Abstract
Teachers’ motivation plays an important role in promoting a healthy teaching environment. Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) can provide important insight into the understanding of teachers’ motivation, including the reasons they do their work, continue to teach, experience success, and enjoy what they do. The purpose of this chapter is to review the research on teachers from a motivational perspective, while taking into consideration the role that teachers’ motivation has on their behaviors with their students. More specifically, we examine how contextual factors influence teachers and how their impressions of these factors, their need satisfaction or dissatisfaction, their motivation for teaching, their general motivation, and their psychological and behavioral outcomes are related. As such, this review could inform school administrations by demonstrating why they should take care to ensure that their teachers are supported and having a psychologically sound experience. Since this review focuses on some of the key environmental factors that are relevant to teachers, it provides school administrations some key areas they can work on to promote, within their own organizations, more motivated teaching and better outcomes for both the teachers and students.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Assor, A., Kaplan, H., Kanat-Maymom, Y., & Roth, G. (2005). Directly controlling teacher behaviors as predictors of poor motivation and engagement in girls and boys: The role of anger and anxiety. Learning and Instruction, 15, 397–413.
Assor, A., Kaplan, H., & Roth, G. (2002). Choice is good, but relevance is excellent: Autonomy-enhancing and suppressing teacher behaviours in predicting student’s engagement in school work. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72, 261–278.
Barrow, J. C. (1976). Worker performance and task complexity as causal determinants of leader behavior, style, and flexibility. Journal of Applied Psychology, 61, 433–440.
Bartholomew, K. J., Ntoumanis, N., Cuevas, R., & Lonsdale, C. (2014). Job pressure and ill-health in physical education teachers: The mediating role of psychological need thwarting. Teaching and Teacher Education, 37, 101–107.
Bartholomew, K. J., Ntoumanis, N., Ryan, R. M., Bosch, J. A., & Thogersen-Ntoumani, C. (2011). Self-determination theory and diminished functioning: The role of interpersonal control and psychological need thwarting. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1459–1473.
Bartholomew, K. J., Ntoumanis, N., & Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C. (2009). A review of controlling motivational strategies from a self-determination theory perspective: Implications for sports coaches. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2, 215–233.
Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Carson, R. L., & Chase, M. A. (2009). An examination of physical education teacher motivation from a self-determination theoretical framework. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 14, 335–353.
Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (2002). Handbook of self-determination. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
Deci, E. L., Eghrari, H., Patrick, B. C., & Leone, D. (1994). Facilitating internalization: The self determination theory perspective. Journal of Personality, 62, 119–142.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268.
Deci, E. L., Schwartz, A. J., Sheinman, L., & Ryan, R. M. (1981). An instrument to assess adults’ orientations toward control versus autonomy with children: Reflections on intrinsic motivation and perceived competence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 642–650.
Deci, E. L., Spiegel, N. H., Ryan, R. M., Koestner, R., & Kauffman, M. (1982). Effects of performance standards on teaching behavior of controlling teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 852–859.
den Berghe, V., Cardon, G., Aelterman, N., Tallir, I., Vansteenkiste, M., & Haerens, L. (2013). Emotional exhaustion and motivation in physical education teachers: A variable-centered and person-centered approach. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 32, 305–320.
Dorman, J. P. (2003). Relationship between school and classroom environment and teacher burnout: A LISREL analysis. Social Psychology of Education, 6, 107–127.
Eyal, O., & Roth, G. (2011). Principals’ leadership and teachers’ motivation: Self-determination theory analysis. Journal of Educational Administration, 49, 256–275.
Fernet, C., Guay, F., Senécal, C., & Austin, S. (2012). Predicting intraindividual changes in teacher burnout: The role of perceived school environment and motivational factors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28, 514–525.
Fernet, C., Guay, F., & Senecal, C. (2004). Adjusting to job demands: The role of work, self-determination and job control in predicting burnout. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65, 39–56.
