When we are young, we are often asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This question is challenging for many to answer. When we are young, our idea of what we can be is often based on what we know given our short life experiences or occupations held by those close to us or where we grow up, such as a teacher, nurse, farmer,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of basic psychological need satisfaction and motivation on students' use of deep and surface learning strategies across undergraduate kinesiology courses. This study used a survey consisting of demographic questions and three self-report questionnaires assessing basic need satisfaction,…

Background: Consistent with self-determination theory (SDT), teachers may differ in the motivating style used to motivate students in physical education (PE). When relying on need-supportive behaviors, teachers attempt to provide students with opportunities for choices and initiative (autonomy support), valuable information and feedback…

Students' self-determined motivation (acting out of interest, curiosity, and abiding values) is associated with higher academic well-being, persistence, and achievement. Self-determination theory posits that self-determined motivation is dependent on the satisfaction of three psychological needs (relatedness, competence, and autonomy), which are…

As lack of interaction has been cited as a central reason for reduced academic motivation during online learning and given gratitude's crucial role in forming and maintaining interpersonal relationships, this study examined the association between gratitude and academic motivation. Recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses have found…

The purpose of this mixed methods phenomenological study was to explore undergraduate students' experiences of academic probation by examining changes or stabilities in the quality of their motivation and students' basic psychological needs, i.e., autonomy, competency, and relatedness, using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as the theoretical…

Gamification is a promising method proposed to solve the motivational problems of online learners and enhance their performance. However, the evidence regarding why and how gamification might work and its effects on these outcomes is inconclusive. In order to provide more evidence to the ongoing discussion in the gamification field, the current…

Objective: Grounded in goal content theory, this study tested two mediation models that examined the direct and indirect effects of intrinsic and extrinsic goals on exercise participation and subjective vitality in college freshmen. Methods: Participants were 181 college freshmen (M[subscript age] = 18.12 years) who completed an online survey that…

Purpose: Due to the incredible criticisms by scholars of the excessive use of social media networks, this study aims to explore students' motivation for social media use (SMU) and its effects on academic performance (AP) in the light of uses and gratification theory. Design/methodology/approach: Using the simple random and snowball sampling…

Students' adaptive motivation to study tends to decrease over time. However, the reasons for this decline are not fully understood. Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), we investigated whether changes in teachers' motivating style and students' associated need-based experiences could explain the motivational decline documented in the…

All over the world, educational science outreach programs in which students can perform laboratory work have been developed. A common goal of these programs is to counteract students' decreasing motivation in STEM education. In Germany, several outreach science labs have been established over the last 20 years. It is assumed that the…

Procrastination is particularly prevalent in the post-secondary student population, with prevalence rates ranging between 70-95%. Students have consistently cited motivation, or a lack thereof, as one of the main sources of their procrastination. One of the most prominent theories explaining motivation is self-determination theory (SDT). Despite…

According to self-determination theory, teachers' autonomy support is an effective approach to motivate students to learn. Longitudinal studies are necessary to clear up the relation between students' perception of teacher autonomy support and students' achievement in mathematics. The present study investigated the effect of teachers' autonomy…

Purpose: The present study investigated the relationship between an empowering motivational climate and pupils' concentration and distraction in physical education, mediated by basic psychological needs satisfaction and by positive and negative affect. Method: The participants were 425 French pupils (M[subscript age] = 15.36, SD[subscript age] =…

Agentic engagement, or attempts to proactively influence instruction, predicts positive classroom climate and students' motivation. As such, it is a potentially effective target for intervention, though causal evidence is limited. This investigation explored whether an agentic orientation could be cultivated through a brief, online intervention…