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motivation, basic psychological needs, active methodologies, learning, commitment.
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Llorca-Cano M, Moreno-Murcia JA, Barrachina-Peris J and Huéscar E. Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.144919.1)
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Research Article
Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support
[version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]
PUBLISHED 07 Mar 2024
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Corresponding author:
Miguel Llorca-Cano
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No competing interests were disclosed.
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The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work.
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© 2024 Llorca-Cano M et al.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
How to cite: Llorca-Cano M, Moreno-Murcia JA, Barrachina-Peris J and Huéscar E. Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.144919.1)
First published: 07 Mar 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.144919.1)
Latest published: 07 Mar 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.144919.1)
Introduction
The data and figures published by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training on educational outcomes (MEFP, 2021) position Spain with the highest repetition rate in Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) in the European Union and with an early school dropout rate (not concluding ESO) only surpassed by Malta. The PISA Report (2018) revealed that students with strong attachment to their school received greater emotional support from their families and were less likely to be absent from school.
The analysis of school climate found that most students considers very positive to help their peers, and more than a third said that Spanish teachers waited a long time for classmates to calm down. Students scored higher in reading when they perceived their teachers to be enthusiastic, to show interest in the subject and to enjoying teaching. These data suggest that creating a learning climate in which students feel motivated to complete academic tasks is now a priority for teachers.
Recent studies show the relationship between the autonomy-supportive motivational style and a learning climate that fosters student involvement through its impact on mediators, regardless of the content addressed (Cheon, Reeve and Vansteenkiste, 2020; Gómez Rijo et al., 2023; Niemiec and Ryan, 2009; Reeve and Cheon, 2021; Reeve and Shin, 2020; Ryan and Deci, 2020). Thus, the use of a positive communicative style in class, (e.g. autonomy support), which extols the value of the student’s personal progress and is accompanied by explanations, has been shown to positively predict academic performance and task engagement, as these messages satisfy basic psychological needs (Santana-Monagas et al., 2021, 2022a, 2022b).
Current research on classroom climate is adopting a new perspective supported by a multidimensional or circumplex approach (Aelterman et al. 2019; Escriva-Boulley et al., 2021; Cohen et al., 2022; Moé et al., 2022; Vermote et al., 2020, 2022), with the aim of interpreting more accurately the relationships between oscillations in student-perceived motivational climate and changes in teacher motivational style.
In summary, the circumplex model (Aelterman et al. 2019) adopts a multidimensional structure based on the degree of support or frustration of basic psychological needs and the greater or lesser directivity of the teaching intervention, integrating four major styles. Two of them are on the axis of basic psychological needs (Control and Chaos vs Autonomy Support and Structure) and the other two on the directivity axis (Control and Structure vs Chaos and Autonomy Support). These styles are concretized around eight subdimensions and associated in pairs to the styles: autonomy support (participative and attuned) and structure (guiding and clarifying) on the basic psychological-needs axis, and chaos (waiting and abandoning) and control (demanding and demanding) on the directivity axis (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Circumflex model (Aelterman et al., 2019).
The model has been implemented through the Situations-in-School (SIS) questionnaire (Aelterman et al., 2019), enabling the simultaneous analysis of the effect of the four styles and their adjacencies in different contexts (Burgueño et al., 2023; Cohen et al. 2022; Delrue et al. 2019; Escriva-Boulley et al., 2021; Franco et al., 2023; Van Doren et al., 2023). It also provides evidence that when teacher intervention during instruction is adaptive, learning demands are more effectively met and quality motivation develops (Van Doren et al., 2023).
In this sense, given the affinities between the demands of competency learning and the strategies presented by an adaptive motivational style (Autonomy Support and Structure) (Hamodi, Moreno-Murcia, and Barba, 2018; Moreno-Murcia, Llorca-Cano, and Huéscar, 2020; Moreno-Murcia, Ruiz, and Vera, 2015), it is expected that this approach can help boost the development of students’ competencies, as postulated in the educational system (LOMLOE, 2020). The literature has shown that adequate student functioning in class is related to the optimization of their autonomy, through the support of student autonomy (Pérez-González et al., 2019; Van Doren et al. 2023) and that such functioning requires satisfying the mediators (autonomy, competence, and relationship with others), bringing numerous benefits at all levels (cognitive, behavioural and emotional) (Ryan and Deci, 2020; Tian and Shen, 2023).
