Idit Katz

Antecedents and consequences of maternal involvement in children's homework : A longitudinal analysis

Many parents are concerned with the desirability of helping their children with homework. Mothers and their childrens teachers filled out questionnaires twice, when children were in 1st and 3rd grade. The children did so in 3rd grade. Correlation matrices were analyzed by a Linear-Structural Relations model (LISREL). The predictions of 3rd grade by 1st grade variables were tested by hierarchical regressions. Maternal help with homework had no effect on the childs academic achievement. Mothers of weaker students helped more with homework, particularly in the 1st grade. In both grades, maternal help was related to her pedagogical belief in the value of helping and to her personal gratification from helping. Helping increased maternal emotional costs and caused tensions between her and the child, particularly when the latter was a poor student. Helping decreased with grade, as did maternal gratification and pedagogical belief.

Students’ Needs, Teachers’ Support, and Motivation for Doing Homework: A Cross-Sectional Study

Self-determination theory provided the theoretical framework for a cross-sectional investigation of elementary and junior high school students’ autonomous motivation for homework. More specifically, the study focused on the role of teachers’ support of students’ psychological needs in students’ motivation for homework in the two school systems. The study also investigated the contribution of a match between teachers’ support and students’ expressed level of psychological needs to autonomous motivation for homework. The findings indicated that teacher support partially mediated the difference in autonomous motivation for homework between students in the two school systems. In addition, the findings suggested that whereas students’ with different level of expressed needs may perceive different levels of teachers’ support, and that teachers’ support might be more important for students who express higher level of needs, perceived teachers’ support of psychological needs was important for students’ adaptive motivation for homework, irrespective of their expressed level of needs.

Homework Stress: Construct Validation of a Measure.

This article presents 2 studies aimed at validating a measure of stress experienced by children and parents around the issue of homework, applying Bensons program of validation (Benson, 1998). Study 1 provides external validity of the measure by supporting hypothesized relations between stress around homework and students’ and parents’ positive and negative affect, students’ sense of competence, and students’ type of motivation. In Study 2, the measure was administered to students with and without learning disability—2 groups assumed to differ in the level of stress experienced while doing homework. Results of both studies support the validity of the measure.

Parental Support and Adolescent Motivation for Dieting: The Self-Determination Theory Perspective

ABSTRACT This article focuses on parents’ role in overweight adolescents’ motivation to diet and successful weight loss. The study employed Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as the theoretical framework (Deci & Ryan, 2000, 2011). Ninety-nine participants (ages 20–30) who had been overweight during adolescence according to their Body Mass Index (BMI mean = 25, SD = 1.6), completed retrospective questionnaires about their motivation to diet and their parents’ behavior in the context of dieting. Findings from a structural equation modeling analysis suggested that participants who viewed their parents’ as more need-supportive demonstrated more autonomous motivation to diet, which, in turn, contributed to their successful weight loss. The findings highlight the importance of parental support of adolescents’ psychological needs in the quality of their motivation to diet. This is an important insight for parents and professionals who aim to encourage more constructive parent involvement in adolescents’ dieting and well-being.

What makes a motivating teacher? Teachers’ motivation and beliefs as predictors of their autonomy-supportive style:

Findings from several studies suggest that teachers who embrace an autonomy-supportive style vis-à-vis their students promote student motivation. However, the question of what makes teachers adopt this supportive style remains unanswered. Using Self-Determination Theory as a framework, we suggest that teachers’ own motivation and their beliefs about student motivation are predictors of their tendency to opt for an autonomy-supportive rather than a controlling style. One hundred and fifty-four teachers completed a questionnaire designed to assess their type of motivation to teach, what they believe is desirable student motivation, and the level to which they opt for behaviors that support student autonomy. Our findings suggest: Firstly, that teachers who teach out of interest and enjoyment, and value their work (autonomous motivation), tend to believe that the learning of students who are autonomously motivated benefits more; secondly, that teachers who believe that autonomous motivation is desirable for their students’ learning also tend to opt for an autonomy-supportive rather than a controlling style; thirdly, that teachers who are autonomously motivated themselves are more likely to adopt an autonomy-supportive style, especially when they also believe that autonomous motivation is desirable for their students’ learning. The study’s findings highlight the importance of a teacher’s own motivation and beliefs as factors that promote autonomy-supportive behavior in the classroom.

Assessing autonomous motivation in students with cognitive impairment

Abstract Background Applying Bensons program of validation (Benson, 1998) we provide evidence supporting the validity of a projective instrument that assesses the autonomous motivation of students with impaired cognitive abilities. Method Eighty-eight grade 7–9 students diagnosed with cognitive impairment participated in this study. Participants’ motivation was assessed using a projective instrument. Participants’ affect, task value, and perception of the teachers as supportive were also assessed. The questionnaires were applied individually. Zero order correlation and regression analysis were conducted. Results The study demonstrated internal relations among the observed elements of the projective instrument, as well as relations between the projective instrument with other constructs and the predictive validity of the instrument. Conclusions The evidence provided herein suggests that the projective instrument can be used to validly measure the autonomous motivation of students with cognitive impairment.

In the Eye of the Beholder: Motivational Effects of Gender Differences in Perceptions of Teachers.

ABSTRACT This study investigated whether girls’ and boys’ perceptions of their teacher may explain gender-related difference in academic motivation. One hundred and twenty-nine ninth-grade Israeli students (67 males and 62 females) completed a questionnaire designed to assess their motivation to learn, their affect while studying in school, and their perception of their teachers’ behaviors. The results indicate that girls tend to perceive their teacher as more supportive than do boys and that this perception mediates gender-related differences in motivation and emotional experience. This finding suggests a mechanism to explain gender-related differences in motivation and highlights the importance of investigating those characteristics that can affect student perception of the teacher as supportive. Beyond the known contribution of the need for a supportive environment, knowledge of such characteristics can help promote adaptive motivation.

Scaffolding for motivation by parents, and child homework motivations and emotions: Effects of a training programme.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Based on the principles of scaffolding for motivation and on the assumptions of self-determination theory, two studies aimed to assess the role played by perceived parental autonomy-supportive scaffolding on child homework autonomous motivation, self-efficacy, affect, and engagement. SAMPLES AND RESULTS The results of Study 1, which involved 122 parents and their children, showed that the higher the parental autonomous motivation, the more their children perceived them as autonomy-supportive while scaffolding for motivation, and hence developed autonomous motivation, self-efficacy, and engagement in homework. In Study 2, 37 parents were involved in a four-session training programme that focused on sustaining autonomy-supportive scaffolding modalities. The training decreased parental negative affect, prevented child negative affect increase, and maintained child homework motivation. CONCLUSIONS The discussion focuses on the strength that parents have with regard to helping their children develop less negative, and potentially also more positive attitude towards homework, through autonomy support as a scaffold for motivation.