Browsing by Subject "Self-determination"

Now showing 1 - 13 of 13

Autonomy and agentic engagement among first-generation college students : exploring resources for psychological need satisfaction
(2019-05-07) Freeman, Jennifer Lynn; Schallert, Diane L.
Previous research has demonstrated that higher education creates distinct challenges to first-generation students’ well-being and motivation in university. Amid growing interest in psychological interventions to support first-generation students’ well-being in college, this study used the self-determination theory of basic needs as a framework to examine these students’ resources and strategies. Previous research within this framework has emphasized teaching practices to boost student engagement through support for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. However, much remains to be explored regarding students’ active role in need fulfillment and agentic efforts to reshape their learning environments. Beliefs and strategies regarding self-determination have also been linked to orientations toward autonomy satisfaction as asserted (self-reliant) or assisted (reliant on supportive environments and relationships). This study sought to extend our understanding of how inner and environmental resources intertwine in first generation students’ active pursuit of psychological well-being. First-generation students (n=212) were surveyed regarding their beliefs, perceived resources for psychological need satisfaction in college, and agentic engagement. This mixed-method study integrated findings from correlation and regression analyses, used to examine associations between student beliefs, perceived need support, and agentic engagement, with findings from the analysis of qualitative responses regarding students’ salient experiences of need satisfaction or frustration in college. Results demonstrate that first-generation students’ interdependent motives for college may coincide with either asserted or assisted orientations toward experiencing autonomy, but only an assisted orientation was linked to significantly greater overall satisfaction in college. However, alongside supportive teacher practices, the orientation toward asserted autonomy predicted increased agentic engagement in college classes. Participant narratives highlighted how environments and relationships in college life also were connected with first-generation students’ proactive efforts to fulfill their psychological needs. This research develops an understanding of how the college environment, instructors, and learners’ own agentic efforts help nurture first-generation students’ inner motivational resources.
Barriers present in the culture of special education and their influence on family determination development
(2015-05) Roth, Melanie Jane; Flower, Andrea L.; Pazey, Barbara
Thirteen qualitative studies that included direct quotes of participants were reviewed and analyzed to determine the barriers present in special education culture and how the barriers influence the development of family determination and the successful transition of families and their children out of the education system. It was concluded that barriers present were conflicting definitions, mistrust of educators and families, and withholding social capital from the others. It was further concluded that the barriers influenced family determination by preventing the families from contributing to meetings and fostering professional’s misinterpretations of family determination. Implications for future practice, recommendations of future research, and limitations of the meta-synthesis were included.
Consumer engagement and relationship building in social media : the effects of consumer self-determination and social relatedness
(2014-08) Kim, Eunice Eun-Sil; Drumwright, Minette E.; Choi, Sejung Marina
With the continuing growth of consumer participation in brand activities in social media, social media marketers and researchers have sought to tap into consumer engagement and relationship building by creating interpersonal social media environments that can facilitate consumers’ sense of belonging or social relatedness. Although consumer engagement and relationship building have become mainstream research topics in social media, little is known about which marketing efforts brands should undertake in order to engage various consumers who have different motivations to engage with brands. The purpose of this research was to explore the mechanism by which consumer motivations and perceptions of social relatedness influence consumer engagement and relationship building in the context of social media. Three studies were conducted to examine whether the extent to which consumers’ experience of social relatedness in social media moderates the effects of self-determination on consumer engagement (i.e., intrinsic motivation and future intention) and relational outcomes (i.e., satisfaction, affective commitment, control mutuality, competence trust, and benevolence/integrity trust). The findings consistently showed that consumers’ perceptions of the social relatedness they experienced within social media moderated the effect of self-determination on intrinsic motivation and affective commitment. Specifically, the positive influence of social relatedness on consumers’ intrinsic motivation and affective commitment to brand activities was greater for consumers with a low level of self-determination than for those who were motivated by a high level of self-determination. Consumers with low levels of self-determination yielded greater intrinsic motivation and affective commitment when they experienced high perceived social relatedness than when they perceived low perceived relatedness. However, among brand followers in social media, the consumer self-determination × social relatedness interaction effects on the relational outcomes were greater for those who were high in self-determination than for those who were low in self-determination. Overall, this research highlights the importance of fulfilling consumers’ need for social relatedness in the context of social media, especially for those who are motivated to engage in brand activities via external factors. Further, findings of this research yield insights into segmenting consumers based on the level of consumer self-determination and consumer type.
