Autonomy Support as an Interpersonal Motivating Style: Is It Teachable?

Students benefit when teachers support their autonomy. Recognizing this, the present study examined the motivating styles of beginning preservice teachers by asking two questions: (1) Do personality characteristics orient preservice teachers toward either an autonomy-supportive or controlling motivating style? and (2) Is the autonomy-supportive style teachable to preservice teachers? Study 1, which addressed the first question, relied on self-determination theory to identify and confirm causality orientation as one personality characteristic related to motivating style. Study 2, which addressed the second question, randomly assigned preservice teachers to receive training in either autonomy-supportive, controlling, or neutral instructional strategies. Results showed that the autonomy-supportive style was teachable. Autonomy-oriented preservice teachers (as measured by causality orientation) assimilated the information rather easily, while control-oriented preservice teachers accommodated the information only in proportion to the extent that they perceived it to be highly plausible and classroom applicable. The discussion relies on self-determination theory and the conceptual change literature to recommend how teacher certification programs can assist teachers-in-training develop an autonomy-supportive motivating style. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.