Effects of Perceived Autonomy Support on Academic Achievement and Motivation Among Higher Education Students: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis aimed to reveal the extent to which perceived teachers' autonomy support affects academic achievement and motivation among higher education students. Overall, 153 correlations between perceived autonomy support and achievement-related variables (academic performance, motivation, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and engagement) were collected through a systematic review. They were integrated to estimate population correlation coefficients using meta-analytic procedures. The effect sizes (i.e., estimated population correlation coefficients) were small for academic performance, medium to large for autonomous motivation and basic psychological needs satisfaction, and small to medium for engagement. The estimated population correlations between autonomy support and motivation constructs were slightly different across countries. These results suggest that autonomy-supportive teaching can be beneficial for higher education students' educational success in higher education.