Teacher Motivational Styles: Impact of Teaching Experience and Grade Level
Nicole Howes, M.S.Ed. & Robert J. Dixon, Ph.D., NCSP
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Teacher autonomy-support fosters intrinsic
motivation in students, which lead to greater levels
of school enjoyment, creativity, academic
engagement, and persistence. Student perceptions
of teacher autonomy-support and intrinsic
motivation decline with age, however the reasons
responsible are less well established. This study will
address this area by examining the motivational
styles of teachers across the elementary, middle,
and high school level using the Self-Determination
Theory. Implications for educators and school
psychologists will be discussed.
Participants:
• 29 (31%) elementary, 28 (30%) middle, and 37
(39%) high school education teachers participated in
the study. Teachers were from a district in
Southwest, Wisconsin.
Demographics:
•Gender: 36% Males, 64% Females
•Teaching Experience in Years: 0-5 (n=10), 6-15
(n=40),16-25 (n=21), 26-35 (n=16), 35+ (n=7)
•Median Split: Low=0-15 years, High=16-35+ years
Instrumentation:
•The Problems in School Questionnaire (PISQ) (Ryan
& Deci, 1981) contains 8 vignettes depicting typical
classroom scenarios. Each vignette has four
different responses and asks respondents to rate the
appropriateness of each response independently on
a scale of 1 (very inappropriate) to 7 (very
appropriate). This questionnaire measures teachers’
motivational style as being either autonomysupportive or controlling in nature using four scales.
•Four qualitative questions were also administered
to obtain a stronger understanding of teachers’
perspectives about student motivation and their use
of motivational strategies.
Introduction
•Research has consistently indicated that student
intrinsic motivation is associated with numerous
benefits, including creativity, academic engagement,
higher self-esteem and persistence. However, it
appears to decline as students progress through
school (Gillet et al., 2011; Ciani et al., 2009).
•The Self-Determination Theory postulates that
teachers have motivating styles that are either
autonomy-supportive or controlling (Deci & Ryan,
2000; Reeve, 2009).
•Teachers with higher autonomy-supportive
motivating styles have been shown to increase
intrinsic motivation, school attendance, and
psychological well-being (Reeve et al., 2009).
•Teachers with higher controlling motivational styles
provide limited classroom choices, pressure students
to think and act in certain ways, and promote
extrinsic motivation (Reeve et al., 2009).
•Hansen (2010) found that high school teachers
adopted a more controlling motivational style as
compared to middle and elementary school teachers.
•The purpose of this study is to determine
differences in teacher motivational styles based on
grade level and experience. This study expands upon
previous research on teacher motivational styles by
providing qualitative questions.
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Results
Alpha for HC=.47, MC=.63, MA=.71, HA=.81,
Total=.82. Individual scale means were calculated
for grade level (see Figure 1). Each scale was then
weighted and combined to find the overall mean for
each grade level, as supported by the authors (see
Figure 2). Higher mean scores indicate a more
autonomy-supportive motivational style. An ANOVA
was conducted to assess if there was a difference
between teachers’ motivational styles as a result of
their level of experience and grade level
assignment. No significant differences in teacher
motivational styles were found for:
•Grade Level Assignment, F (2,88) =.70, p =.50, η =.02.
•Teaching Experience, F (1,88) = 1.07, p =.30, η = .01.
•Interaction effect, F (2,88) = 2.11, p =.13, η = .05.
Qualitative Results
Discussion and Conclusion
• Most participants across all levels indicated
students at the high school level desire more
autonomy and choices in the classroom (n=75).
• Most high and middle school teachers reported
building a positive relationship (n=25), creating
engaging lessons and demonstrating real life
applications (n=20) as their most successful
motivational strategies.
• Elementary teachers reported positive
reinforcement (n=13) and building a positive
relationship (n=11) among their most successful
motivational strategies.
• When asked about the most challenging aspects
of motivating their students: finding the right
motivational strategy (n=28), general apathy
(n=27), lack of family support (n=13), and
outside influences (n=10) were among the
greatest challenges reported across all levels.
Figure. 1 Mean Scale Scores
Mean Score
Method
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
HC
MC
MA
HA
Elementary
Middle
High
Grade Level
Figure 2. Mean Survey Score By Experience
2
Weighted Mean Score
Abstract
1.5
1
Low
High
0.5
0
-0.5
Elementary
Middle
Grade Level
High
•Results indicate no significant differences in
motivational styles as a result of grade level
assignment and teaching experience, which did not
align with previous research that found high school
teachers adopted a more controlling motivational
style compared to middle and elementary teachers.
•Qualitative results indicate that middle and high
school teachers identify building a positive
relationship and incorporating real life applications
to teaching as their most successful motivational
strategies, whereas elementary teachers identify
using positive reinforcement as their most successful
strategy. Further research will need to validate the
effectiveness of these strategies.
•Qualitative results could be used to inform PLCs and
diversify teachers’ understanding and use of various
motivational strategies. Many teachers reported
uncertainty with the interaction of specific
strategies with certain students.
•The main limitations of this study was a small
participant sample across each grade level and
reliability of the High Controlling scale.
•Future research should focus on student perception
of teacher autonomy-support and teachers’ use of
motivational strategies and the impact on student
outcomes.
References
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