A Need-Supportive Intervention Delivered to English Language Teachers in Colombia: A Pilot Investigation Based on Self-Determination Theory

Abstract

Teachers can be trained to support the basic psychological needs of their students. An important question is whether teachers in economically disadvantaged countries (Colombia, for example) who learn about the principles of need support can facilitate the process of internalization in their students. Using self-determination theory, in the present research we describe several outcomes associated with a pilot study of an intervention that was delivered to English language teachers in and around Medellín, Colombia. Results of this pilot investigation suggested that the students of teachers who were trained to adopt a need-supportive approach to education, relative to students of teachers in a control condition, reported higher levels of autonomy support from their English teacher and autonomous self-regulation for their English studies. Students’ experiences of need satisfaction in English class statistically mediated some of the association between autonomous self-regulation for English studies and well-being in English class. These findings provide some initial evidence that English language teachers in economically disadvantaged countries such as Colombia who learn about the principles of need support can modify their pedagogic practice in a way that promotes autonomous (optimal) motivation in their students, with associated benefits for need satisfaction and well-being.