Competency-based learning (Bolívar, 2010; Valle and Manso, 2013) emphasizes student involvement in terms of performance or performance requirements, giving relevance to autonomy, reflection, and responsibility. It also emphasizes the importance of the teacher as a mediator or facilitator in the process of acquisition and development of the competencies established in the exit profile (Royal Decree, 217/2022). Thus, since the development of competencies requires the activation of adaptive behavioural patterns, in terms of performances with progressive autonomy, the teacher’s intervention should be adjusted to the demands posed by the process. This involves supporting the student’s autonomy, clarifying, and guiding their learning, empathizing, and providing emotional support (Zang, 2022) to generate a positive classroom climate that stimulates their involvement and, therefore, motivates them to continue learning.
In this direction, Gómez Rijo et al. (2023) conclude that strategies such as the promotion of student participation in the evaluation and the establishment of standards, peer learning, or the design and co-direction of tasks are methodological alternatives that encourage the support of student autonomy in the classroom, as previously demonstrated by other studies (Cheon, Reeve and Vansteenkiste, 2020; Cents-Boonstra et al., 2022; Reeve and Shin, 2020). These findings demonstrate that employing learner-centered methodologies predicts autonomous motivation and improves learner engagement in class (Leo et al. 2020; Tian and Shen, 2023).
However, despite the existing synergies between the autonomy-supportive motivational style and the development of competencies, there are hardly any studies that provide evidence of the impact of an intervention based on the autonomy-supportive motivational style on the development of competencies (Barrachina, 2017; Barrachina-Peris et al., in press). Considering the importance acquired by competencies in the educational profile of 21st-century students (European Commission, 2018; Royal Decree, 2017/2022) and the relevance given to teachers in this process, the present study is proposed. Its main purpose was to test the effect of the motivational style of autonomy support on the development of competencies, Basic Psychological Needs satisfaction and autonomous motivation.
Self-determined motivation
Deci Ryan’s (2000, 2002) Self-Determination Theory (SDT) aims to explain human behaviour through various motivational styles, contextual influences, and interpersonal perceptions. According to SDT, there are three basic psychological needs directly linked to motivation and personal well-being: autonomy, which refers to the level of independence and control that a person experiences over his or her decisions (feeling an active part); competence, related to the ability to feel capable of successfully developing a task (perception of self-efficacy); and relatedness to others, associated with the establishment of socio-affective bonds with peers (developing a group identity) (Ryan and Deci, 2017).
Motivation, according to Ryan and Deci (2017), can manifest itself in different gradients that fluctuate based on the degree of self-determination (intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and demotivation).
In this sense, if a teacher can provide a context that encourages active involvement in decision-making among students, focuses on the process rather than the outcome and acts as a facilitator, students will develop a more self-determined motivational orientation towards the content presented in class (Moreno-Murcia et al., 2012). For this reason, interventions that guide teachers towards improving their interpersonal style are considered fundamental.
Autonomy support
The motivational teaching style can influence the motivation of students during their classes and can be situated along a spectrum ranging from a controlling style to the support of student autonomy (Tessier et al., 2010). Regarding the latter, the aim is to satisfy the three basic psychological needs and consequently, achieve self-determined motivation. On the contrary, extreme control, which relies on pressuring students without their active participation in the process, may lead them to act from a more extrinsic perspective (Cheon and Reeve, 2015; Escriva-Boulley et al., 2018; Fin et al., 2019; Haerens et al., 2015; Reeve, 2010; Yew and Wang, 2016).