Data Mountain : self-monitoring, goal setting, and motivation training to improve the oral reading fluency of struggling readers in the elementary grades
(2019-05) Didion, Lisa Anne; Toste, Jessica; McMaster, Kristen; Roberts, Gregory; Falcomata, Terry; Clemens, Nathan
Students with and at-risk for reading disabilities (RD) are performing well below proficient level cutoffs on assessments of reading achievement (National Center for Education Research [NCES], 2017) and this has been the trend for the past two decades (NCES, 2017; Fuchs, Fuchs, & Vaughn, 2014; Vaughn & Wanzek, 2014). In particular, students with and at-risk for RD struggle with reading fluency, a foundational reading skill interconnected with other skills critical to reading proficiency, such as comprehension (Algozzine, Marr, Kavel, & Dugan, 2009; National Reading Panel, 2000). Typically, oral reading fluency (ORF) is targeted with repeated reading practices and few alternative approaches have been researched. Data Mountain is a program that includes components related to self-determination (i.e., self-monitoring, goal setting, positive attributions) and has shown promise in enhancing struggling readers’ oral reading fluency (Didion & Toste 2019; Didion, Toste, & Benz, 2019). The present study tested the effects of Data Mountain on the ORF of 83 students with and at risk for RD (47% female) in 2nd through 5th grades (M = 9.97 years; SD = 1.23). A randomized controlled trial design assigned students to one of three conditions: Data Mountain delivered in small groups (DM-G), Data Mountain delivered individually (DM-I), or a reading practice only comparison condition. The two treatment conditions allowed for comparison of program dosage; in a small group, students have additional opportunity for relatedness (i.e., feeling connected to others in social settings; Deci & Ryan, 2012) and peer modeling (Chard, Vaughn, & Tyler, 2002). Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was employed to examine differences in ORF growth across conditions. Moderating effects of grade-level, pretest performance, and English learner (EL) status were tested. Results indicated that treatment students, combined DM-G and DM-I conditions, read an average of 31 more words correct per minute than comparison students at the end of the study. Additionally, Data Mountain students growth rate was twice that of comparison students. There were no statistically significant differences between delivery formats or moderating effects of grade-level, pretest fluency performance, or EL status. The generalizability possibilities of the Data Mountain program across academic disciplines and behaviors are extensive. The transferable possibilities of Data Mountain to be an effective means to provide students with an opportunity to learn self-determination skills and improve ORF, while simultaneously progress monitoring struggling learners is significant to the field of special education
Digital engagement and ad avoidance : the role of basic psychological needs in augmenting skippable ad effect
(2020-06-26) Kim, Sujin, M.A.; Atkinson, Lucinda; Stephens, Keri; Drumwright, Minnette; Scheinbaum, Angeline
In response to consumer demand and constantly evolving digital technologies, advertisers are adopting diverse interactive advertising formats. Despite its popularity and advertisers’ growing reliance on interactive formats, relatively little is known about which technology features in interactive ads increase consumer-brand engagement. Notably, the academic literature has not said much about the underlying psychological mechanisms by which consumer’s motivational factors promote this engagement. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to understand the underlying psychological mechanism of consumer's digital engagement with interactive ads. This dissertation focused on two digital ad features: skip ad button and social plugin. In particular, building upon Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan 2000; 2012), this research highlights the importance of fulfilling consumers’ basic psychological needs such as controllability (self-determination) as well as enhancing social influence in augmenting intrinsic motivations to engage in the digital ad, thereby increasing ad effectiveness. Additionally, this research proposes the conceptual framework of digital engagement.
Establishing criteria for meaningful student involvement in the IEP process : a review of the literature
(2014-08) McMillan, Catherine Frances; Sorrells, Audrey McCray
Federal policies and laws as well as research in the area of self-determination have encouraged meaningful student involvement in the IEP process for over twenty years. Active student involvement in the IEP process allows for students to practice important self-determination skills in an applied setting and to be meaningful participants in their education. The purpose of this literature review is to establish what constitutes meaningful student involvement in the IEP process and identify evidence-based practices for increasing meaningful student involvement.
Exploring the relationships between self-determination, willingness to disclose, and attitudes towards requesting accommodations in self-disclosure decisions of university students with learning disabilities
(2012-08) Cole, Emma Victoria; Cawthon, Stephanie W.; Emmer, Edmund T.; Falbo, Toni L.; Tharinger, Deborah J.; Way, Pamela j.
