacher–student relationships (TSR) influenced basic psychological needs, engagement, and student growth using the self‐systems process model as a framework using structural equation modeling. Based on prior research, it was hypothesized that context (TSR) influenced self (basic psychological needs), which influenced action (engagement), and consequently, influenced outcome (student score and grade point average‐GPA). The findings of the study supported prior research that a TSR positively influenced levels of engagement in the classroom and, consequently, student outcomes as measured by classroom grade point average (GPA) and standardized assessment results. Using an identical methodological setup that substituted student growth percentiles (SGP) for scale scores, it was determined that TSR, basic psychological need satisfaction, and level of engagement do not influence SGP. Implications and potential contributions are discussed.
This study explored the perceptions of a US university campus climate by international students and analyzed strategies that they used to socially and academically integrate their campuses. The sample consisted of international students who have at least completed two years of their college education. Individual interviews and focus group were used for data collection. A combination of content analysis and constant comparison method were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that self-determination has influenced the intercultural strategies of integration used by international students on a US university campus. The study includes recommendations for student services personnel to help international students’ social and academic integration beyond the first two years in college.
This paper reports on the Fair Go Project, research into student engagement among primary school students living in poor communities in South‐Western Sydney, Australia. Taking as a starting point recent work into classroom pedagogies (Productive Pedagogies) and drawing on Bernstein's concept of classrooms as message systems, the research has developed a framework that aims to consider and evaluate ways that teachers' classroom practices can send out messages to interrupt the discourses of power that have historically worked against poor students. The Fair Go Project's proposal is that when this happens, there are real chances that these students might develop a consciousness that school is for me, rather than one of defeat, struggle and giving up. The paper describes the theoretical and empirical development of the framework, and illustrates through research data its use in a number of classrooms.
The authors used a new multidimensional coding scheme to assess student learning engagement during 3 Grade 4 reading lessons. Students in 3 classes-2 in which students received integrated reading-science instruction and I in which they received traditional instruction-demonstrated moderate to high engagement in learning. However, students in the integrated instruction classes gained more in reading comprehension and reading strategy use during the 12 weeks of the study than did students in the traditional instruction class. Analyses of task complexity and practices that teachers used to scaffold students' cognitive processes and motivation suggested that measuring student engagement in conjunction with these variables may be critical for developing a deeper understanding of how academic gains are made.
The purpose of the present research was to propose and test a motivational process model of academic achievement. The model
posits that parental, teachers, and school administration support for students' autonomy positively influences students' perceived
school competence and autonomy. In turn, perceived school competence and autonomy affect positively self-determined school
motivation which in turn influences academic achievement. Two studies using a prospective design tested the adequacy of the
model. In Study I, participants were 1,623 ninth-grade students. Results from structural equation modeling supported the motivational
model. Participants in Study 2 were 1,098 tenth-grade students. Results from this study corroborated those of Study 1 controlling
for students' prior achievement in the ninth grade. The role of self-determinod school motivation in academic achievement
is discussed and avenues for future research are considered.
This study investigated the relations among 2 sociological predictors of risk for school leaving (race and social class), motivational context, and behavioral indicators of withdrawal from school in a sample of 405 7th grade students. Students completed questionnaires to assess their perceptions of the 3 aspects of their school motivational context, including the academic expectations and support of teachers and peers and the economic opportunity structure. Behavioral indicators of alienation were teachers' ratings of engagement and students' disciplinary problems. Students with more indicators of potential risk (i.e., low-income, African American, or both) were less engaged, had more disciplinary problems, and perceived their motivational contexts as more negative than students with fewer risk factors. Motivational context variables were stronger predictors of alienation than were status variables and partially mediated the relations between status indicators of potential risk and signs of alienation from school.