Despite numerous studies investigating need-supportive teaching, research on how students experience such teaching is scarce within the educational context. The current study aims to address this...Show moreDespite numerous studies investigating need-supportive teaching, research on how students experience such teaching is scarce within the educational context. The current study aims to address this gap by examining the influence of both emotional insight (i.e., one's clear understanding of emotions) and teacher expectations on the perceived need support among primary school students. The study involved 23 students aged 8 to 12 years (fifth to eighth grade). Mixed methods research was conducted – both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed. The quantitative research includes questionnaire responses for emotional insight and need support. The qualitative research entailed semi-structured interviews, which involved comparing students' levels of emotional insight using vignettes based on either high or low teacher expectations. Using correlation analysis, the quantitative results indicate there is no correlation between emotional insight and need support. However, an association was found between high expectation teachers and experienced need support by students. The qualitative results suggest that through emotional insight, a student can process information, distance themselves from the situation, and then choose to deal with it in a positive way. Students with high and low emotional insight emphasize the importance of the bond they have with the teacher before asking for help. These findings show that the role of emotional insight in student-teacher interaction and experiencing need support contributes to the development of the literature on social interactions in the classroom.Show less
Even though the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) describes the importance of both contextual factors and internal factors for eliciting intrinsic motivation, research on the latter is scarce within...Show moreEven though the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) describes the importance of both contextual factors and internal factors for eliciting intrinsic motivation, research on the latter is scarce within the educational context. The current study addresses this issue by researching the relationship between general insight, emotional insight, and intrinsic motivation (i.e., one’s clear understanding of thoughts, feelings, behavior, and emotions), thereby researching individual differences in how internal thought processes are regulated in interaction with the social context. The study involved 61 students of age 8 to 13 years (fifth to eighth grade), attending the Primary Years Program (P.Y.P) originated from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Mixed methods research is conducted – both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. The quantitative research includes questionnaire responses for general insight, emotional insight, and intrinsic motivation. The qualitative research involved semi-structured interviews, comparing the students’ ability for general insight and emotional insight between 5th – 6th grade and 7th – 8th grade. Using the multiple regression analysis, the quantitative results indicate there is no relationship between general insight and intrinsic motivation. However, an association was found between emotional insight and intrinsic motivation. The quantitative results suggest that students’ capacity for general insight and emotional insight is age-related, as the older students had a better understanding of their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and emotions, and the analysis of such was more in-depth and elaborate in comparison to the younger students. These findings show that the role of internal processes is more essential in the elicitation process of intrinsic motivation than has typically been accorded for, contributing to a further understanding of antecedents affecting students’ motivation.Show less
