Abstracts - Earli

dual need to modify instructional pedagogy to accommodate both social and academic goals, andto teach specific strategies to students to facilitate the coordination of multiple goals.Autonomous-supportive versus controlling contexts in elementary physical education classrooms:The effect of teaching practices and grade level on students’ interest, subjective vitality, andexerted effortAthanasios Mouratidis, University of Leuven, BelgiumThodoros Ageriadis, University of Crete, GreeceGeorgios Michailidis, University of Crete, GreeceThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of autonomous-supportive versuscontrolling contexts on students’ variability of affect and motivation-related outcomes in a sampleof elementary school students. Also, it aimed to examine within-students’ variability and betweenstudents’differences of these outcomes as a function of gender and grade level. Participants were138 fifth and sixth-grade elementary students, from 11 intact physical education (PE) classrooms,and their PE teachers. The 3 PE teachers, blind to the aims of the study, modified their teachingpractices and the subject matter accordingly, so as to deliver 3 autonomous-supportive, and"enjoyable" PE class hours, and 3 more controlling, "formally structured", PE class hours. At theend of each class session, students reported their feelings of interest and enjoyment, subjectivevitality, perceived exerted effort, and perceived pressure and tension. Multilevel analyses (HLM)have shown that compared to the controlling instructional climate, students under the autonomoussupportivecondition reported, on average, significantly more interest and enjoyment, moresubjective vitality, and more effort expenditure than under the more controlling condition.Compared to sixth graders, fifth graders reported significantly more enjoyment, subjective vitality,and effort expenditure. No significant context or grade effects were found for perceived pressureand tension. Also, apart from the context effects, no significant grade effects were found for thewithin-students’ variability on the dependent measures. Finally, there were no gender differencesfor any of the dependent measures. Results are discussed within the self-determination theory.B 828 August 2007 17:30 - 18:50Room: 4.95Paper SessionParental involvement in learningChair:Jos Beishuizen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, NetherlandsEnhancing learning potential of children with special needs through parent-teacher collaboration:A Participatory Action Research studyJuliet Choo, AWWA, SingaporePeter Renshaw, University of Queensland, AustraliaThis paper examines the practice and outcome of a participatory action research (PAR) project thatinvolved parents and teachers collaborating to improve the learning potential of children withspecial needs. Participatory action research was specifically chosen as the way to improve theeducation of these special children because it offers a framework that narrows the gap between– 85 –