Abstracts - Earli

adaptive learning behaviour in learning contexts where their basic needs are supported. However, afurther layer of complexity is introduced when other individual motivational characteristics aretaken into account. Motivational characteristics such as stable individual intrinsic interest, personalgoals, goal orientations, and values (Pintrich, 2003) have all been found to be associated with moreadaptive learning and better achievement outcomes. Do students with different motivationalcharacteristics benefit equally from the same environmental features? This symposium discusseshow features of the learning environment, features of the person, and the interplay between thetwo affect students’ functioning. It brings together studies of contextual variables such asperceptions of teachers’ supportiveness in the classroom, the framing of learning activities, andperceptions of fellow students’ characteristics. Drawing on different methodological approachessuch as experimental, correlational, and multilevel designs, the studies examine the effect of thesecontextual features on students’ need satisfaction and individual goals, as well as on their learningbehaviour and other outcome variables.Students’ need support and motivation for homeworkIdit Katz, Ben-Gurion University, IsraelAvi Kaplan, Ben-Gurion University, IsraelThis presentation will describe findings from a research project that employs SDT to investigatethe role of teachers in students’ motivation for homework. More specifically, we tested thehypothesis that teachers’ support of students’ psychological needs would be associated withincreased adaptive motivation for homework. Thirty-four 4th grade and 49 8th grade studentsresponded to surveys asking about their motivation for homework, their level of psychologicalneeds, and their perceptions of teacher’s behavior as supporting their needs in the context ofhomework. Findings supported the mediating role of perceived teacher’s support of students’needs in the relation between grade-level and student intrinsic motivation for homework.Moreover, the role of perceived teacher support of psychological needs in student motivation forhomework was found to depend on students’ level of expressed needs. The presentation willelaborate on findings from a larger project which involves data from parents and from participantsin two cultural groups.Interest experience in the classroom: The role of autonomy support and individual interestYi-Miau Tsai, Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, GermanyMareike Kunter, Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, GermanyOliver Lüdtke, Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, GermanyUlrich Trautwein, Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, GermanyResearch based on self-determination theory has found teachers’ instructional behaviors,especially with respect to the support and suppression of students’ autonomy, to influencestudents’ interest. The present study aims to replicate these findings with intra-individual datafrom authentic classroom learning situations and, moreover, to investigate whether these effectsare equally applicable to all students. Participants were 261 (57% female) 7th-grade students, aged12 to 14 years. All students were recruited from nine classes in two academic-track secondaryschools. After surveying students’ gender, school performance, and individual interest, weassessed students’ interest experience and three aspects of autonomy-related support andsuppression after every mathematics, German (native language instruction), and second foreignlanguage lesson over a 3-week period. On average, 25 lesson-specific measures were collected foreach student. Hierarchical linear modelling conducted separately for the three subjects providedconsistent support for self-determination theory. Students showed higher interest in lessons which– 261 –