Pathways to Student Motivation: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents of Autonomous and Controlled Motivations
2021/09/11 by Julien S. Bureau, Joshua L. Howard, Jane X. Y. Chong +2 · 352 citations
Psychology · #Autonomy #Competence (human resources) #Curiosity #Deci- #Developmental psychology #Education, Achievement, and Giftedness #Goal theory #Intrinsic motivation #Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports #Need for achievement #Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies #Psychology #Self-determination theory #Social psychology
paper · open access · doi:10.3102/00346543211042426
published in Review of Educational Research 92(1), 46-72 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2021/09/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
Abstract
Students' self-determined motivation (acting out of interest, curiosity, and abiding values) is associated with higher academic well-being, persistence, and achievement. Self-determination theory posits that self-determined motivation is dependent on the satisfaction of three psychological needs (relatedness, competence, and autonomy), which are in turn facilitated through need-supportive behaviors from notable others. In this meta-analysis, conducted over 144 studies and more than 79,000 students, we sought to overview pathways to student motivation in order to verify (1) how do psychological needs rank in the strength of their prediction of self-determined motivation and (2) which autonomy-support providers (parents or teachers) are the most relevant for psychological need satisfaction in students and self-determined motivation. Results show that teacher autonomy support predicts students' need satisfaction and self-determined motivation more strongly than parental autonomy support. In addition, competence is the most positive predictor of self-determined motivation, followed by autonomy and then by relatedness.
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