All students come to the classroom with inner motivational resources that, when supported, catalyze engagement, motivation, learning, and achievement. Teachers’ support for student autonomy is an essential tool for enhancing desirable student outcomes; practitioners and policy-makers can promote autonomy-supportive classroom environments. An overview of autonomy support presents core, autonomy-supportive practices: (a) providing choice opportunities, (b) providing rationales, and (c) incorporating student perspectives. Next, we address common misconceptions about autonomy support and consider why practitioners often do not adopt an autonomy-supportive approach. Finally, autonomy support might help to address broader societal challenges, with strategic implications for researchers, educators, and policy-makers.
AeltermanN.VansteenkisteM.HaerensL.SoenensB.FontaineJ. R. J.ReeveJ. (2019). Toward an integrative and fine-grained insight in motivating and demotivating teaching styles: The merits of a circumplex approach. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111, 497-521.
2.
AeltermanN.VansteenkisteM.Van den BergheL.De MeyerJ.HaerensL. (2014). Fostering a need-supportive teaching style: Intervention effects on physical education teachers’ beliefs and teaching behaviors. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 36, 595-609.
3.
AronsonB.LaughterJ. (2016). The theory and practice of culturally relevant education: A synthesis of research across content areas. Review of Educational Research, 86, 163-206.
4.
AssorA.KaplanH.Kanat-MaymonY.RothG. (2005). Directly controlling teacher behaviors as predictors of poor motivation and engagement in girls and boys: The role of anger and anxiety. Learning and Instruction, 15, 397-413.
5.
AssorA.KaplanH.RothG. (2002). Choice is good, but relevance is excellent: Autonomy-enhancing and suppressing teacher behaviours predicting students’ engagement in schoolwork. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72(Pt. 2), 261-278.
6.
BaoX. H.LamS. F. (2008). Who makes the choice? Rethinking the role of autonomy and relatedness in Chinese children’s motivation. Child Development, 79, 269-283.
7.
CheonS. H.ReeveJ.LeeY.LeeJ. W. (2018). Why autonomy-supportive interventions work: Explaining the professional development of teachers’ motivating style. Teaching and Teacher Education, 69, 43-51.
8.
CheonS. H.ReeveJ.LeeY.NtoumanisN.GilletN.KimB. R.SongY. G. (2019). Expanding autonomy psychological need states from two (satisfaction, frustration) to three (dissatisfaction): A classroom-based intervention study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111, 685-702.
9.
CheonS. H.ReeveJ.MoonI. S. (2012). Experimentally based, longitudinally designed, teacher-focused intervention to help physical education teachers be more autonomy supportive toward their students. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 34, 365-396.
10.
CordovaD. I.LepperM. R. (1996). Intrinsic motivation and the process of learning: Beneficial effects of contextualization, personalization, and choice. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 715-730. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.88.4.715
11.
DeciE. L.EghrariH.PatrickB. C.LeoneD. R. (1994). Facilitating internalization: The self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Personality, 62, 119-142.
12.
DeciE. L.HodgesR.PiersonL.TomassoneJ. (1992). Autonomy and competence as motivational factors in students with learning disabilities and emotional handicaps. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25, 457-471.
13.
EcclesJ.MidgleyC.BuchananC.WigfieldA.ReumanD.MacIverD. (1993). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage/environment fit on young adolescents’ experiences in schools and families. American Psychologist, 48, 90-101.
14.
FergusonY. L.KasserT.JahngS. (2011). Differences in life satisfaction and school satisfaction among adolescents from three nations: The role of perceived autonomy support. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 649-661.
15.
FlungerB.MayerA.UmbachN. (2019). Beneficial for some or for everyone? Exploring the effects of an autonomy-supportive intervention in the real-life classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111, 210-234.
16.
GayG. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
17.
GoldhaberD.LaveryL.TheobaldR. (2015). Uneven playing field? Assessing the teacher quality gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. Educational Researcher, 44, 293-307.
18.
GregoryA.SkibaR. J.NogueraP. A. (2010). The achievement gap and the discipline gap. Educational Researcher, 39, 59-68.
19.
