Student Effort: The Influence of Relatedness, Competence and Autonomy (2014)

INTRODUCTION Structuring and implementing courses encourage students to make an to learn is a challenge for instructors. It is critically important to meet challenge because extended is possibly most important determinant of students' academic success (Pace, 1979) and personal and social development (Ethington & Horn, 1996). For years, importance of encouraging student has been recognized. Summing up 20 years of research, Pascarella and Terenzini (1991, p. 610) note that impact of college is largely determined by individual's quality of and level of involvement in both academic and non-academic activities. Studies in marketing literature are based on goal-oriented theories suggest increases in can be achieved by raising student's awareness of benefits associated with achieving a goal. For instance, an instructor may explain how doing well in a course (goal) by performing learning activities will help student secure a good job (benefit) after graduation. While it is important to convey benefits of reaching a goal, we also believe an instructor's influence on fulfillment of a student's psychological needs (i.e., relatedness competence and autonomy) contributes to quality of exhibited. A review of marketing literature revealed three psychological needs have not been studied to determine their influence on quality of student effort. Of these needs, competence and autonomy have been examined but with respect to professor as a brand and how fulfilling them facilitates a student's feeling of attachment to a professor (Jillapalli & Wilcox, 2010). Self-Determination Theory (SDT) identifies competence, relatedness and autonomy as innate psychological needs are basis for a person's self-motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000; Deci & Ryan, 1985). Drawing these constructs from SDT, we conceptualize and test a model representing interrelationships among them and their influence on quality of student effort. This study contributes to literature by showing how student can be influenced by means other than explaining value of reaching a goal, thus complementing goal-oriented research. Although instructors may be doing things influence students' perceptions of three psychological needs, they may not know about effect of their actions on effort. Study findings reveal influence of fulfilling three needs, thus highlighting their importance and suggesting instructors give attention to each one of them. In addition to this contribution, we conceptualize the quality of effort to include a second dimension is not captured by existing measures. STUDENT EFFORT Quality of is defined as voluntary behavior or personal investment a student makes for their education and it has been examined as how often students carry out learning activities, such as taking detailed notes during class (Pace, 1998). Understanding how to improve quality of student is beneficial because it increases students' academic development (Pace, 1979). The need to place attention on improving student is highlighted by a study of 3,000 college students enrolled from Fall 2005 to Spring 2009 in 29 four-year colleges and universities. The findings revealed many of them during a two year period did not improve in their critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written communication skills (Arum, Roksa & Cho, 2011; Arum & Roksa, 2011). Many of study participants reported they experience only limited academic demands and invest only limited in their academic endeavors (Arum & Roksa, 2011, pg. 204). The researchers recommend using more rigorous assignments to improving learning among college students, thus necessitating greater student effort. A dilemma may be faced by instructors is when they want to increase or maintain course rigor, some students have inaccurate interpretations of what constitutes an adequate level of effort. …