There is evidence that using an autonomy-supportive interpersonal teaching style can be an effective trigger for the development of intrinsic motivation, which is the most valuable for learning as it elicits student engagement based on interest, enjoyment, and willingness to learn (Chang et al., 2016; Moreno-Murcia et al., 2012; Ntoumanis and Standage 2009). A teacher’s ability to foster self-determined motivation in their students is crucial for achieving goals set (Taylor et al., 2010). As demonstrated by Reeve (2016), the use of an autonomy-supportive interpersonal style by the teacher promotes a classroom climate in which students become more proactive, d increase their commitment to the task, and take more responsibility in the learning process as they have a more prominent role (Hamodi et al., 2018; Moreno-Murcia et al., 2020).
Competency-based education and motivation
Today, a versatile educational paradigm is emerging, structured around key and life-long competencies (OECD, 2005). A competency is demonstrated when an action results from reflection and the appropriate application of practical skills, knowledge, motivation, values and attitudes required by the task itself (OECD, 2002, 2005). Bolívar (2010) states that the competency-based approach represents a paradigm shift compared to previous models that were based on the fragmentation, accumulation and reproduction of knowledge. Itgives importance to the mobilization of knowledge in a specific context and the autonomy of students to manage their own learning. In this approach, according to Royal Decree 217/2022 of March 19, the role of the teacher is fundamental in the transfer process, as they act as a facilitators of learning by using active, contextualized methodologies, and maintaining levels of motivation in students. Such approach promotes meaningful and functional learning prioritizes the applicability of knowledge, its transfer to different contexts and emphasizes a globalizing and transversal approach (order ECD/65/2015; Bolivar, 2010; OECD, 2005). Even though it has become an entrenched model (LOE, 2006; LOMCE, 2013; LOMLOE, 2020), difficulties are still encountered in its practical implementation (Pérez-Pueyo et al., 2013; Barrachina and Blasco, 2012; Zapatero-Ayuso et al., 2017). In this context of change, there is a need for successful initiatives aimed at the development of key competencies in students. Principles such as self-regulation, autonomy and interaction underlie the competency-based approach and have been widely addressed in the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Deci and Ryan, 2000). Supported by this theory, different studies have described the positive relationship between the interpersonal style of autonomy support and student involvement, interest, and enjoyment in their classes, as well as the development of a favorable classroom climate and more meaningful and functional learning (Moreno-Murcia and Sánchez-Latorre, 2016; Fin et al., 2019; Jang et al., 2016). Research has shown that the nature of teacher optimization on student motivational factors is a crucial factor in improving educational quality and student success (De Jong et al., 2022; Monarca and Rappoport, 2013; Schuster et al., 2021; Hargreaves, 2019).
So far, there have been limited studies that have evaluated the impact of collaborative interventions on key competencies. Additionally, it is also challenging to find studies that analyse the relationship of these competencies with other variables that can predict active and self-determined learning such as the motivational teaching style (Barrachina-Peris, 2017; Moreno-Murcia et al., 2020).
Method
Participants
The sample consisted of 62 Spanish students from compulsory secondary education with ages between 12 and 16 years old (M = 13.61; SD = 1.16). The female to male ratio was 50/50:, female (n = 31) and male (n = 31). They were divided into an intervention group (n = 33), of which 18 were boys and 15 girls, and a control group (n = 29), composed of 13 boys and 16 girls. On the other hand, 12 teachers between 28 and 57 years of age (M = 40.66; SD = 10.50) participated, 58% of whom were male (n = 7) and 42% female (n = 5). The participating teachers were divided into two groups, experimental (n = 7) and control (n = 5).
