Teachers' achievement goals and self-determination to engage in work tasks promoting educational innovations

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate the patterns of relationships between teachers' achievement goals, self-determined motivation and intentions to get involved with work-tasks promoting educational innovations. Participants were (a) 276 teachers who were involved in training to implement innovation, divided according to the condition of their recruitment (i.e., optional, n = 191 vs. mandatory, n = 85; Study 1); and (b) 140 teachers who implemented innovation (Study 2). Structural equation modeling revealed that: (a) in Study 1 only mastery goal predicted autonomous motivation, while performance avoidance goal predicted teachers' controlled motivation to participate in training and these patterns were invariant across conditions, (b) in Study 2 only mastery goal had an indirect effect on intentions to implement innovation, and this relationship was fully mediated by autonomous motivation, while only performance approach goal predicted controlled motivation. It is suggested that teachers' mastery goals and autonomous motivation should be targeted to foster teachers' optimal engagement with educational innovations. © 2016.