Research on Self-Determination Theory has shown that teachers' need-supportive behaviour is associated with student motivation and engagement. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an intervention aimed at increasing the motivation of students with congenital and acquired deafblindness by enhancing teachers' needsupportive behaviour. To assess the intervention effect, this study follows a multiple case-study design. Teacher questionnaires were administered and video observations of teacher-student interactions were made during pre-test, post-test and follow-up phases. The results showed that teachers provided involvement most, followed by structure and autonomy support. Teachers' provision of structure and autonomy seems to improve most after the intervention. In general, teachers of students with congenital deafblindness showed larger intervention effects than teachers of students with acquired deafblindness. The results also provide indications that students' levels of engagement improved after the intervention.
Because little is known about teacher-student relationships that involve students with acquired deafblindness, the authors performed a multiple case study with a multiple-method design to investigate the relationship between need-supportive teaching behaviors and student engagement. Using self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), they analyzed video observations of interactions. It was found that teachers' provision of structure, autonomy support, and involvement often cooccurs with higher levels of student engagement. Moreover, varying degrees of need support over time seem to result in varying levels of student engagement. Examples are provided of need-supportive teaching behaviors that can be used to foster the motivation of students with acquired deafblindness.
Introduction Research has indicated that need-supportive learning environments positively influence students’ motivation. According to self-determination theory, a need-supportive learning environment is one in which teachers provide structure, autonomy support, and involvement, and thereby support their students’ psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. In this study, we aimed to explore whether teachers of students with congenital deafblindness provide such an environment and how they adjust their need-supportive teaching to these students. Methods We conducted an in-depth analysis of teacher-student interactions using a multiple-case-study design. We analyzed videos of teacher-student interactions from the perspective of self-determination theory. Results We found that successful need support for this group requires careful adjustments for each individual student. Only if the provision of structure, autonomy support, and involvement is tailored to the student can a positive influence on motivation be noticed. Another important finding is that teachers provide more structure and involvement than autonomy support. Discussion This study showed that need-supportive teaching is important in the education of students with congenital deafblindness. By using video analysis, we were able to point out teaching strategies that led to greater motivation for these students. Implications for practitioners Motivation is a prerequisite for learning, and teachers’ behavior might add to that motivation. This study showed that need support leads to enhanced motivation in students with congenital deafblindness. We provided practical insights that teachers can use to create need-supportive learning environments for these students.
According to self-determination theory (SDT), need-supportive teaching positively influences students' engagement to learn. Need-supportive teaching involves teachers providing students with structure, autonomy support, and involvement. It enables teachers to support students' psychological needs to feel competent, autonomous, and related. Supporting students' needs consequently has a positive influence on students' engagement to learn. Little is known about need-supportive teaching in the education of students with visual impairments. In this study, we used a questionnaire to assess the self-reported provision of need support by teachers of students with visual impairments, the students' perceived need support, and the students' behavioral and emotional engagement. Seven teachers and 48 students filled in questionnaires based on SDT. In general, mean scores were positive. The teachers' mean scores for the need support they provided, the students' mean scores for their perceived need support, and the students' mean scores for engagement all ranged between 3 and 4 on a 5-point scale. The teachers and students scored highest on involvement, followed by structure, and then autonomy support. When looking at scores on an individual student level, we found large differences between students in the same class, which implies that need support requires an individualized approach. Hence, teachers need to be aware of their students' individual needs for structure, autonomy support, and involvement and should adjust their need-supportive teaching accordingly, thereby enabling teachers to have a positive impact on the engagement of students with visual impairments.
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