Measures
Autonomy support. The Situations-in-School (SIS) questionnaire (Aelterman et al., 2019), validated in the Spanish context by Moreno-Murcia et al. (2023) and composed of a total of 60 items, was used. This questionnaire determines the interpersonal style used by the teacher, looking at how the teacher acts in 15 possible situations or scenarios that occur during the sessions and, in turn, 4 ways of acting are presented for each of these situations (one for each teaching style: autonomy support, structure, control and chaos). Therefore, there would be 15 situations with 4 ways of resolution, totalling 60 answers when completing the questionnaire (e.g. for autonomy “When presenting the rules in class, the teacher invites us students to give our opinions about the rules, so that they help us feel comfortable in class”; for control “the teacher tells us students that we must follow them all as he says, even warning us that there will be sanctions if we do not comply”; for structure “the teacher announces his expectations to start cooperating with us”; for chaos “the teacher does not care at all about the rules or our opinions”). It was measured through a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 7 (describes me extremely well). Cronbach’s Alpha for the pre-test and post-test of the different dimensions that make up the questionnaire were as follows: autonomy (.89 and .90), structure (.85 and .88), control (.83 and .88) and chaos (.87 and .90).
Basic psychological needs in the academic environment. The Spanish translation of the Échelle de Satisfacción des Besoins Psychologiques in the educational context (León et al., 2011) by Gillet et al. (2008) was used. This scale consists of 15 items to measure three dimensions: perception of autonomy (e.g. “I have a say in the development of the programs of my subjects.”), perception of competence (e.g. “I often feel that I can do well.”) and perception of relatedness (e.g. “I feel at ease with others.”). Responses are rated on a Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) points. The Crombach’s Alpha of the different dimensions in the pre-test and post-test of the intervention were in: Autonomy (.75 and .76), competence (.77 and .77), and relatedness (.80 and .79).
Academic motivation. The Spanish version of the Échelle de Motivation en Éducation, Escala de Motivación Académica (EMA) by Núñez, Martín-Albo and Navarro (2005) was used. The EMA is composed of 28 items distributed in seven subscales of four items each: demotivation (e.g. “I don’t know why I go to high school and, honestly, I don’t care.”), external regulation (e.g. “Because I want to live well once I finish my studies.”), introjected regulation (e.g. “Because it will help me make a better decision regarding my career direction.”), identified regulation (e.g. “Because when I do well in class I feel important.”), intrinsic knowledge motivation (e. g. “Because my studies allow me to continue learning many things that interest me.”), intrinsic achievement motivation (e.g. “Because of the satisfaction I feel when I overcome difficult academic activities.”) and intrinsic motivation to stimulating experiences (e.g. “Because for me, high school is fun.”). They were preceded by the pre-question “Why do you study this subject?”, and were measured using a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (Does not correspond at all) to 7 (corresponds completely). The consistency of each dimension was for: autonomous motivation (.94 in the pre-test and .93 in the post-test) and for controlling motivation (.78 in the pre-test and .75 in the post-test). Intrinsic motivation to knowledge (.82 at pre-test and .79 at post-test), intrinsic motivation to achievement (.82 at pre-test and .87 at post-test), intrinsic motivation to stimulating experiences (.82 at pre-test and .76 at post-test), identified regulation (.80 at pre-test and .75 at post-test), introjected regulation (.78 at pre-test and .75 at post-test), external regulation (.85 at pre-test and .85 at post-test), and demotivation (.90 at pre-test and .90 at post-test).
Student competences. The “Key Competences Perception Scale” (ECC) developed by Moreno-Murcia et al. (2015) was used, which is composed of 9 items that measure the students’ perception of the acquisition of the different key competences. These items (e.g. “Expressing my ideas and respecting those of others”) are preceded by the previous sentence “What my teacher is teaching me allows me to be able to…”. Responses were rated by means of a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree). The internal consistency of this dimension was .88 in the pre-test and .84 post-test.
Design and procedure
The project was approved by the Project Evaluation Body of the Miguel Hernández University (2017.06.259.E.OEP). This study was developed according to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki; First, the school administration was contacted to explain the objective of the study, and participation was approved through the school council. The parents/guardians of the students were asked for written authorization to participate and the treatment of the data was guaranteed in accordance with the institutional ethical guidelines regarding consent, confidentiality and anonymity. Questionnaires were completed at the beginning and end of the intervention.
