Motivation of Lower and Higher-Performing Primary School Students: The Role of Perceived Autonomy-Supportive and Controlling Teaching

Abstract

According to self-determination theory (SDT), teachers can support students' motivation by providing autonomy support or thwart their motivation by adopting a controlling teaching style. There are indications that teachers differentiate their autonomy-supportive and controlling teaching toward lower and higher-performing students within the same class. Previous research has shown that the perception of students' autonomy-supportive and controlling teaching relates to the quality of their motivation. However, research using student performance to examine these relationships is scarce. Therefore, this study examined the mediating role of students' perceived autonomysupportive and controlling teaching between student performance and students' (a)motivation. Questionnaires with scales on motivation, amotivation, and perceived autonomy-supportive and controlling teaching were administered to 203 upper primary school students. The results indicated that student performance was modest but positively associated with autonomy-supportive teaching. Autonomy-supportive teaching was positively related to autonomous forms of motivation and negatively to controlled forms of motivation. Significant indirect effects indicated the mediating role of perceived autonomy-supportive teaching. No significant associations were found with perceived controlling teaching. The findings suggested that teachers differentiate in autonomy-support based on students' performance. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.