Reciprocal relationships between need-supportive teaching and autonomous motivation for mathematics
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Why do some students thrive in mathematics while others disengage—and what role do teachers play? Whereas most prior research has relied on cross-sectional designs - assuming that teaching unidirectionally influences student motivation, recent work suggests that motivated students may also elicit more supportive teaching from their teachers. Hence, this longitudinal study disentangled the reciprocal relations between need-supportive teaching (autonomy support, involvement, structure) and students’ autonomous motivation and behavioral engagement in mathematics. Data were collected from 3,409 Grade 7 students (166 classes, 27 Flemish schools), with four measurement waves spanning two school years. Students completed validated self-report measures of motivation, engagement, and perceived teacher practices. Cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) and random intercept CLPMs (RI-CLPMs) were used to distinguish between- and within-student effects. Results revealed robust, medium-to-large reciprocal effects between autonomy support and both motivational constructs, especially within school years. Teacher involvement predicted subsequent behavioral engagement, while student motivation and engagement also predicted later teacher involvement. For structure, only limited cross-lagged effects were found, mainly from student motivation to structure. Findings highlight that need-supportive teaching and student motivation may mutually reinforce each other in a positive cycle.
Source: Lirias
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213476396