A quasi-experimental design was used for sample selection, given that the participants could not be randomly selected because they were previously divided into groups. The sample was distributed into 13 groups, of which 7 had a teacher who followed an intervention model with a motivational style of autonomy support and the remaining 6 did not follow differentiated methodological guidelines.
Before starting the intervention, the teachers of the experimental group were asked to film themselves teaching to evaluate the initial individual motivational style. Subsequently, they received training in an Autonomy Support Intervention Program (PIAA) (Moreno-Murcia et al., 2019a; Huéscar et al., 2022) for 40 hours, which included several face-to-face sessions aimed at understanding the motivational style of autonomy support and being able to transfer it to the context of their classes effectively. The training took place in two phases from October to December and combined face-to-face and virtual teaching. In the former, theoretical seminars were held, interspersed with practical workshops, in which the models and strategies shown in the literature to implement more autonomous styles and differentiate them from controllers were analysed (Niemiec and Ryan, 2009; Reeve 2009, 2016; Reeve and Halusic 2009; Reeve and Jang, 2006; Reeve and Cheon, 2015). Videos in which teachers applied strategies were shown and analysed. The aim was to identify the key points of the strategies presented and to establish consensus on their implementation. Group discussion was used to increase the degree of reliability and validity of the measure among participants. This phase was complemented with synchronous and asynchronous virtual training.
In the second phase, based on the proposal of Moreno-Murcia et al. (2021) and Huéscar et al. (2022), the autonomy support strategies were applied in a graded manner through practical workshops. Thus, the week prior to the implementation of each strategy, the teachers of the experimental group analysed them and wrote examples for their subject, which were reviewed and approved by the group of experts. For training in the autonomy-supportive motivational style, the Measuring Interpersonal Teaching Style (MEID) scale was used (Barrachina-Peris et al. 2022). The same scale was used during the intervention to analyse the motivational style displayed by the participating teachers (control and experimental). Three moments were recorded throughout the intervention: at the beginning, during its development and at the end. According to the literature (Sarrazin et al., 2006; Aelterman et al., 2014; Haerens et al., 2013; Reeve and Jang, 2006), the use of a given motivational style was determined when the teacher oriented a minimum of 80% of his/her classroom interactions to its application. Thus, in the experimental group, 80% of the interactions had to be directed to the autonomy-supportive motivational style (implementing the strategies by giving autonomy) while in the control group, this percentage had to represent the controlling teaching intervention (applying the strategies by encouraging control).
The indicators obtained by each group in the study are show in Table 1.
Table 1. Record of teacher motivational style interactions obtained during the PIAA.
Preliminary analysis
First, to test the homogeneity of the two groups before the intervention, a one-factor analysis of variance was performed. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to verify the internal consistency of each factor. To ensure the homogeneity of all dependent variables, a Levene’s test was performed on the pre-test and post-test. The effect of the intervention was assessed through a 2×2 (group × time) repeated measures analysis (ANOVA). To answer the research questions, a repeated measures ANOVA was conducted with all dependent variables (autonomy supportive style, structure style, controlling style and chaos style; psychological need for autonomy, psychological need for competence, psychological need for relatedness; autonomous motivation and controlling motivation and competencies). Cohen’s d was calculated to estimate the effect size. Data analysis was performed with the SPSS 52.0 statistical package.
Results
To test the homogeneity of the two groups before the intervention, a one-factor analysis of variance was performed, considering as dependent variables (autonomy support style, structure style, controlling style and chaos style; psychological need for autonomy, psychological need for competence, psychological need for relationship; self-determined motivation, controlling motivation and competence) and as a fixed factor (the group), finding significant differences in the controlling motivation variable (p < .05).
Intervention effect
The repeated measures analysis (Table 2) revealed significant differences in the variable support for teacher autonomy in the intervention group, improving in the post-test with respect to the pre-test (p < .05). Autonomous motivation significantly improved in the experimental group (p < .05) in the post-test, as did the basic psychological need for autonomy (p < .05) and relationship (p < .05). In relation to the competencies, the final measure showed a significant improvement in the experimental group (p < .05) with respect to the initial measurement, decreasing its value in the control group. In the control group, significant differences were only obtained in the teaching motivational style variable Chaos (p < .05).