HaggerM. S.SultanS.HardcastleS. J.ChatzisarantisN. L. (2015). Perceived autonomy support and autonomous motivation toward mathematics activities in educational and out-of-school contexts is related to mathematics homework behavior and attainment. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 41, 111-123.
20.
HarberK. D.GormanJ. L.GengaroF. P.ButisinghS.TsangW.OuelletteR. (2012). Students’ race and teachers’ social support affect the positive feedback bias in public schools. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 1149-1161.
21.
JangH. (2008). Supporting students’ motivation, engagement, and learning during an uninteresting activity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 798-811.
22.
JangH.KimE.-J.ReeveJ. (2012). Longitudinal test of self-determination theory’s motivation mediation model in a naturally occurring classroom context. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 1175-1188.
23.
JangH.ReeveJ.DeciE. L. (2010). Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 588-600.
24.
JangH.ReeveJ.HalusicM. (2016). A new autonomy-supportive way of teaching that increases conceptual learning: Teaching in students’ preferred ways. The Journal of Experimental Education, 84, 686-701.
25.
KatzI.AssorA. (2007). When choice motivates and when it does not. Educational Psychology Review, 19, 429-442.
26.
KatzI.KaplanA.GuetaG. (2009). Students’ needs, teachers’ support, and motivation for doing homework: A cross-sectional study. The Journal of Experimental Education, 78, 246-267.
27.
KoestnerR.RyanR. M.BernieriF.HoltK. (1984). Setting limits on children’s behavior: The differential effects of controlling vs. informational styles on intrinsic motivation and creativity. Journal of Personality, 52, 233-248.
28.
LepperM. R.CorpusJ. H.IyengarS. S. (2005). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations in the classroom: Age differences and academic correlates. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97, 184-196.
29.
LeslieS.-J.CimpianA.MeyerM.FreelandE. (2015). Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines. Science, 347, 262-265.
30.
McDonoughI. K. (2015). Dynamics of the black–white gap in academic achievement. Economics of Education Review, 47, 17-33.
31.
MouratidisA. A.VansteenkisteM.SideridisG.LensW. (2011). Vitality and interest–enjoyment as a function of class-to-class variation in need-supportive teaching and pupils’ autonomous motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103, 353-366.
32.
National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2004). Engaging schools: Fostering high school students’ motivation to learn. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
33.
National Science Foundation. (2017). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering: 2017 (Special Report NSF 17-310). Arlington, VA. Retrieved from www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/
34.
PatallE. A.CooperH.RobinsonJ. C. (2008). The effects of choice on intrinsic motivation and related outcomes: A meta-analysis of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 270-300.
35.
PatallE. A.CooperH.WynnS. R. (2010). The effectiveness and relative importance of choice in the classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 896-915.
36.
PatallE. A.DentA. L.OyerM.WynnS. R. (2013). Student autonomy and course value: The unique and cumulative roles of various teacher practices. Motivation and Emotion, 37, 14-32.
37.
PatallE. A.SteingutR. R.FreemanJ. L.PituchK. A.VasquezA. C. (2018a). Gender disparities in students’ motivational experiences in high school science classrooms. Science Education, 102, 951-977.
38.
PatallE. A.SteingutR. R.VasquezA. C.TrimbleS. R.PituchK. A.FreemanJ. L. (2018b). Daily autonomy supporting or thwarting and students’ motivation, engagement, and disaffection in the high school science classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110, 268-288.
39.
PatallE. A.SylvesterB. J.HanC. W. (2014). The role of competence in the effects of choice on motivation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 50, 27-44.
40.
PatallE. A.VasquezA. C.SteingutR. R.TrimbleS. S.PituchK. A. (2017). Supporting and thwarting autonomy in the high school science classroom. Cognition and Instruction, 35, 337-362.
41.
PelletierL. G.Seguin-LevesqueC.LegaultL. (2002). Pressure from above and pressure from below as determinants of teachers’ motivation and teaching behaviors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 186-196.
42.
ReardonS. F. (2013). The widening income achievement gap. Educational Leadership, 70, 10-16.
43.
ReeveJ. (2009). Why teachers adopt a controlling motivating style toward students and how they can become more autonomy supportive. Educational Psychologist, 44, 159-178.
44.
ReeveJ. (2013). How students create motivationally supportive learning environments for themselves: The concept of agentic engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 579-595.
