The present research uses self-determination theory to examine whether autonomous and controlled regulation of performance-approach (PAp) goals would differentially predict educational outcomes and add to the variance explained by the goal strength. Two cross-sectional studies among 10th to 12th grade students supported this hypothesis but showed that when regulations of PAp goals were entered into the same regression equation with the PAp goal strength, the PAp goal strength no longer predicted outcomes. Study 2 examined perfectionism in relation to PAp goals and types of regulation, thereby showing that whereas adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism were both positively related to PAp goals, adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism were associated with autonomous and controlled regulations, respectively. Finally, path modeling indicated that autonomous and controlled regulations of PAp g...

In this article we will discuss how teachers, principals, student counselors, and other professionals in education, can enhance the quantity and the quality of students' motivation by affecting what students are motivated for (i.e., their academic achievement goals) and the reasons why they strive to reach those goals. Based on Achievement goal theory and on Selfdetermination theory we will discuss these qualitative differences in students' motivation and we will explain why teachers should create a learning environment that fosters these more optimal types of motivation.

In this article we will discuss how teachers, principals, student counselors, and other professionals in education, can enhance the quantity and the quality of students' motivation by affecting what students are motivated for (i.e., their academic achievement goals) and the reasons why they strive to reach those goals. Based on Achievement goal theory and on Selfdetermination theory we will discuss these qualitative differences in students' motivation and we will explain why teachers should create a learning environment that fosters these more optimal types of motivation.

In this article we will discuss how teachers, principals, student counselors, and other professionals in education, can enhance the quantity and the quality of students' motivation by affecting what students are motivated for (i.e., their academic achievement goals) and the reasons why they strive to reach those goals. Based on Achievement goal theory and on Selfdetermination theory we will discuss these qualitative differences in students' motivation and we will explain why teachers should create a learning environment that fosters these more optimal types of motivation.

We used an achievement goal framework to study the role of motivation in the academic context of a Peruvian sample of 8 th to 10 th grade high school students (N = 1505). The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between students' achievement goals, their use of learning strategies and their academic achievement. Multiple Hierarchical Regressions Analyses identified, as predicted, positive effects of mastery goals, including more use of learning strategies and higher academic achievement, and negative effects of performance avoidance goals, including lower academic achievement. Mixed results were found for pursuing performance approach goals, which predicted a greater use of learning strategies, but were unrelated to academic achievement. The present findings support the external validity of achievement goal theory in a sample of students from a culture th...

In this article we will discuss how teachers, principals, student counselors, and other professionals in education, can enhance the quantity and the quality of students' motivation by affecting what students are motivated for (i.e., their academic achievement goals) and the reasons why they strive to reach those goals. Based on Achievement goal theory and on Selfdetermination theory we will discuss these qualitative differences in students' motivation and we will explain why teachers should create a learning environment that fosters these more optimal types of motivation.

In order to understand and predict students' achievement and persistence at learning activities, many contemporary motivational models consider how much students are motivated for their school work. However, students' achievement and persistence might not only be affected by their amount of study motivation, but also by the motivation to engage in competing alternative activities, as suggested three decades ago by Atkinson and Birch in their "Dynamics of Action " (1970). Building on this line of theorizing, the present contribution indicates that it is not only instructive to consider the level of students' motivation for these competing activities, but also the type of activities they engage in, that is leisure vs. working activities. Two studies demonstrated that whereas time spent on working activities is inversely related to study motivation, attitude, persistence and academic achiev...

Autonomy-supportive parenting yields manifold benefits. To gain more insight into the family-level dynamics involved in autonomy-supportive parenting, the present study addressed three issues. First, on the basis of self-determination theory, we examined whether mothers’ satisfaction of the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness related to autonomy-supportive parenting. Second, we investigated maternal autonomy support as an intervening variable in the mother–child similarity in psychological need satisfaction. Third, we examined associations between autonomy-supportive parenting and autonomy-supportive sibling interactions. Participants were 154 mothers (M age = 39.45, SD = 3.96) and their two elementary school-age children (M age = 8.54, SD = 0.89 and M age = 10.38, SD = 0.87). Although mothers’ psychological need satisfaction related only to maternal auton...

This study examined the mediating role of need-related experiences in the relation between need supportive and need thwarting parenting, positive and negative affect and grades among 304 high school students (M age = 14.91; SD age = 0.91; 53% female) from a Peruvian private school. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and considering latest empirical findings, a dual pathway, involving a bright and dark path, was hypothesized with need satisfaction and frustration mediating the relation from, respectively, need supportive parenting to positive affect and grades and from need thwarting parenting to negative affect. Using structural equation modeling we found evidence for the proposed mediation model, with the exception that academic achievement was predicted directly by parental need support. The present results highlight the importance of fostering students’ psychologica...