Table 2. Repeated measures analysis and Cohen's d.
| Intervention | Control | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPre | MPost | d | MPre | MPost | d | |
| A. support style | 4.49 | 4.93* | -0.38 | 4.66 | 4.84 | -0.15 |
| Structure style | 5.06 | 5.26 | -0.21 | 5.19 | 5.26 | -0.09 |
| Control style | 3.87 | 3.75 | 0.12 | 4.07 | 4.37 | -0.25 |
| Chaos style | 2.68 | 2.86 | -0.15 | 2.90 | 3.44* | -0.46 |
| Autonomy | 3.65 | 3.97* | -0.41 | 3.50 | 3.56 | -0.06 |
| Competence | 3.84 | 3.94 | -0.13 | 3.80 | 3.83 | -0.03 |
| Relation | 4.20 | 4.31 | -0.14 | 4.04 | 3.90 | 0.18 |
| Self-motivation | 5.11 | 5.61* | -0.49 | 5.07 | 5.06 | 0 |
| Control motivation | 4.17 | 4.41 | -0.26 | 4.81 | 4.64 | 0.19 |
| Competences | 5.16 | 5.72* | -0.52 | 5.38 | 5.30 | 0.07 |
Discussion
The aim of the study was to test the effect of the motivational style of autonomy support on psychological needs, motivation and competence development in secondary school students. The intervention was carried out for three months and included previous teacher training in autonomy support (PIAA). After analysing the data, a generalized positive effect was observed in the experimental group, which supports the initial hypothesis. Thus, students who received their classes through the autonomy-supportive motivational style presented better indicatorss in the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and self-determined motivation, the results being aligned with previous studies (Reeve, 2011; Chang et al., 2016; Conesa et al., 2022; Reeve and Cheon, 2021; Hosseini et al., 2022; Aelterman et al., 2014; Cheon and Reeve, 2015; Trigueros, et al., 2019; Fin et al., 2019; Moreno-Murcia and Sánchez-Latorre, 2016; Yew and Wang, 2016; Barkoukis et al. 2020).
Regarding basic psychological needs, a significant improvement is observed in the autonomy variable, which is important since, according to De Muynck et al. (2017) and Cheon et al. (2020), it acts independently on well-being factors (Baten et al., 2020) and is positively associated with agentic commitment, active participation and persistence in their own learning, producing improvement in the student’s academic performance (Reeve and Shin, 2020) and well-being (Santana-Monagas et al. 2022a). In this sense, the study reveals the importance of adopting a teaching perspective that contemplates the student’s interests and gives them responsibility so that they feel an active part of the development of the tasks, as already pointed out by some recent studies (Cuevas et al., 2018; Cook-Sather et al., 2021; Jiang and Zang, 2021; Reeve and Shin, 2020) reaffirming existing contributions in the literature (Niemiec and Ryan, 2009; Reeve, 2006, 2011, 2016). Although significant improvements on competence and relationship needs were expected in the experimental group, the results obtained could be explained around several factors. Firstly, due to the duration of the intervention and its effects on the teaching behavioural pattern, which could have been insufficient for the teacher to reach a self-regulated mastery of the style (Huéscar et al. 2022), revealing some discrepancies between the perception of the application of the style and reality, as previous studies (Reeve and Jang 2006; Aguado-Gómez et al. 2016) pointed out. In this sense, the studies conducted show the existence of a wide variability around the duration and contents for training in the motivational teaching style (Su and Reeve 2011; Pérez-González et al. 2019) with disparate results in the application of the style. Taking into account the time availability of the intervention and with the aim of facilitating its more effective practical application, the PIAA model was followed (Moreno-Murcia et al., 2021; Huéscar et al., 2022) since it presents a proposal structured in phases that facilitates its application in practice that has demonstrated its validity in the educational context (Moreno-Murcia et al., 2019a). Another factor could be related to the degree of group and social cohesion of the experimental groups and the management performed by the teacher in class through his motivational style. It has been shown that group cohesion is positively related to the satisfaction of basic needs, autonomous motivation and involvement in class (Bosselut et al., 2018) and for this purpose the establishment of task climate and the use of interpersonal styles of support for basic psychological needs are of utmost importance (Leo et al., 2020), since good cohesion has shown its importance in confidence for the resolution of group tasks and collective efficacy, being key in motivational processes (Leo et al., 2021). The factors described above may have influenced the results obtained with respect to the structure and relationship mediators and coincide with the findings of Waterschoot et al. (2019), which highlights the importance of lesson planning so that students feel an active part and are involved in the teaching and learning process.
