The Relationship between Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction in the Classroom and Academic Risk-Taking: The Mediating Role of Autonomous Learning

Document Type : Research Paper

Abstract

Introduction: In many motivational theories, including Clifford's theory from 1988, academic risk-taking plays a crucial role. It is characterized by students' inclination to prefer difficult questions over easy ones, even in the face of potential failure, and it reveals how students can respond to this potential failure. Encouraging students to take risks in an educational environment enhances learning, increases motivation and academic effort, boosts self-esteem, improves the ability to embrace challenges, and fosters a sense of competence.
Thus, academic risk-taking can cultivate students with high self-esteem, adaptability, and resilience who strive more than others for success, growth, and personal flourishing. Numerous studies have shown that various individual and environmental factors can influence academic risk-taking. One significant individual and intrinsic factor is the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. According to Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory, these needs include the need for autonomy, competence, relatedness, and novelty. Satisfying these needs allows individuals to feel valued and well-being, enabling them to make decisions about their quality of life and learning independently of external influences.
Given that the relationship between satisfying basic psychological needs and academic risk-taking is not linear or one-dimensional, another influential factor in academic risk-taking behavior is autonomous learning, which involves a conscious effort to learn and accept responsibility for one's learning. Therefore, examining the mediating role of autonomous learning provides valuable insights into the dynamics of the relationship between satisfying basic psychological needs and academic risk-taking. Our aim is to achieve a deeper understanding of the processes through which the fulfillment of these basic psychological needs, facilitated by autonomous learning, leads to the emergence of risk-taking learners.
Method: This study is correlational, examining causal relationships among research variables through structural equation modeling. The statistical population includes all male and female students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in Marvdasht (Fars Province) during the 2022-2023 academic year. Following Klein's (2016) criterion of selecting a minimum of 10 to 20 participants per model parameter, three girls' and three boys' schools were randomly chosen from the Marvdasht educational system. From each school, three classes from each grade were randomly selected, and all students completed the research questionnaires. After excluding seven incomplete questionnaires, analysis was conducted on the remaining 413 responses, consisting of 193 girl participants (47%) and 220 boy participants (53%). Inclusion criteria included informed consent and an age range of 11 to 14 years (grades six to eight), while exclusion criteria were non-cooperation and incomplete questionnaires. Ethical considerations involved informing participants of the research purpose, ensuring their freedom to participate or withdraw, and guaranteeing the confidentiality of their information.
Results: The research model demonstrated a good fit with the collected data. The results indicated that students' academic risk-taking is significantly influenced by the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, particularly the need for relatedness. As satisfaction of this need increases among students, their academic risk-taking also rises. Another finding revealed that the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and relatedness has an indirect effect on students' academic risk-taking through autonomous learning.
Therefore, based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that higher quality and greater satisfaction of basic psychological needs, including the need for autonomy and relatedness, enhances students' autonomous learning, which in turn increases their academic risk-taking. This process contributes to the overall well-being and success of learners.
Discussion and Conclusion: The aim of this study was to examine the mediating role of autonomous learning in the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction in the classroom and academic risk-taking.
The findings showed that among the four dimensions of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness, novelty), only the dimension of the need for relatedness positively and significantly predicted students' academic risk-taking. Based on Bowlby’s attachment theory (1988), this finding can be explained by saying that an individual’s general perception of having a secure and satisfying base leads to a greater tendency to explore the environment, as well as the perception that opportunities for exploration are both available and worth the effort and risk. Therefore, an important outcome of having a secure base along with a strong network of connections is higher self-esteem, a belief in one’s abilities, confidence, increased exploratory behaviors and goal-setting, enhanced learning, exploration, happiness, and ultimately risk-taking. Thus, it can be said that the tendency to accept general risks, which is a prerequisite for academic risk-taking, is somewhat related to having a perception of a secure and satisfying base for meeting basic needs. Another finding of this research showed that among the four dimensions of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness, novelty), the dimensions of the need for relatedness and autonomy positively and significantly predicted students' autonomous learning. In explaining this finding, it can be said that the positive and significant relationship between the need for relatedness and autonomy (dimensions of basic psychological needs) with autonomous learning stems from the fact that autonomous learning arises from the feeling of autonomy while performing tasks and activities. Therefore, when students feel autonomy or independence along with a strong supportive network, they exhibit the highest levels of intrinsic motivation and autonomous learning.
The next finding showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between autonomous learning and academic risk-taking. This finding can be explained by saying that strengthening and improving independent and autonomous learning methods leads to increased academic activities and the active role of the learner in their learning process, as well as creating and reinforcing risk-taking habits in students' academic domains.
The final finding showed that among the basic psychological needs, only the two dimensions of the need for autonomy and the need for relatedness had a positive and significant relationship with academic risk-taking through the mediating role of autonomous learning. In explaining the indirect effect of the need for autonomy and relatedness on academic risk-taking through the mediation of autonomous learning, it can be said that according to self-determination theory, the experience of autonomy and self-direction is associated with higher academic achievements, the freedom to start and continue tasks and behaviors, learning styles, and self-regulation (autonomous learning), which in turn can be a successful predictor of students' academic risk-taking.
It should be noted that the present research is correlational in nature, so caution must be exercised in making causal inferences from the results. It is suggested that since the questioner used in this research was standardized and implemented in Iran for the first time, using questionnaires designed based on the cultural and educational conditions of our country may yield more accurate results. Also, considering that this research was conducted on students in public schools, it is recommended that in future studies, gifted students be compared with regular students in terms of autonomous learning strategies and academic risk-taking.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  • Abercrombie, S., Bang, H., & Vaughan, A. (2022). Motivational and disciplinary differences in academic risk taking in higher education. Educational Psychology, 42(7), 895–912.
  • Abercrombie, S., Carbonneau, K. J., & Hushman, C. J. (2022). (Re) Examining academic risk taking: Conceptual structure, antecedents, and relationship to productive failure. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 68, 102029.
  • Alamer, A., Morin, A. J., Alrabai, F., & Alharfi, A. (2023). Introducing the Basic Psychological Needs Frustration in Second Language Scale (BPNF-L2): Examining its factor structure and effect on L2 motivation and achievement. Acta Psychologica, 240, 104021.

