Using samples of Chinese middle school students, the 2 experimental studies presented here examined the effects of goal content and goal context on test performance, free-choice engagement, and test anxiety within the framework of self-determination theory. Students' learning goals were induced as intrinsic or extrinsic with the learning contexts…

In the present paper we systematically review the corpus of evidence on the effects of need supportive teaching on early adolescents' motivation and engagement for school. Based on Self-Determination Theory, we define need supportive teaching in terms of teachers' provision of autonomy support, structure, and involvement. The results of an…

This appendix outlines four major dimensions of motivation and how they are defined by major scholars in the field. [For Student Motivation: An Overlooked Piece of School Reform. Summary, which is a summary of the 8 documents that this appendix was created for, see ED532666.] (Contains 4 endnotes.)

The research project signifies two concepts which continually play a significant role in education in the ever changing world. On the one hand, there is a significant approach to language learning called learner autonomy; on the other hand, the dramatic increase of interest in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has affected the education…

Reflection offers an important means to learn effectively from changes induced by the workplace. The authors examined readiness to change and work-related self-determination as preconditions for reflection at work and expected personal initiative--defined as "self-starting" and "proactive behaviour"--to have a mediating effect. The study tested…

This article examines the role of family in vocational education and training (VET) choices, using primary qualitative data collected in the commune of Hung An, Vietnam. The authors demonstrate that, next to issues relating to income, it is family characteristics that are the predominant influence on an individual's choice of the VET track,…

Understanding the prevalence and correlates of decisional autonomy within specific cultural contexts is necessary to fully comprehend how family processes are embedded within culture. The goals of this study were to describe mothers' and fathers' decision-making with adolescents (M = 12.51 years, SD = 0.58; 51% female), including…

Community and campus partners face inherent differences due to their distinct cultures, assumptions, practices, and constituencies. How partners handle the resulting tensions can impact how well the partnership functions. This article introduces relational dialectics as a framework to think about recurring tensions as natural and normal when…

This article examines what both in-service and pre-service trainee teachers learn from their early experience of teaching in further education (FE) colleges in England. Despite differences between in-service and pre-service trainees, that early experience is often characterised by isolation and lack of control over practice for both groups.…

Societal change and prescriptions in curricula demand a change in educational practice. This can create conflicts between practitioners' usual practices (norms) and those prescribed by curricula. One example is the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into preschool practice. Hence, our aim is to analyse how norms are…

We present, in a synthetic way, some of the main findings from five studies that were conducted in the field of empirical bioethics, using the Functional Measurement framework. These studies were about (a) the rationing of rare treatments, (b) adolescents' abortions, (c) end-of-life decision-making regarding damaged neonates, (d) end-of-life…

It is sometimes a difficult journey receiving ethics approval for research involving vulnerable populations, research involving our own children, or innovative research methodologies such as autoethnography. This autoethnographical account is a story about one student who wanted to write a PhD dissertation in a very different way and also the…

This study investigated how Chinese immigrant mothers in the USA make meaning of their parenting styles and practices in rearing their young children (aged two to six). Twelve Chinese immigrant mothers were interviewed. A key finding reveals that the Chinese immigrant mothers' parenting practices reflected the indigenous concept of jiaoyang in the…

The ideal of personal autonomy enjoys considerable support in educational theory, but close analysis reveals serious problems with its core analytical and psychological components. The core conception of autonomy authorizes individuals to employ their imaginations in troubling and unhealthy ways that clash with sound ideals of moral character.…

The current study examined the relationship between belief-based barriers to seeking professional mental health care and help-seeking intentions in a sample of 1037 adolescents. From early adolescence to adulthood, for males and females, the need for autonomy was a strong barrier to seeking professional mental health care. Help-seeking fears were…