In relation to the development of competencies, an improvement was observed in the intervention group with respect to the control group. These results coincide with previous studies that showed that active styles improve motivation and the development of competencies (Moreno-Murcia et al. 2020) and that the autonomy-supportive style positively predicts competencies in adolescent students (Barrachina-Peris, 2017; Moreno-Murcia et al., 2015). Therefore, the autonomy-supportive motivational style can become a facilitator of active learning (Reeve, 2006; Reeve and Cheon, 2021), basis on which competency learning is built (Order ECD/65/2015) and competencies are developed (Bolivar, 2010; Royal Decree 217/2022; EU, 2018). The study shows a positive relationship between the autonomy-supportive motivational style and self-determined motivation, which is consistent with the results of other works (Abula et al., 2020; Barkoukis et al., 2020; Fin et al., 2019 and Sánchez-Oliva et al., 2017) that support the transfer of the benefits obtained in class to other personal and social contexts of the student, such application process being a determining factor for the development of competencies (Bolívar, 2010; European Union, 2018).
Framed in SDT (Deci and Ryan, 2000; Ryan and Deci, 2000) the study follows the line of works showing that autonomously motivated students present a greater willingness to put more effort into different tasks and a higher perceived competence (Feng et al., 2019; Mouratidis et al., 2011; Ryan and Frederick, 1997; Vansteenkiste et al., 2018), helping to extrapolate it to different tasks of daily life (Komarraju and Nadler, 2013; Jiang et al., 2019). In this line, Johansen et al. (2023) indicate that an autonomously motivated student is more likely to show emotional engagement that leads them to participate in a more active way in various situations where they have to solve tasks due to involvement and enthusiasm and when a context that supports autonomy is posed, people become actively involved (Ryan and Deci, 2000; Skinner and Pitzer, 2016).
In terms of pedagogical contributions, this study suggests that providing autonomy support in the classroom is fundamental for fostering students’ competencies, thus expanding the practical implications of autonomy support and its relationships with correlates of motivation. Affirming the validity and usefulness of implementing strategies to support autonomy already validated (Huéscar et al., 2022) such as: giving students a choice of content among different possibilities, offering level options within the tasks themselves, favouring participation and cooperative work, promoting a positive climate in class, guiding the student towards the search for answers without facilitating the solution to the problems posed or the use of non-controlling language, etc. When students perceive that their autonomy is supported through an optimal learning climate, they are more likely to mobilize their internal motivational resources and decide to engage voluntarily in the different tasks, thus facilitating their perception of competence (Moreno-Murcia and Barrachina Peris, 2022).
The study has promoted teacher collaboration, revealing it to be a key factor in improving the quality of education in schools. Based on these findings, if similar studies are proposed in the future, the variable teacher collaboration could be further regulated and the impact exerted on the teaching and learning process could be analysed, as pointed out by studies that confirm the positive effect on student academic performance (Hargreaves, 2019; Reeves et al., 2017; Moolenaar et al., 2012; Main and Bryer, 2005; Goddard et al., 2007; Westheimer, 2008), on teacher motivation and satisfaction and the development of innovative practices (Kolleck, 2019; Vangrieken et al., 2015; Vangrieken et al., 2017; Donmoyer et al., 2012).
