Autonomy-Supportive Teacher Behaviours and Their Impact on Student Attendance at University Level

Gizem Mutlu Gülbak; Okan Gülbak

doi:10.20343/teachlearninqu.13.19

Authors

Gizem Mutlu Gülbak Biruni University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4248-8003
Okan Gülbak Istanbul Ticaret University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7220-5545

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.13.19

Keywords:

self-determination theory, motivation, university students, autonomy, teacher behaviour

Abstract

Previous research on the motivation types located along a self-determination continuum revealed that the autonomy in students’ motivation has a positive impact on getting favourable results and underlined the importance of autonomy-supportive environments. Given that teacher behaviour is addressed as one of the forms of autonomy-supportive environments, the present study aimed to understand the nature of teacher behaviours in a mass course where the students explained the teacher as the most important motivational drive for their attendance in lectures. To this end, 101 first-year students studying at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences participated in semi-structured interviews. The content analysis of qualitative data showed that the students were motivated by the teachers’ structured guidance, promotion of active participation, and acknowledgement of their ideas. Most importantly, their responses showed that lively teaching performance with use of humour and changing the tone of voice were the most important factors influencing their attendance behaviour. The results indicated that attendance was autonomously motivated by not only teachers’ informative, interactive, and caring behaviours but also teaching performance with some desired characteristics for university level students.

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Author Biographies

Gizem Mutlu Gülbak, Biruni University

Gizem Mutlu Gülbak, PhD, (TUR) is currently working as an assistant professor of applied linguistics at the Department of Foreign Language Education, Faculty of Education, Biruni University. Her research interests mainly consist of teacher autonomy, mentoring pre-service teachers, language teaching methodologies, and vocabulary development.

Okan Gülbak, Istanbul Ticaret University

Okan Gülbak, PhD, (TUR) is currently working as a lecturer at Istanbul Ticaret University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Political Science and International Relations. He conducts research and teaches in the fields of globalization, security studies, political history, education, and cultural politics.

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