Exploring the Relationships among Perceived Teacher’s Autonomy Support, Motivational Regulations, and Social-Emotional Outcomes

Abstract

The present study examined the relationships among perceived teacher’s
autonomy support, four motivational regulations (external, introjected, identified,
intrinsic), and four social-emotional outcomes (self-efficacy, resilience, test
anxiety, and perceived stress). A total of 130 primary students aged between 10
and 11 (M = 10.36; SD = 0.48) were recruited in Singapore. In particular, the
mediating effects of four motivational regulations in the relationship between
teacher’s autonomy support and social-emotional outcomes were tested using
bootstrapping method. Results of the study indicated that external regulation and
intrinsic motivation were two mediators between teacher’s autonomy support and
test anxiety. Surprisingly, introjected regulation was positively associated with test
anxiety and perceived stress and functioned as a significant mediator between
teacher’s autonomy support and test anxiety and perceived stress. Teacher’s
autonomy support may serve as a potential approach to develop students’ positive
social-emotional outcomes such as self-efficacy and resilience while reduce
negative social-emotional influences such as test anxiety and stress through
activating students’ motivational resources. The present study provides novel
insights into the relationships between SDT and four social-emotional outcomes
by considering the four types of motivational regulation as mediators to investigate
the effects of perceived teacher’s autonomy support on students’ SEL-related
outcomes.