The study has several limitations. On the one hand, the sample size. Despite having 12 groups and 62 students, an increase in the sample would allow comparison of the results at the trans-contextual level. Another limitation is associated with the duration of the intervention. To improve the reliability of the data, longitudinal studies covering longer periods (one or more school years) are proposed in order to analyse the long-term effect, especially on the development of competencies at the end of the basic education stage (6-16 years). Another limiting factor would be associated with the specific context of the application process of the autonomy support strategies and their supervision, which could have minimized the effect that other factors may have had on the results (time of the course, group cohesion, among others), factors that we suggest should be considered in future studies that delve deeper in this direction.
In conclusion, this study supports the results obtained in previous works and opens lines of future work aimed at applying the motivational style of autonomy support using specific training programs (PIAA). The work has shown that, if teachers are trained collaboratively, the quality of teaching is increased and improvements are produced in the development of competencies in secondary education, satisfying basic psychological needs, improving self-determined motivation. This study is the first to investigate how the implementation of autonomy support in an educational context of adolescent students is related to the different competencies through the promotion of autonomous motivation, making it necessary for researchers to highlight the importance of building optimal learning environments that support student autonomy.
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Llorca-Cano M, Moreno-Murcia JA, Barrachina-Peris J and Huéscar E. Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.144919.1)
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Open Peer Review
Current Reviewer Status:
Key to Reviewer Statuses
VIEW
HIDE
ApprovedThe paper is scientifically sound in its current form and only minor, if any, improvements are suggested
Approved with reservations
A number of small changes, sometimes more significant revisions are required to address specific details and improve the papers academic merit.
Not approvedFundamental flaws in the paper seriously undermine the findings and conclusions
Version 1
VERSION 1
PUBLISHED 07 Mar 2024
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7
How to cite this report:
R. Slemp G and Napier A. Reviewer Report For: Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.158786.r273445)
The direct URL for this report is:
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-273445
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-273445
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in this citation.
Reviewer Report 06 Sep 2024
Approved with Reservations
VIEWS 7
I completed this review with the with a PhD student. We reviewed the article separately, and I include my comments first and their comments after mine:
My comments:
The aim of the present study was to ... Continue reading
My comments:
The aim of the present study was to ... Continue reading
CITE
HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT
R. Slemp G and Napier A. Reviewer Report For: Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.158786.r273445)
The direct URL for this report is:
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-273445
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-273445
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
Views
4
How to cite this report:
Saenz-Lopez Bunuel P. Reviewer Report For: Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.158786.r261426)
The direct URL for this report is:
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-261426
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-261426
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in this citation.
Reviewer Report 30 Aug 2024
Approved
VIEWS 4
-An approval status which summarizes your views on the article and helps directly determine whether an article will complete peer review.
The manuscript has the structure is right, the sample is good enough, the analysis is adequate, the references ... Continue reading
The manuscript has the structure is right, the sample is good enough, the analysis is adequate, the references ... Continue reading
CITE
HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT
Saenz-Lopez Bunuel P. Reviewer Report For: Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.158786.r261426)
The direct URL for this report is:
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-261426
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-261426
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
Views
12
How to cite this report:
Dantas EHM. Reviewer Report For: Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.158786.r261430)
The direct URL for this report is:
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-261430
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-261430
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in this citation.
Reviewer Report 07 May 2024
Approved with Reservations
VIEWS 12
This review provides an evaluation of the research article titled ‘Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support’.
The article presents a significant contribution to the field of educational psychology, particularly in understanding the ... Continue reading
The article presents a significant contribution to the field of educational psychology, particularly in understanding the ... Continue reading
CITE
HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT
Dantas EHM. Reviewer Report For: Development of competencies in secondary education through the motivational style of autonomy support [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2024, 13:159 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.158786.r261430)
The direct URL for this report is:
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-261430
https://f1000research.com/articles/13-159/v1#referee-response-261430
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
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