The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental cross-sectional study was to examine the possible relationship between students' autonomy, students' competence, and student-teacher relatedness, and their performance on ELA and math high-stakes tests. The self-determination theory was employed to guide the study. This study collected…

Policy and practice communities increasingly are emphasizing conceptual, cognitively demanding, and "ambitious" instruction. Within this context, we examine whether such practices serve the needs of students with specialized academic needs. Across upper-elementary classrooms in four districts, we find that exposure to…

Self-determination theory and research suggest that students are more motivated and have higher achievement when teachers support their psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. However, teachers might have difficulty supporting their students' psychological needs if their own psychological needs are not met, which might…