INVESTIGATION OF SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY IN AN ESP COURSE*

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Competence, autonomy and engagement are some of the components of self-determination theory. They are important components for students’ cognitive and psychological development. This study aimed to find out if there is a relationship between academic achievement (AA), perceived competence (PC), perceived instructor autonomy-support (PIAS) and classroom engagement (CE) of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) students. Furthermore, how these four variables were affected by gender and type of high school graduated was investigated. This study is an exploratory correlational research. 204 college students attending a state university located in the west of Turkey participated in the study. Perceived Competence Scale, The Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ), Classroom Engagement Scale and students’ grades in an ESP class were utilized to collect data. The data were analyzed via descriptive statistics, independent samples t- test, one-way ANOVA test and Pearson correlation test. As a result of the findings, it was found that perceived instructor autonomy-support had a significantly moderate and positive relationship with perceived competence, classroom engagement and academic achievement. Besides, it was revealed that gender only affected students’ classroom engagement; however, type of high school had no impact on AA, PC, PIAS or CE.

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Self , determination theory , competence , autonomy , learning climate , classroom engagement

Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi

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Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi