Associations between autonomy-supportive teaching, the use of non-academic ICTs, and student motivation in English-language learning

Description

During puberty, children experience an increased need for autonomy in all areas of their lives, including school. However, teachers use different levels of autonomy-supportive teaching strategies, which - building on self-determination theory - might have detrimental effects on students’ perceived competence and - motivation to learn. In this pre-registered study, we investigated whether students could buffer a negative impact of little perceived autonomy support in the English-language classroom on their perceived competence and, consequently, two motivational outcomes (grade aspirations, intrinsic motivation) by using non-academic English-language ICTs in their free time. We calculated several (moderated) mediation models with a Bayesian estimator, using data from N = 1288 Austrian secondary school students who answered three online questionnaires between May 2022 and April 2023. Results showed that perceived competence predicts both types of motivation and is influenced by students’ use of non-academic English-language ICTs. However, the effects of autonomy-supportive teaching strategies depend on which variables are included in the models. Our study therefore highlights the importance of examining several aspects of autonomy-supportive teaching and including variables from outside school to represent the complex environment in which students’ motivation is shaped.

Period	24 Jun 2024
Event title	EARLI JURE 2024: Education and the Need for Dynamic Solutions: Shaping the Future of the Field
Event type	Conference
Location	Sevilla, SpainShow on map