Amirian, L., Ghadam Pour, E., & Abbasi, M. (2022). Investigating the mediating role of communication skills and academic skills in relation to parenting styles, metacognitive beliefs and stress coping styles with risk-taking of adolescent students with high-risk behaviors. Rooyesh, 11(3), 11-24. http://frooyesh.ir/article-1-3024-fa.html [In Persian]

  • Baten, E., Vansteenkiste, M., De Muynck, G.-J., De Poortere, E., & Desoete, A. (2020). How can the blow of math difficulty on elementary school children’s motivational, cognitive, and affective experiences be dampened? The critical role of autonomy-supportive instructions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(8), 1490–1505.
  • Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and researching autonomy in language learning. Harlow England: Pearson Education.
  • Blacket, C. T., Fuller, J. T., Bennett, H., Crozier, A. J., Dziano, J. K., & Arnold, J. B. (2024). Just run: Development of a theory-based motivational online intervention for promoting ongoing running participation. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 71, 102581.
  • Boyer, T. W. (2006). The development of risk-taking: A multi-perspective review. Developmental Review, 26(3),291-345
  • Carmona-Halty, M., Schaufeli, W. B., Llorens, S., & Salanova, M. (2019). Satisfaction of basic psychological needs leads to better academic performance via increased psychological capital: A three-wave longitudinal study among high school students. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 21-23.
  • Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2009). Mainly openness: The relationship between the Big Five personality traits and learning approaches. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(4), 524-529.
  • Chen, C. M., & Wang, W. F. (2020). Mining effective learning behaviors in a web-based inquiry science environment. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 29(4), 519-535.
  • Clifford, M. M. (1988). Failure tolerance and academic risk taking in ten-to twelve-years-old students. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 58, 15–27.
  • Clifford, M. M. (1991). Risk taking: Theoretical, empirical, and educational considerations. Educational Psychologist, 26(34), 263-297.
  • Collie, R. J., & Martin, A. J. (2017). Teachers' sense of adaptability: Examining links with perceived autonomy support, teachers' psychological functioning, and students' numeracy achievement. Learning and Individual Differences, 55, 29-39.
  • Conesa, P. J., & Duñabeitia, J. A. (2021). The basic psychological needs in the classroom scale (BPN-CS). Behavioral Sciences, 11(7), 96-112.
  • Conesa, P. J., Onandia-Hinchado, I., Dunabeitia, J. A., & Moreno, M. A. (2022). Basic psychological needs in the classroom: A literature review in elementary and middle school students. Learning and Motivation, 79, 101819.
  • Deci, E. L. (1975). The intrinsic motivation of behavior. Intrinsic Motivation, 93-125.
  • Deci, E., & Porac, J. (1978). On the importance of self-determination for intrinsically-motivated behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 4(3), 443-446.
  • Deci, E, & 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., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychological Association, 49(3), 182-185.
  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2011). Levels of analysis, regnant causes of behavior and well-being: The role of psychological needs. Psychological Inquiry, 22(1), 17-22.
  • Delibalta, A., & Akbay, S. E. (2020). Academic risk taking behavior in university students: Academic procrastination, academic locus of control, and academic perfectionism. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 20(89), 159-178
  • Deveci, I., & Aydin, F. (2018). Relationship between students' tendencies toward academic risk-taking and their attitudes to science. Issues in Educational Research, 28(3), 560-577.