45.
ReeveJ.CheonS. H. (2016). Teachers become more autonomy supportive after they believe it is easy to do. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 22, 178-189.
46.
ReeveJ.JangH.CarrellD.JeonS.BarchJ. (2004). Enhancing students’ engagement by increasing teachers’ autonomy support. Motivation and Emotion, 28, 147-169.
47.
ReeveJ.JangH.HardreP.OmuraM. (2002). Providing a rationale in an autonomy-supportive way as a strategy to motivate others during an uninteresting activity. Motivation and Emotion, 26, 183-207.
48.
RoordaD. L.KoomenH. M. Y.SpiltJ. L.OortF. J. (2011). The influence of affective teacher-student relationships on students’ school engagement and achievement: A meta-analytic approach. Review of Educational Research, 81, 493-529.
49.
RyanR. M.ConnellJ. P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 749-761.
50.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation development and wellness. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
51.
ShumowL.SchmidtJ. A. (2013). Academic grades and motivation in high school science classrooms among male and female students: Associations with teachers’ characteristics, beliefs, and practices. Journal of Education Research, 7, 53-71.
52.
SoenensB.VansteenkisteM. (2005). Antecedents and outcomes of self-determination in 3 life domains: The role of parents’ and teachers’ autonomy support. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34, 589-604.
53.
SolomonD.BattistichV.HomA. (1996). Teacher beliefs and practices in schools serving communities that differ in socioeconomic level. The Journal of Experimental Education, 64, 327-347.
54.
SteingutR. R.PatallE. A.TrimbleS. S. (2017). The effect of rationale provision on motivation and performance outcomes: A meta-analysis. Motivation Science, 3, 19-50.
55.
SuY. L.ReeveJ. (2011). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of intervention programs designed to support autonomy. Educational Psychology Review, 23, 159-188.
56.
TaylorG.JungertT.MageauG. A.SchattkeK.DedicH.RosenfieldS.KoestnerR. (2014). A self-determination theory approach to predicting school achievement over time: The unique role of intrinsic motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 39, 342-358.
57.
TessierD.SarrazinP.NtoumanisN. (2010). The effect of an intervention to improve newly qualified teachers’ interpersonal style, students’ motivation and psychological need satisfaction in sport-based physical education. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35, 242-253.
58.
TuckerC. M.ZaycoR. A.HermanK. C.ReinkeW. M.TrujilloM.CarrawayK.. . . IveryP. D. (2002). Teacher and child variables as predictors of academic engagement among low-income African American children. Psychology in the Schools, 39, 477-488. doi:10.1002/pits.10038
59.
UllucciK.SpencerJ. (2008). Unraveling the myths of accountability: A case study of the California high school exit exam. The Urban Review, 41(2), Article 161.
60.
VansteenkisteM.AeltermanN.De MuynckG. J.HaerensL.PatallE.ReeveJ. (2018). Fostering personal meaning and self-relevance: A self-determination theory perspective on internalization. The Journal of Experimental Education, 86, 30-49.
61.
VansteenkisteM.SierensE.GoossensL.SoenensB.DochyF.MouratidisA.. . . BeyersW. (2012). Identifying configurations of perceived teacher autonomy support and structure: Associations with self-regulated learning, motivation and problem behavior. Learning and Instruction, 22, 431-439.
62.
VansteenkisteM.SimonsJ.LensW.SheldonK. M.DeciE. L. (2004). Motivating learning, performance, and persistence: The synergistic effects of intrinsic goal contents and autonomy-supportive contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 246-260.
63.
WangM.-T.DegolJ. L. (2017). Gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM): Current knowledge, implications for practice, policy, and future directions. Educational Psychology Review, 29, 119-140.
64.
YeagerD. S.Purdie-VaughnsV.GarciaJ.ApfelN.BrzustoskiP.MasterA.. . . CohenG. L. (2014). Breaking the cycle of mistrust: Wise interventions to provide critical feedback across the racial divide. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143, 804-824.
65.
Zimmer-GembeckM. J.CollinsW. A. (2003). Autonomy development during adolescence. In AdamsG. R.BerzonskyM. (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of adolescence (pp. 175-204). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