Fernet, C., Senécal, C., Guay, F., March, H., & Dowson, M. (2008). The Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST). Journal of Career Assessment, 16, 256–279.
Flink, C., Boggiano, A. K., & Barrett, M. (1990). Controlling teaching strategies: Undermining children’s self-determination and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 916–924.
Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 331–362.
Garbarino, J. (1975). The impact of anticipated reward upon cross-aged tutoring. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 421–428.
Gorozidis, G., & Papaioannou, A. G. (2014). Teachers’ motivation to participate in training and to implement innovations. Teaching and Teacher Education, 39, 1–11.
Hagger, M., & Chatzisarantis, N. (2007). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in exercise and sport. Leeds: Human Kinetics Europe Ltd.
Jones, R. L., Armour, K. M., & Potrac, P. (2004). Sports coaching cultures: From practice to theory. London: Routledge.
Lowin, A., & Craig, J. (1968). The influence of level of performance on managerial style: An experimental object-lesson in the ambiguity of correlational data. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 3, 440–458.
Mageau, G., & Vallerand, R. (2003). The coach and athlete relationship: A motivational model. Journal of Sports Sciences, 21, 883–904.
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2, 99–113.
Meece, J. L., Anderman, E. M., & Anderman, L. H. (2006). Classroom goal structure, student motivation, and academic achievement. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 487–503.
Noels, K. A., Clement, R., & Pelletier, L. G. (1999). Perceptions of teachers’ communicative style and students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Modern Language Journal, 83, 23–34.
Pelletier, L., Fortier, M., Vallerand, R., & Brière, N. (2001). Associations among perceived autonomy support, forms of self-regulation, and persistence: A prospective study. Motivation and Emotion, 25, 279–306.
Pelletier, L. G., & Patry, D. (2006). Autodétermination et engagement professionnel des enseignants. In B. Galand & E. Bourgeois (Eds.), Se motiver à apprendre (pp. 171–182). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
Pelletier, L. G., Séguin-Lévesque, C., & Legault, L. (2002). Pressure from above and pressure from below as determinants of teachers’ motivation and teaching behaviors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 186–196.
Pelletier, L. G., & Sharp, E. C. (2009). Administrative pressures and teachers’ interpersonal behaviour in the classroom. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 174–183.
Pelletier, L. G., & Vallerand, R. J. (1996). Supervisors’ beliefs and subordinates’ intrinsic motivation: A behavioral confirmation analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 331–340.
Radel, R., Sarrazin, P., Legrain, P., & Wild, T. C. (2010). Social contagion of motivation between teacher and student: Analyzing underlying processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 577–587.
Reeve, J. (2002). Self-determination theory applied to educational settings. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 183–203). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
Reeve, J., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Self-determination theory: A dialectical framework for understanding socio-cultural influences on student motivation. In D. M. McInerney & S. Van Etten (Eds.), Big theories revisited (pp. 31–60). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Press.
Reeve, J., & Jang, H. (2006). What teachers say and do to support students’ autonomy during a learning activity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 209–218.
Reeve, J., Jang, H., Carrell, D., Jeon, S., & Barch, J. (2004). Enhancing students’ engagement by increasing teachers’ autonomy support. Motivation and Emotion, 28, 147–169.
Roth, G., Assor, A., Kanat-Maymon, Y., & Kaplan, H. (2007). Autonomous motivation for teaching: How self-determined teaching may lead to self-determined learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 761–774.
Ryan, R. (1995). Psychological needs and the facilitations of integrative processes. Journal of Personality, 63, 397–427.
Ryan, R. M., & Brown, K. W. (2005). Legislating competence: High-stakes testing policies and their relations with psychological theories and research. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 354–372). New York: Guilford Publications.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54–67.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2009). Promoting self-determined school engagement: Motivation, learning, and well-being. In K. R. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook on motivation at school (pp. 171–196). New York: Routledge.
