Pathways to Student Motivation: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents of Autonomous and Controlled Motivations.

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 in turn facilitated through need-supportive behaviors from notable others. In this meta-analysis, conducted over 144 studies and more than 79,000 students, we sought to overview pathways to student motivation in order to verify (1) how do psychological needs rank in the strength of their prediction of self-determined motivation and (2) which autonomy-support providers (parents or teachers) are the most relevant for psychological need satisfaction in students and self-determined motivation. Results show that teacher autonomy support predicts students' need satisfaction and self-determined motivation more strongly than parental autonomy support. In addition, competence is the most positive predictor of self-determined motivation, followed by autonomy and then by relatedness.

Student Motivation and Associated Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis From Self-Determination Theory.

Student outcomes are influenced by different types of motivation that stem from external incentives, ego involvement, personal value, and intrinsic interest. The types of motivation described in self-determination theory each co-occur to different degrees and should lead to different consequences. The associations with outcomes are due in part to unique characteristics and in part to the degree of autonomy each entails. In the current meta-analysis, we examine these different types of motivation in 344 samples (223,209 participants) as they relate to 26 performance, well-being, goal orientation, and persistence-related student outcomes. Findings highlight that intrinsic motivation is related to student success and well-being, whereas personal value (identified regulation) is particularly highly related to persistence. Ego-involved motives (introjected regulation) were positively related to persistence and performance goals but also positively related with indicators of ill-being. Motivation driven by a desire to obtain rewards or avoid punishment (external regulation) was not associated with performance or persistence but was associated with decreased well-being. Finally, amotivation was related to poor outcomes. Relative weights analysis further estimates the degree to which motivation types uniquely predict outcomes, highlighting that identified regulation and intrinsic motivation are likely key factors for school adjustment.

The tripartite model of intrinsic motivation in education: A 30-year retrospective and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Intrinsic motivation is a well-established concept in psychology, yet, different types of intrinsic motivation have not been thoroughly investigated. We examined covariates associated with three types of intrinsic motivation from self-determination theory (SDT) within the education context: IM to know, IM to accomplish, and IM to experience stimulation. METHODS: A meta-analysis was conducted on samples examining the tripartite model of intrinsic motivation between 1989 and 2019. In total, 78 samples met the inclusion criteria, representing 41,633 participants across multiple nationalities. The average age of participants across samples was 19 years, and 58.2% of participants were female. Path analysis and relative weight analysis were applied to meta-analytically derived correlations. DISCUSSION: Results indicated that IM to know and IM to accomplish were moderately strong predictors of adaptive student outcomes. However, results also indicated a large degree of redundancy including indistinguishable antecedent pathways. IM to experience stimulation was positively, yet, less strongly associated with adaptive outcomes. However, it did appear to be empirically distinct from the remaining intrinsic motivation types in respect to its outcomes and antecedents. CONCLUSION: Intrinsic motivation appears to be a relatively homogeneous construct within educational psychology. Specification of different types of intrinsic motivation is likely to provide only marginal benefit.