Learning engagement is malleable to environmental change. An important learning environment created by teacher-student interactions is perceived teacher autonomy support, which may trigger learning engagement directly and/or indirectly by enhancing academic self-efficacy. In this study, we apply a network approach to explore the relationships…

Students' intrinsic motivation to read, which is relevant to all forms of learning, tends to decline throughout secondary school. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), this study examines whether this downward trend is slowed when students perceive greater autonomy support in the classroom. We used large-scale panel data from the NEPS…

The article explores how space for professional agency is structured and used by teachers in collaborative professional development. Taking an ecological perspective on teacher agency and using a case study of with multiple data sets, the analysis identifies two patterns of agentic orientations. The conclusions discuss limitations associated with…

What does it mean to be "good-at-math," and how is it determined? Cobb et al. (2009) defined the normative identity of mathematics classrooms as the obligations that students must meet to be considered good-at-math. Obligations are negotiated between teachers and students through series of bids. Normative identities reveal distributions…

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this study examined trends in depression and the longitudinal impacts of teacher autonomy support and teacher-student relationships on students' depressive symptoms. A total of 1613 Chinese primary school students (48.17% females) and 1397 Chinese middle school students (47.67% females) completed self-report…

Student autonomy is a much discussed topic in educational practice and research. In this study, primary school teachers reported what they do to support the autonomy of their students and students mentioned how they perceived autonomy in the classroom. From the findings of a focus group, consisting of 10 teachers from the upper years, six aspects…

After receiving tenure, experienced teachers may choose to not participate in professional development opportunities. In fact, tenured teachers may only complete the minimum professional development hours required by their school districts. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the factors that motivated tenured…

This case study examines features and processes of a sixth grade teacher (Jane) utilizing text sets as a tool for facilitating critical thinking. Jane's strong vision and student-centered beliefs informed her use of various texts to teach language arts as she worked to address demands of the Common Core State Standards. Text sets promoted multiple…

Purpose: This article examined the relevance of teacher autonomy support [TAS] among Thai students. It is based on a study conducted to compare the effects of TAS on motivation among Thai students. The issue of motivation among Asian students has invited controversy as few cross-cultural relativists have claimed that Asian students get motivated…

School districts throughout the United States are increasingly providing greater autonomy to local public (non-charter) school principals. In 2005-06, Chicago Public Schools initiated the Autonomous Management and Performance Schools program, granting academic, programmatic, and operational freedoms to select principals. This paper provides…

The authors focused on 1 middle-grades mathematics teacher's identity and her efforts to implement standards-based instructional practices. As professionals, teachers participate in multiple professional communities and must negotiate and manage conflicting agendas. The authors analyze how the contexts of these communities influence the teacher's…

Despite a growing awareness among teachers of the importance of recognizing and valuing a broader range of students' literate resources and experiences, including those that are culturally and linguistically linked, in many language arts classrooms students' literacy practices continue to be marginalized--remaining peripheral to, if not at odds…

This is a mix methods follow-up study in which we reconfirm the findings from an earlier study [Vedder-Weiss & Fortus [2011] "Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(2)", 199-216]. The findings indicate that adolescents' declining motivation to learn science, which was found in many previous studies [Galton [2009] "Moving to…

In this study, I explored the impact of collaboration and capacity building during the design and implementation of a teacher-developed middle grades Language Arts Literacy curriculum. Participants included ten teachers and a literacy coach. We developed skill-based thematic units incorporating identified strategies designed to increase student…

Mathematics teaching and learning are inherently complex practices, and reports suggest that American teachers are not as successful at teaching mathematics as the authors might hope. In this article, the authors explore how a seemingly ubiquitous new technology--the personal audio/video player--just might help teachers improve mathematics…