Sarrazin, P. G., Tessier, D. P., Pelletier, L. G., Trouilloud, D. O., & Chanal, J. P. (2006). The effects of teachers’ expectations about students’ motivation on teachers’ autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviors. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 4, 283–301.
Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Maslach, C. (2009). Burnout: Thirty-five years of research and practice. Career Development International, 14, 204–220.
Sheldon, K., Turban, D., Brown, K., Barrick, M., & Judge, Y. (2003). Applying self-determination theory to organizational research. Volume Research in Personal and Human Resources Management, 22, 357–393.
Sheldon, K. M., & Filak, V. (2008). Manipulating autonomy, competence and relatedness support in a game-learning context: New evidence that all three needs matter. British Journal of Social Psychology, 47, 267–283.
Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (1993). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 571–581.
Sørebø, Ø., Halvari, H., Gulli, V., & Kristiansen, R. (2009). The role of self-determination theory in explaining teachers’ motivation to continue to use e-learning technology. Computers & Education, 53, 1177–1187.
Spittle, M., Jackson, K., & Casey, M. (2009). Applying self-determination theory to understand the motivation for becoming a physical education teacher. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 190–197.
Standage, M., Duda, J. L., & Ntoumanis, N. (2005). A test of self-determination theory in school physical education. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 411–433.
Taylor, I. M., & Ntoumanis, N. (2007). Teacher motivational strategies and student self-determination in physical education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 747–760.
Taylor, I. M., Ntoumanis, N., & Smith, B. (2009). The social context as a determinant of teacher motivational strategies in physical education. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10, 235–243.
Taylor, I. M., Ntoumanis, N., & Standage, M. (2008). A self-determination theory approach to understanding the antecedents of teachers’ motivational strategies in physical education. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 30, 75–94.
Tessier, D., Sarrazin, P., & Ntoumanis, N. (2008). The effects of an experimental programme to support students’ autonomy on the overt behaviours of physical education teachers. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 23, 239–253.
Tessier, D., Sarrazin, P., & Ntoumanis, N. (2010). The effect of an intervention to improve newly qualified teachers’ interpersonal style, students motivation and psychological need satisfaction in sport-based physical education. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35, 242–253.
Vallerand, R. J. (1997). Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 271–360). New York: Academic.
Van den Berghe, L., Soenens, B., Aelterman, N., Cardon, G., Tallir, I., & Haerens, L. (2014). Within-person profiles of teachers’ motivation to teach: Associations with need satisfaction at work, need-supportive teaching, and burnout. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 15, 407–417.
Van Petegem, K., Aelterman, A., Van Keer, H., & Rosseel, Y. (2008). The influence of student characteristics and interpersonal teacher behaviour in the classroom on student’s wellbeing. Social Indicators Research, 85, 279–291.
Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., & Deci, E. L. (2006). Intrinsic versus extrinsic goal-contents in self-determination theory: Another look at the quality of academic motivation. Educational Psychologist, 41, 19–31.
Wang, C. K., & Liu, W. C. (2008). Teachers’ motivation to teach national education in Singapore: A self-determination theory approach. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 28, 395–410.
Wang, M. T., & Holcombe, R. (2010). Adolescents’ perceptions of school environment, engagement, and academic achievement in middle school. American Educational Research Journal, 47, 633–662.
Wild, T., Enzle, M. E., Nix, G., & Deci, E. L. (1997). Perceiving others as intrinsically or extrinsically motivated: Effects on expectancy formation and task engagement. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 837–848.
Wilkesmann, U., & Schmid, C. J. (2014). Intrinsic and internalized modes of teaching motivation. Evidence-Based HRM, 2, 6–27.
Zimmerman, B. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45, 166–183.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pelletier, L.G., Rocchi, M. (2016). Teachers’ Motivation in the Classroom. In: Liu, W., Wang, J., Ryan, R. (eds) Building Autonomous Learners. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-630-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-630-0_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-287-629-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-287-630-0
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)