Nancy Perry

No abstract available.

In the field of education, motivational research explores the processes guiding educational actors’ behaviour. Teachers’ conceptions or ways of understanding students’ motivation for learning has, nonetheless, been overlooked. My research aimed to identify and examine Peruvian teachers’ conceptions of students’ motivation for learning, including how they perceive teachers’ roles when planning supports for students’ learning and development in the classroom. Particularly, the research questions guiding my study were: How do Peruvian teachers conceptualize motivation in students’ learning? How do Peruvian teachers understand teachers’ roles in motivating students? Employing phenomenography, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 Peruvian women teachers working in early childhood, primary, and secondary settings at a large-size all-girls private school in Lima, Peru. Using an inductive and data driven approach, I identified three categories of description which represented teachers’ distinct ways of understanding the phenomenon: as a personal and indirectly observable phenomenon; as a dynamic and malleable phenomenon; and as a socio-contextual process promoting learning. These categories and the relationship between them were described and graphically represented in an outcome space depicting a logical and hierarchical structure. Employing a deductive and theory driven approach, I then relied on contemporary motivational theories to examine the outcome space. Sense of competence and control in students’ motivation; sources and types of students’ motivation; and contexts and environments shaping students’ motivation were proposed as motivational propositions when examining teachers’ conceptions along with the literature. Furthermore, teachers’ accounts suggested that they considered building autonomy-supportive environments, fostering group cohesion and community, and valuing the teacher role and profession as part of teachers’ role in motivating students. Research findings evidenced variation in teachers’ conceptions on a collective level, alignment with motivational science theories, and nuances surrounding popular motivational assumptions. Findings support the importance of diversifying motivational research across contexts and populations, amplifying teachers’ voices, and incorporating interpretive methodologies in motivational research. Results appear to highlight the potential value of teacher training to deepen teachers’ awareness and understanding of motivation, which would likely contribute to students’ motivational experiences. The limitations of this study and considerations for future research are also discussed.

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French Immersion (FI) is a popular program designed for students to acquire proficiency in French. The FI model has been praised as a successful approach to additional language learning and criticized for perpetuating inequities. Evidence suggests that students with learning disabilities (LDs) can succeed in FI with proper support, yet they are often excluded from the program. To date, there is limited research on FI classroom teachers’ beliefs about the inclusion of students with LDs and the accessibility of FI programs for them. In this study, a hermeneutic phenomenological approach was implemented to explore teachers’ beliefs about the inclusion of students with LDs in FI. Six FI public elementary school teachers from a school district in British Columbia, Canada, were interviewed in a three-part series. During the interviews, the six teachers shared and reflected upon their beliefs, experiences, and perspectives about teaching students with LDs in FI. In analyzing the interviews, teachers identified barriers within FI that made the program inaccessible for students with LDs. Findings also surfaced specific personal factors (e.g., knowledge and teaching self-efficacy), student factors (e.g., motivation), and contextual factors (e.g., administration and district support) that impacted and influenced participants’ beliefs about the inclusion of students with LDs in FI. The teachers also offered suggestions and insights to make the program more inclusive. This study offers methodological implications for advancing future research in LDs in FI. It also suggests practical considerations for education stakeholders such as administrators, school boards, Ministries of Education, and teacher education programs to rethink the FI program through a more inclusive and accessible framework.

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Self-regulation involves individuals’ abilities to adapt cognitions, affect, and behaviors to respond to environmental demands and achieve goals. During childhood, self-regulation describes how children co-ordinate their deployment of basic executive functions and higher order process (e.g., metacognition, motivation, strategic action) to effectively engage with parents and siblings at home, and with teachers and peers, while learning in school. Research spanning the fields of developmental and educational psychology provides empirical support illustrating how children’s self-regulation predicts school adjustment. However, studies also reveal that children differ in their engagement in self-regulation in school, but fewer studies have examined the development of young children’s self-regulation in school trajectories, and how they may be shaped by features of classroom contexts that can serve to impact it. The current study fills a gap in the literature by using longitudinal data to examine trajectories of three young children’s self-regulation in school from Kindergarten to Grade Five. This longitudinal case study asks three research questions. First, how did the case study students’ self-regulation and achievement trajectories change from Kindergarten through Grade 5? Second, how might supports for self-regulation in classrooms attenuate for risk in children’s development of self-regulation? Third, how might classroom supports for self-regulation differentially support emotion regulation (ER), self-regulated learning (SRL), and socially responsible self-regulation (SRSR) in the case study students? Results from this study demonstrated that, in general, trajectories of self-regulation and achievement show similar patterns (i.e., when self-regulation scores increase or decrease so do achievement ratings). However, each student’s trajectory is unique and context needs to be considered when thinking about children’s development of self-regulation. This study suggests that certain classroom contexts and teaching practices provide more support for students’ development of self-regulation. These practices are discussed in detail in the results section. Implications for research and practice, as well as future directions, are also presented.