The number of students with learning disabilities (SLD) at post-secondary institutions continues to grow. Research has found that SLD who use accommodations at their post-secondary institution are more successful in university than those who do not. Yet, research suggests that SLD do not request accommodations at expected levels. Disability self-disclosure is important to SLD because they need to self-disclose their disability to university personnel to obtain accommodations. The reasons for lower levels of self-disclosure by SLDs to university personnel remain unclear. Self-determination, attitudes towards requesting accommodations, and level of self-disclosure (i.e., psychological factors) has individually been identified as possible factors that affect disability disclosure. To date, no study has investigated the effects of these factors on SLD disability disclosure in higher education. This study’s purpose was to investigate differences in psychological factors between two SLD disclosure groups (i.e., no disclosure and university and classroom disclosure). In addition, the study examined what factors SLDs consider when deciding if they will self-disclose their disability to university personnel. To achieve these goals, 31 undergraduate students with learning disabilities completed a mixed methods study comprised of quantitative scales and a qualitative interview. The Self-Disclosure Scale, the Attitudes Towards Requesting Accommodations Scale, and the Revised Self-Disclosure Scale were utilized to measure psychological factors. A 30 minute semi-structured interview was administered to 15 participants to further explore what factors SLD take into consideration when making self-disclosure decisions. Results indicate that the total scores on the Attitude Towards Requesting Accommodations scale, Self-Determination Scale, and the Self-Disclosure Scale were significantly different between self-disclosure groups. Data from student interviews uncovered nine factors that seemed to influence SLDs’: (a) decision to disclose and (b) how deeply they disclosed. Four key qualitative findings that arose from this study were: (a) all SLD report having extensive academic difficulty; (b) students who do not disclose seem to rely solely on informal compensating mechanisms rather than formal accommodations; (c) even in favorable circumstances SLDs may not wish to disclose their disability; and (d) SLD experiences with faculty seem to influence why some students disclose more deeply while other students disclose at a surface level.
The impact of teaching self-determination skills on the on-task and off-task behaviors of students with emotional and behavioral disorders
(2010-08) Kelly, John R., 1950-; Shogren, Karrie Ann, 1980-; Rieth, Herbert J.; Wilkinson, Cheryl Y.; Whittaker, Tiffany A.; Patton, Jim; Flower, Andrea
Historically, youth with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have experienced higher rates of absenteeism, lower grade point averages, and higher course failure than their non-disabled peers; as a result, students with EBD are at significant risk of school failure, dropping out of school, and experiencing poor life outcomes. Emerging literature suggests that teaching self-determination to students with EBD may be an effective strategy to address the in-school and post-school challenges faced by youth with EBD. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of teaching self-determination on adolescents with EBD's on- and off-task behavior, grades, progress towards self-selected goals, and global self-determination. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) was implemented with four high school students with EBD between the ages of 14 and 16 years who were having difficulty meeting classroom behavioral expectations in two general education classrooms. The SDLMI teaches key components of self-determination, is suitable for diverse students, and is compatible with major academic content areas. Twelve lessons were taught as a separate curriculum individually to each participant. The entire study took 25-weeks, between October and April, to complete. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to examine the functional relation between SDLMI intervention and the on- and off-task behaviors of high school students with EBD. The results showed that all four students significantly increased on-task behaviors and decreased off-task behaviors and all four participants maintained the increase of on-task behaviors and the decrease of off-task behaviors after the intervention was withdrawn. Moreover, all four students made progress towards their goal of implementing on-task behavior in the classroom and generalized on-task behavior to a second general education classroom. However, data regarding the impact on students' grades and self-determination were inconclusive. The study provides evidence of effective self-determination instruction that supports students to improve their behavior in a general education classroom. It also provides direction for future research exploring the relationship between behavior and academic skills. Contributions to the field, limitations, and implications for practice and future research are provided.
Racially/ethnically diverse young adults with developmental disabilities : lived experiences of self-determination
(2012-12) Jones, Kristen Elizabeth; Sorrells, Audrey McCray
Self-determination is a much researched topic in transition literature. However, very little is known about self-determination experiences in transition-age young adults who are racially/ethnically diverse with developmental disabilities as relates to their home/personal life and school/work life. It is recognized that differences do exist of self-determination by these individuals in various settings but the specifics remain unknown.
Self-determination in context : an examination of factors that influence school performance among African American males in high school
(2008-05) Davis, Leroy, 1968-; Yates, James R.