Eskandari, N., & Sadoughi, M. (2021). The relationship between psychological basic needs and academic engagement by considering the mediating role of intrinsic motivation. Rooyesh, 9(12), 23-32. http://frooyesh.ir/article-1-2398-fa.html [In Persian]

  • Fischer, K. W. (1980). Learning as the development of organized behavior. Journal of Structural Learning, 3, 253-267.
  • Fong, C. J., Patall, E. A., Snyder, K. E., Hoff, M. A., Jones, S. J., & Zuniga-Ortega, R. E. (2023). Academic underachievement and its motivational and self-regulated learning correlates: A meta-analytic review of 80 years of research. Educational Research Review, 41, 100566.

Gholamali Lavasani, M., Khezri Azar, H., Amani, J., & Alizadeh, S. (2011). Academic achievement in university: The role of basic psychological needs and identity styles. Training & Learning Researches, 9(1), 25-38. [In Persian]

  • Goldman, Z. W., Goodboy, A. K., & Weber, K. (2017). College students’ psychological needs and intrinsic motivation to learn: An examination of self-determination theory. Communication Quarterly, 65(2), 167-191.
  • González-Cutre, D., Romero-Elías, M., Jiménez-Loaisa, A., Beltrán-Carrillo, V. J., & Hagger, M. S. (2020). Testing the need for novelty as a candidate need in basic psychological needs theory. Motivation and Emotion, 44(2), 295-314.
  • González-Cutre, D., Sicilia, A., Sierra, A. C., Ferriz, R., & Hagger, M. S. (2016). Understanding the need for novelty from the perspective of self-determination theory. Personality and Individual Differences, 102, 159-169.
  • Graciano, P., Lermen, F. H., Reichert, F. M., & Padula, A. D. (2023). The impact of risk-taking and creativity stimuli in education towards innovation: A systematic review and research agenda. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 47, 101220.
  • Granqvist, P., & Duschinsky, R. (2021). Attachment theory and research. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology. Oxford University Press. Doi: 1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.51
  • Guay, F., Ratelle, C. F., & Chanal, J. (2008). Optimal learning in optimal contexts: The role of self-determination in education. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 49(3), 233.
  • Guay, F., Stupnisky, R., Boivin, M., Japel, C., & Dionne, G. (2019). Teachers’ relatedness with students as a predictor of students’ intrinsic motivation, self-concept, and reading achievement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 48, 215-225.
  • Guo, Y. (2018). The influence of academic autonomous motivation on learning engagement and life satisfaction in adolescents: The mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction. Journal of Education and Learning, 7(4), 254-261.
  • Holzer, J., Korlat, S., Haider, C., Mayerhofer, M., Pelikan, E., Schober, B., & Lüftenegger, M. (2021). Adolescent well-being and learning in times of COVID-19: A multi-country study of basic psychological need satisfaction, learning behavior, and the mediating roles of positive emotion and intrinsic motivation. PLoS ONE, 16(5), 251-352.
  • Hübner, V., & Pfost, M. (2024). Academic risk taking and teaching quality in higher education. Learning and Instruction, 90, 101877.
  • Ilhan, M., Cetin, B., Oner Sunkur, M. & Yilmaz, F. (2013). An investigation of the relationship between study skills and academic risk taking with canonical correlation. Journal of Educational Sciences Research, 3(2), 123–146.
  • Johnston, M. M., & Finney, S. J. (2010). Measuring basic needs satisfaction: Evaluating previous research and conducting new psychometric evaluations of the Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35(4), 280- 296.
  • Karademir, C. A., & Akgul, A. (2019). Secondary school students’ social studies-oriented academic risk-taking behaviors and autonomous learning skills. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 14(1), 56–68.