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Self-authorship refers to individuals’ capacity to make complex meaning of beliefs, identities, and social relationships. Self-authorship theory thus provides a holistic framework to consider young adults’ development across epistemological, intrapersonal, and interpersonal dimensions. Recent research on self-authorship not only increased representation of demographically diverse students, but also challenged the original individual-centered theory through incorporating lenses that afforded greater sociocultural relevance. My research aligned with this collective effort toward a more inclusive, socially situated, culturally responsive view of self-authorship. My research adopted narrative inquiry to explore how self-authoring was experienced and expressed in a group of Chinese undergraduate students. My study’s framework was informed by sociocultural theory, narrative constructionism, and dialogical perspectives on narrative analysis. Specifically, 12 Chinese undergraduate students were interviewed in China and Canada about their stories of personal growth in university. Participants were invited to share stories about their pivotal university experiences and how these experiences shaped their beliefs, identities, and social relationships and actions. Dialogical narrative analysis was performed to develop a narrative typology of self-authoring for the Chinese students. Three signature narrative types were elaborated in the typology. They are passion narrative (i.e., participants developed their inner voices by pursuing their passion), resistance narrative (i.e., participants developed deep forms of self-consciousness through resisting uncomfortable situations), and competence narrative (i.e., participants sought a lifepath to fulfill their need to be successful). Under each narrative type, individual narrative trajectories were further specified to capture variations among the participants’ self-authoring processes. These variations reflected how participants’ personal characteristics and their situated context shaped their distinct processes toward self-authorship. The novel insights produced by the narrative typology contributed to a more situated, holistic, and diversified understanding of self-authorship. As the first study to introduce a Chinese student sample, a sociocultural framework, and dialogical methods to self-authorship literature, my study not only generated complex understandings of self-authoring processes in culturally diverse students, but also offered methodological implications for future research in different sociocultural contexts. Finally, my study offered important questions for rethinking practices to foster students’ self-authorship in higher education.

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During late childhood and early adolescence, the peer context becomes increasingly important as peer friendships manifest themselves as important sources of self-esteem and well-being (Parker et al., 2006). Research has shown that close peer friendships can protect students against peer victimization, poor academic achievement, low self-worth, and experiences of negative affect (Gest, Welsh, & Domitrovich, 2005; Furrer & Skinner, 2003; Fenzel, 2000; Parker et al., 2006). Cross-age peer mentoring programs, where older students mentor their younger peers, provide rich opportunities for participants to form healthy relationships with their peers (Karcher, 2005). This study applied Relationships Motivation Theory (RMT; Ryan & Deci, 2017), one of Self-Determination Theory's (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2017) most recent "mini-theories", to the cross-age peer mentoring process. RMT was explored for its usefulness to prepare high-school mentors to support the three Basic Psychological Needs (BPN's) (autonomy, belonging, and competence) of mentees and investigate the potentially reciprocal benefits high-school students experience through mentoring. Ten students (ages 7-18) were recruited from an after-school program to participate in this study. A descriptive multiple-case study design was used to understand participants' experiences. Data include participant-created documents, audio recordings of dyadic interactions, a 9-item self-report questionnaire, and exit interviews. Descriptive statistics and a combination of Provisional and In-Vivo coding (Saldana, 2009) were used to analyze data. On average, mentors demonstrated an ability to use language and practices associated with BPN satisfaction, even though various challenges were highlighted. Mentees reported the greatest satisfaction of their belonging. Mentors reported the greatest satisfaction of their autonomy and competence. All participants reported feelings of happiness and satisfaction within their mentoring relationships and most often attributed these feelings to a sense of competence.

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Continuing professional development (CPD) is important for family physicians due to the complex and continually evolving nature of family practice. Family physicians need to keep abreast of scientific advances and current best practices in order to practice competently and effectively. As with many professions, family physicians are required to demonstrate participation in continuing professional development (CPD). Research suggests that organized CPD varies in the extent to which it influences physicians’ practice. This study aimed to advance understanding of the complexities surrounding the role of CPD in family practice by examining family physicians’ perspectives on and experiences of CPD. A mixed-method approach, incorporating a self-report survey and semi-structured interviews, investigated: (a) family physicians’ participation in organized CPD; (b) family physicians’ reasons, or motivations, for participating in organized CPD; (c) the relationship between family physicians’ motivation for CPD and their organized CPD participation; and (d) factors that influence family physicians’ motivation for and organized participation in CPD. Self-determination theory (SDT) was used as a sensitizing lens, providing relevant conceptual categories for interpreting family physicians’ reasons for participating in CPD. Ninety-one family physicians completed a self-report survey and six of these participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Overall, participants valued CPD and viewed it as important to practice. SDT concepts helped to create a more nuanced portrait of family physicians’ motivation for learning and CPD than reflected in previous studies. Six overarching themes captured participants’ motivations for, participation in, and experiences of organized CPD: Maintaining Competence, Connection to Colleagues, Me as a Learner, Opinions on the ‘CPD System’, Practicalities of Participation, and Links to Informal Learning and Practice. Relevance to research and practice are discussed.

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