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Can Being Autonomy-Supportive in Teaching Improve Students’ Self-Regulation and Performance?

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Building Autonomous Learners

Abstract

Studies have well-documented that autonomy-supportive environment supports individuals’ psychological needs by promoting a sense of volition. With the increasing concerns of students’ well-being and lifelong learning, autonomy-supportive environment has been of increasing importance. Promoting teachers to be autonomy-supportive will facilitate students’ psychological needs and autonomous learning behaviours. Grounded in self-determination theory, the aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of autonomy-supportive intervention in students’ perceived autonomy support, psychological needs, learning strategies and achievement. After the training programme, teachers implemented the 5-week autonomy-supportive intervention in their classes. Questionnaires were used to assess students’ perceptions of autonomy support, basic psychological needs, motivation orientation and use of learning strategies between autonomy-supportive teaching and control groups. Students’ academic achievement was assessed in terms of their grades in mathematics, science as well as design and technology. Results revealed that from pre- to post-intervention, students taught by autonomy-supportive teachers had significant positive changes in perceived autonomy support, needs, self-efficacy, self-regulated learning and grades. Students in the autonomy-supportive condition were also more self-efficacious and autonomous in learning than those in the control condition, as shown by increased achievement. Implications and limitations are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    John Chee Keng Wang, Betsy L. L. Ng & Woon Chia Liu

  2. Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Strathfield, NSW, Australia

    Richard M. Ryan

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  1. John Chee Keng Wang
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  2. Betsy L. L. Ng
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  3. Woon Chia Liu
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  4. Richard M. Ryan
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Correspondence to Betsy L. L. Ng .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Inst of Edu, Singapore, Singapore

    Woon Chia Liu

  2. National Inst of Edu, Singapore, Singapore

    John Chee Keng Wang

  3. Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia

    Richard M. Ryan

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Wang, J.C.K., Ng, B.L.L., Liu, W.C., Ryan, R.M. (2016). Can Being Autonomy-Supportive in Teaching Improve Students’ Self-Regulation and Performance?. In: Liu, W., Wang, J., Ryan, R. (eds) Building Autonomous Learners. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-630-0_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-630-0_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-287-629-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-630-0

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