Khalili Khezrabadi, M., Eshaghi Moghaddam, F., Zare, F., & Hoseinpour Ashna Abad, A. R. (2022). The mediating role of self-regulated learning in the relationship between basic psychological needs and academic procrastination in students. Journal of Instruction and Evaluation, 14(56), 13-30. Doi: 10.30495/jinev.2022.1917521.2363 [In Persian]

  • Khanifar, H., Ebrahimi S., Almasizadeh, S, Esfahanizadeh, A., & Qaderi, A. (2023). The mediating role of achievement goals in the relationship between basic psychological needs and students' academic involvement: A research at Farhangian University. Educational and Scholastic Studies, 12(34), 185-206. http://pma.cfu.ac.ir/ [In Persian]
  • Kim, Y., Li, T., Kim, H. K., Oh, W., & Wang, Z. (2023). Socioeconomic status and school adjustment trajectories among academically at-risk students: The mediating role of parental school-based involvement. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 87, 101561.
  • Kline, R. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th Ed.), London: Guilford Press.
  • Korkmaz, H. (2002). The effects of project based learning on creative thinking ability, problem solving ability and level of academic risk taking in science education. Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 12(2), 11-14.
  • Leynes-Ignacio, J. R. (2023). Nursing students’ perceived level of satisfaction and self-confidence in learning using unfolding case studies. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 18(4), e174-e177.
  • Little, H. (2006). Children’s risk‐taking behavior: Implications for early childhood policy and practice. International Journal of Early Years Education, 14(2), 141-154.
  • Macaskill, A., & Taylor, E. (2010). The development of a brief measure of learner autonomy in university students. Studies in Higher Education, 35(3), 351-359.
  • Manalo, E., & Kapur, M. (2018). The role of failure in promoting thinking skills and creativity: New findings and insights about how failure can be beneficial for learning. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 30, 1-6.
  • Marantika, J. E. R. (2021). Metacognitive ability and autonomous learning strategy in improving learning outcomes. Journal of Education and Learning, 15(1), 88-96.
  • McClelland, D. C. (1965). Toward a theory of motive acquisition. American Psychologist, 20(5), 321–333. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0022225.
  • Meng, S. Q., Bai, B. Y., Bai, C. Z., Shrestha, S., & Ren, Y. Z. (2024). Invalidating environment and meaning in life: The chain mediating effects of regulatory emotional self-efficacy and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Child Abuse & Neglect, 151, 106736.
  • Mitton, J., & Murray-Orr, A. (2021). Identifying the impact of culturally relevant pedagogy: Evidence of academic risk-taking in culturally and economically diverse Nova Scotia classrooms. Canadian Journal of Education, 44(4), 1084-1115.

Mohammadi Hosseini Asl, F., Saken Azari, R., Abdoltajedini, P., & Aghdasi, A. N. (2022). Predicting high-risk behaviors based on satisfying basic psychological needs, cognitive emotion regulation and attachment styles mediated by mental vitality in female adolescents. Shenakht Journal of Psychology and Psychiatry, 9(2), 117-130. http://shenakht.muk.ac.ir/article-1-1326-fa.html  [In Persian]

