Teacher Autonomy Support and Structure: Revisiting the Independent, Interactive, and Indirect Relation to Students' Functioning

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Advances in Self-Determination Theory Research

Abstract

Research findings about the interactive relation of teacher’s autonomy support and provision of structure to students’ motivation and, through it, to students’ outcomes are limited and inconsistent due to lack of statistical power. The present prospective study investigated the independent and interactive relation of autonomy support and structure, at the student and the classroom level, in a sample of 3795 Turkish high school students nested into 147 classes. Multilevel analysis showed that the initial (T1) perceived autonomy and structure, independently and interactively, predicted subsequent (T2) autonomous motivation at the student level, which, in sequence, predicted positively challenge seeking and negatively procrastination. The findings highlight the importance of both instructional approaches for optimal motivation and educational outcomes.

Authors

• Aikaterini Michou, Bilkent University

• Athanasios Mouratidis, TED University

• Melike Sayil, TED University

• Aysenur Alp, Middle East Technical University