Broadening the Understanding of Teachers' Individual, Class-Directed, and Differentiated Autonomy Support With Bayesian Multilevel Analyses (Poster 3)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: Motivation in Education SIG Poster Session: Contextual Factors, Teacher Motivation, and Motivational Interventions (San Diego)

Abstract

Autonomy support can be understood as a multilevel construct because teachers can direct autonomy support to students (Level 1) or classrooms (Level 2). When teachers direct autonomy support to students, students might perceive inequalities in the amount of autonomy they receive relative to classmates, which might undermine their motivation. We applied Bayesian Multilevel-CFA and SEM to investigate the factor structure of teachers’ individual, class-directed and differentiated autonomy support and the associations with students’ motivation and effort. The sample consisted of 473 Dutch primary school students (48.5% female, Mage = 11.86) from 22 classes. We could distinguish individual, class-directed and differentiated autonomy support. Individual and class-directed autonomy support positively predicted motivation and behavioral engagement, whereas relative differentiation positively predicted extrinsic motivation.

Authors

• Barbara Flunger, Utrecht University

• Anouk Verdonschot

• Steffen Zitzmann, University of Tübingen

• Lisette Hornstra, University of Amsterdam

• Tamara van Gog, Utrecht University