  • Moradi Pordanjani, H., Jaffari, P., Ghasemi Pirbaloti, M., Sadeghi, S., & Heidari, H. (2014). Studying the relationship between motivation achievement, locus of control and risk-taking with creativity. Journal of Innovation and Creativity in Human Science, 3(12), 165. [In Persian]
  • Neufeld, A., & Malin, G. (2019). Exploring the relationship between medical student basic psychological need satisfaction, resilience, and well-being: a quantitative study. BMC Medical Education, 19, 1-8.
  • Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and research in Education, 7(2), 133-144.
  • Raahnamaa, A., & Abdolmalekee, J. (2009). Academic achievement as a function of emotional intelligence and creativity. Quarterly Journal of New Thoughts on Education, 5(2), 55-78. [In Persian]
  • Ratelle, C. F., & Duchesne, S. (2014). Trajectories of psychological need satisfaction from early to late adolescence as a predictor of adjustment in school. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 39(4), 388-400.
  • Reeve, J., & Lee, W. (2014). Students’ classroom engagement produces longitudinal changes in classroom motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106(2), 527-540.
  • Reio, T. G., & Choi, N. (2004). Novelty seeking in adulthood: Increases accompany decline. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 165(2), 119-133.
  • Şahin, E. E., & Gülşen, F. U. (2022). The mediating role of self‑leadership in the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction, academic self-efficacy and career adaptability of Turkish undergraduates when life satisfaction is controlled. Personality and Individual Differences, 195, 111709.
  • Scheffer, D., & Heckhausen, H. (2018). Trait theories of motivation. Motivation and Action, 25, 67-112.
  • Shariati, , & Zeynali, A. (2022). The role of satisfying of basic psychological needs and goal orientation in predicting academic engagement of university students. Journal of Instruction and Evaluation, 15(57), 63-82. Doi: 10.30495/jinev.2021.1921996.2415 [In Persian]
  • Sun, G. X., & Zhang, L. W. (2012). Basic psychological needs and athletes' psychological fatigue: A self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Tianjin Sports University, 27(2), 126–132.
  • Tan, E. W., Lim, S. W. H., & Manalo, E. (2017). Global-local processing impacts academic risk taking. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70(12), 2434-2444.
  • Üztemur, S. (2020). What if people judge me unfairly: The mediating role of fear of negative evaluation on the relationship between perceived autonomy support and academic risk-taking behavior in social studies courses? Journal of International Social Studies, 10(1), 62-91.
  • Valverde-Berrocoso, J., Garrido-Arroyo, M. D. C., Burgos-Videla, C., & Morales-Cevallos, M. B. (2020). Trends in educational research about e-learning: A systematic literature review (2009–2018). Sustainability, 12(12), 5153.
  • Vansteenkiste, M., & Ryan, R. M. (2013). On psychological growth and vulnerability: Basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration as a unifying principle. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 23(3), 263–280.
  • Vansteenkiste, M., Ryan, R. M., & Soenens, B. (2020). Basic psychological need theory: Advancements, critical themes, and future directions. Motivation and Emotion, 44(1), 1-31.
  • Varisoglu, B., & Çelikpazui, E. E. (2019). Secondary school students' academic risk taking levels in Turkish Lesson. International Journal of Progressive Education, 15(4), 241-258.
  • Vuorinen, I., Savolainen, I., Hagfors, H., & Oksanen, A. (2022). Basic psychological needs in gambling and gaming problems. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 16, 100445.
  • Wei, D., Zhang, D., He, J., & Bobis, J. (2020). The impact of perceived teachers’ autonomy support on students’ mathematics achievement: Evidences based on latent growth curve modelling. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 35(3), 703-725.
  • Wentzel, K, R., Muenks, K., McNeish, D., & Russell, Sh. (2018). Emotional support, social goals, and classroom behavior: A multilevel, multisite study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(5), 611-627.
  • Xia, X. (2023). Learning behavior mining and decision recommendation based on association rules in interactive learning environment. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(2), 593-608.
  • Xing, Y., & Tong, L. (2023). An online autonomous learning and prediction scheme for machine learning assisted structural optimization. Thin-Walled Structures, 184, 110500.
  • Yokoyama, M., & Miwa, K. (2020). Students' conception of learning and learning behavior from multiple-goals perspective. International Conference on Educational Technologies (ICEdu Tech 2020), 33-40.
  • Yüce, E. (2023). Critical thinking, autonomous learning, and academic grit among preservice EFL teachers. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 50, 101382.
  • Zhang, T., Solmon, M. A., Kosma, M., Carson, R. L., & Gu, X. (2011). Need support, need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and physical activity participation among middle school students. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 30(1), 51-68.
  • Zhen, R., Liu, R. D., Ding, Y., Wang, J., Liu, Y., & Xu, L. (2017). The mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic emotions in the relation between basic psychological needs satisfaction and learning engagement among Chinese adolescent students. Learning and Individual Differences, 54, 210-216.
  • Zhou, J., Huebner, E. S., & Tian, L. (2020). The reciprocal relations among basic psychological need satisfaction at school, positivity and academic achievement in Chinese early adolescents. Learning and Instruction, 71, 101370.
Studies in Learning & Instruction
Volume 16, Issue 2
September 2024
Pages 116-87

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 24 May 2024
  • Revise Date: 11 July 2024
  • Accept Date: 09 September 2024

Share

How to cite

Statistics