The purpose of this study was to examine self-determination and achievement motivation as predictors of successful school performance for high school African American males enrolled in an urban Texas school district. The students (N = 108) were placed into two distinct groups: higher-performing and lower-performing African American males based upon the following: (a) Numerical average in core classes taken, (b) performance on the Texas state achievement test, (c) placement in academic classes and programs, and (d) attendance and discipline records. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in which African American males responded to The Needs Satisfaction Scale (Ilardi, Leone, Kasser, & Ryan, 1993; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Gagne, 2003) and The Student Opinion Survey/Education Survey (Murdock, 1993). Tests of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used in this study to measure the mean differences between the two groups in terms of self-determination (autonomy, relatedness, and competence); and achievement motivation (personal motivation, parent encouragement, teacher support, and peer support). The study found statistically significant differences in levels of self-determination and achievement motivation between the two groups. The qualitative segment was used to explore factors that lead to successful school performance for the African American males included in this study. Four themes emerged: (a) parental encouragement and expectations, (b) involvement in extracurricular activities, (c) personal motivation to achieve, and (d) relationships with significant adults. Recommendations are made to replicate this study in school with larger African American student enrollment and in schools with high achievement and high economic levels. Also, the study may be replicated with other ethnic groups who historically have experienced poor school performance.
Stoking the fire : nationhood in early twentieth century Cherokee writing
(2012-05) Brown, Kirby Lynn; Cox, James H. (James Howard), 1968-; Perez, Domino R.; Gonzalez, John M.; Sturm, Circe D.; Justice, Daniel H.
My research builds upon interdisciplinary trends in Native scholarship emphasizing tribal-specificity; attention to understudied periods, writers, and texts; and a political commitment to engage contemporary challenges facing Indigenous communities. My dissertation examines the persistence of nationhood in Cherokee writing between the dissolution of the Cherokee government preceding Oklahoma statehood in 1907 and political reorganization in the early 1970s. Situating writing by John Milton Oskison, Rachel Caroline Eaton, Rollie Lynn Riggs and Ruth Muskrat Bronson explicitly within the Cherokee national contexts of its emergence, I attend to the complicated ways they each remembered, imagined, narrated and enacted Cherokee nationhood in the absence of a functioning state. Often read as a transitional “dark age” in Cherokee history, this period stands instead as a rich archive of Cherokee national memory capable of informing contemporary debates in the Cherokee Nation and Native Studies today.
Students and their mobile devices : using learning motivations to predict specfic types of multicommunicating in class
(2015-05) Pantoja, Gabriel Esteban; Stephens, Keri K.; McGlone, Matthew
This study provides a first look into how learning motivations are associated with different ways that students use technology to carry on multiple conversations--multicommunicate--while in class. I use self-determination theory (SDT) to make predictions linking intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation, to classroom technology use. The resulting models find that intrinsic motivation is associated with students multicommunicating to gain and relay understanding during class. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation explain why students use technology to support others during class. Personal multitasking preferences are linked to why people want to remain available while attending class. Finally, amotivation, teacher perception, and classroom perception is associated with students using technology in ways that are distracting. Being amotivated is not the only reason for students to multicommunicate for class distraction purposes. If a student holds negative perceptions for the teacher or the class, that can lead to a student multicommunicating for classroom distraction purposes as well. This study offers a test of the multicommunicating scale that can be useful for organizational communication. In addition, it opens the door for instructional communication scholars to more closely examine what students are doing when they use technology in class, and invites instructors to consider that some classroom multicommunicating behaviors might be productive for the learning process.
Toward a model of factors influencing teacher self-determination and professional commitment
(2011-05) Sylvester, Breana Jeanne; Svinicki, Marilla D., 1946-; Schallert, Dianne L; Emmer, Edmund T; Cawthon, Stephanie W; Yildirim, Yetkin
Although previous research has examined the relationship of teachers' school context to both teacher motivation and retention (Coladarci 1992; Hoy and Woolfolk 1993; Uline 2008; Skaalvik and Skaalvik 2010), very little research has looked at the role of teachers' professional development experiences to these outcome variables, nor has the role of motivation in the relationship between school contextual factors and teachers' professional commitment been examined. This study tested a model of teacher motivation that measures the relationships of teacher background variables, professional development experiences, and school climate to teacher self-determination and professional commitment. Teacher self-determination was hypothesized in this model to mediate the relationship between these teacher background and contextual variables to teachers' professional commitment. The fit of the model was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling, with a multiple group analysis employed to determine whether significant differences existed between public and charter school teacher participants. Results of this investigation revealed that with some modifications, the proposed model obtained good fit (using multiple fit indices) for both groups, with parameters allowed to vary freely. Due to possible differences between groups in measurement and structural model path coefficients, models for each group of teachers are interpreted separately. Implications of the final models as well as limitations of the study are discussed.