ERIC Number: EJ892818
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Aug
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0663
EISSN: N/A
Engaging Students in Learning Activities: It Is Not Autonomy Support or Structure but Autonomy Support and Structure
Jang, Hyungshim; Reeve, Johnmarshall; Deci, Edward L.
Journal of Educational Psychology, v102 n3 p588-600 Aug 2010
We investigated 2 engagement-fostering aspects of teachers' instructional styles--autonomy support and structure--and hypothesized that students' engagement would be highest when teachers provided high levels of both. Trained observers rated teachers' instructional styles and students' behavioral engagement in 133 public high school classrooms in the Midwest, and 1,584 students in Grades 9-11 reported their subjective engagement. Correlational and hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed 3 results: (a) Autonomy support and structure were positively correlated, (b) autonomy support and structure both predicted students' behavioral engagement, and (c) only autonomy support was a unique predictor of students' self-reported engagement. We discuss, first, how these findings help illuminate the relations between autonomy support and structure as 2 complementary, rather than antagonistic or curvilinear, engagement-fostering aspects of teachers' instructional styles and, second, the somewhat different results obtained for the behavioral versus self-report measures of students' classroom engagement. (Contains 2 footnotes, 2 tables, and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Grade 9, Classrooms, High School Students, Teaching Methods, Teaching Styles, Learning Activities, Learner Engagement, Professional Autonomy, Personal Autonomy, Public Schools, Grade 10, Grade 11, Teacher Behavior, Classroom Techniques, Likert Scales, Statistical Analysis
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 10; Grade 11; Grade 9; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A