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Motivational climates: assessing and testing how science classroom environments contribute to undergraduates’ self-determined and achievement-based science goals

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Abstract

The current research examined the psychometric properties and utility of a measure of college classroom environment in predicting goal-related outcomes rooted in goal contents and achievement goal theories. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in Studies 1 and 2, respectively, yielded support for two distinct and gender-invariant classroom environment constructs—professorial concern and affiliation. Results of multilevel regression analyses in Study 3 indicated that both constructs were positive predictors of intrinsic and self-approach goals. Additionally, professorial concern was a significant positive predictor of extrinsic goal adoption. Contrary to expectation, perceptions of affiliation in the science classroom were unrelated to task-approach goals. These findings illustrate the important role that socially dynamic classroom contexts play in fostering motivation and satisfying basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grants HRD-1036767 and HRD-1331962. The data presented and views expressed in this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors.

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  1. Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University, 100 North University Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Eric D. Deemer

  2. Department of Psychology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA

    Jessi L. Smith

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Deemer, E.D., Smith, J.L. Motivational climates: assessing and testing how science classroom environments contribute to undergraduates’ self-determined and achievement-based science goals. Learning Environ Res 21, 245–266 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-017-9252-y

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