Teachers' instructional behaviors as important predictors of academic motivation: Changes and links across the school year

Learning environments play an important role for students' learning and outcomes. Research indicates that many students show poor academic motivation. Teachers' behavior can function as a protective factor for sustaining students' interest and active engagement in schools. However, the knowledge about the dynamic nature of teachers' behavior and how it relates to the development of students' academic motivation is limited. This study is aimed to fill this gap. 566 students from 20 classes completed measures of teachers' instructional behavior and academic motivation in five waves throughout the school year. Results showed that students' perceptions of the quality of teachers' instructional behavior and that of academic motivation declined over time. The decrease in academic motivation was related to the decrease in teachers' instructional behavior. A high quality of teachers' instructional behavior appeared to be a protective factor for the decline in the level of students' academic motivation over time.