Context

Students’ academic success is a major issue at all educational levels. For example, at the secondary school level, recent statistics from the ministère de l’Éducation du Québec (Quebec ministry of education) indicate that, in 2000, approximately 19% of youths aged 19 had not obtained their secondary school diploma and were not attending school. This phenomenon is certainly even more marked given that many youths complete their secondary school studies in the adult sector and the graduation rate in this sector is only 53%. Moreover, the results of uniform examinations administered by the Ministry indicate that approximately 14% of secondary school students failed these examinations in June 2001 (Indicateurs de l'éducation, 2002). Dropping out of school and the presence of performance-related problems are likely to have an impact on the development and social integration of youths. Indeed, approximately 37% of youths who did not complete their secondary school studies state that they have experienced periods of unemployment since leaving school (Sondage sur l'insertion professionnelle des jeunes au Québec, 1997). Moreover, Krokstad et al. (2002) have shown that adults with a low level of education are more likely to suffer from physical health problems.

The general goal of this research program is to examine the psychosocial factors associated with academic success. Several socio-demographic, familial and economic factors are associated with academic success. Among these determinants, it appears that (1) self-determined motivation, (2) self-concept (3) family, (4) teachers and (5) peers are important. Although several studies have examined these five factors, these studies nevertheless contain some limitations. First, few studies have assessed the combination of factors related to social context (family, peers and teachers) with individual factors to explain academic success. Second, most studies have focused on parents and teachers as factors that can affect academic success, thus overlooking the influence of friends. Yet, friends play an increasingly important role in the youth’s relational universe and this role peaks in adolescence (Hartup & Stevens, 1997). Third, few studies have attempted to describe the development of contextual and individual factors as well as the impact of this development on academic success.

We recently put forward a socio-motivational model of academic success which takes these limitations into account. This model is mainly based on self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000) and the motivational model of Connell and Wellborn (1990). These two theoretical frameworks basically emphasize the interaction between an individual’s psychological needs and his or her environment in order to predict human behaviour. These theoretical frameworks have proven to be useful for understanding human behaviour in several spheres of life, including education.

A Socio-Motivational Model of Academic Success

Our model (see Figure below) generally suggests that parent and teacher autonomy support as well as positive peer relationships should enable students to develop their motivational resources, that is, high levels of self-determined motivation and academic self-concept. High motivation and academic self-concept should then foster academic success. Our model also maintains that complex interactions exist between the various factors related to social context. For example, it argues that parents who support their child’s autonomy will soften the negative effects of a controlling teacher on their child’s motivational resources. Lastly, our model suggests that reciprocal links exist between the different variables. For example, students who perform poorly at school will cause their parents and teachers to adopt more directive behaviours towards them. The following section briefly presents the definition of the model’s key concepts and a number of empirical studies that support the model.

Motivational resources and academic success

Self-determined motivation refers to the fact that an activity is performed for reasons inherent to it, for example, for the pleasure or satisfaction that it brings to the individual or because the activity is considered to be important. On the contrary, non self-determined motivation means that the individual performs the activity because of internal pressures (guilt and self approval) or else to obtain a reward or avoid punishment. Studies show that self-determined motivation is associated with better academic performance (Fortier, Vallerand, Guay, 1995; Guay & Vallerand, 1997) and greater persistence in the academic program (Vallerand, Fortier, & Guay, 1997). Academic self-concept is defined as students’ subjective assessment of their academic abilities (Marsh & Craven, 1997). Several studies have examined the relationship between academic self-concept and academic performance. For example, Guay, Marsh and Boivin (2003) demonstrated that children with high academic self-concept when beginning elementary school saw their academic results rise over the years (see also Guay, Boivin, & Hodges, 1999a). As regards persistence in studies, Schaffers, Epperson and Nauta (1997) revealed that academic self-concept was positively associated with persistence in an academic program, over and above the student’s GPA. Lastly, Guay, Larose and Boivin (forthcoming) demonstrated that elementary school children with high academic self-concept were less inclined to drop out of school or repeat a school grade.

Social context and motivational resources

It appears that the number of hours that parents devote to helping their children is beneficial in terms of academic success, as long as this commitment involves supporting the student’s autonomy (Guay & Vallerand, 1997). Autonomy support refers to parents’ ability to let children make their own decisions as well as to inform them about the consequences of their decisions, listen to them, understand their feelings and not use punitive techniques to make them behave in a certain way (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Studies have revealed that a family context which is supportive of children’s autonomy fosters the development of self-determined motivation towards studies and academic self-concept.

Several studies also report that teachers’ autonomy support enables students to develop their self-determined motivation and self-concept (Reeve, 1996). For example, Guay, Boggiano and Vallerand (2001) demonstrated that teacher autonomy support was associated with increased intrinsic motivation and academic self-concept over a one-year period. Moreover, Guay and Vallerand (1997) and Vallerand, Fortier and Guay (1997) showed that teacher autonomy support was positively associated with students’ self-determined motivation and academic self-concept, controlling for the effect of parental autonomy support (see also Reeve, Bolt, & Cai, 1999 and Rigby et al., 1992 for similar results).

Peer relationships are a context which is likely to influence the development of adolescents (Hartup & Stevens, 1997). As regards dropping out of school, some studies reveal that adolescents who have difficult relationships with their peers are more likely to drop out of school (Parker & Asher, 1987). Hymel et al. (1996) also observed that children who are rejected may feel so much hostility towards and exclusion from peers that they contemplate abandoning their studies. Although the literature generally reveals that adolescents’ relationships with one another are important and closely linked with indexes of academic adjustment, few studies have assessed the influence of these relationships on students’ motivational resources.

Research Themes and Goals

The model on which our research program is based has already been validated through several empirical studies. Several important questions nevertheless remain. The present research program seeks to answer these questions and is structured around three major themes. The first theme includes all the studies which deal with the motivational factors associated with academic success. The second theme focuses on the familial, social and academic factors which foster or hamper the student’s motivational resources. The third theme focuses on the assessment of an intervention program aimed at preventing academic problems among students.

Theme 1: Studies dealing with the motivational factors associated with academic success

Goal: To describe the prevalence and developmental trajectories of students’ motivational resources and determine whether these developmental trajectories predict academic performance and school dropout.

Several studies have assessed the relations between motivational resources, academic performance and dropping out of school (see Guay, Marsh, & Boivin, 2003; Vallerand, Fortier, & Guay, 1997 for literature reviews). However, the overwhelming majority of these studies have not assessed the developmental trajectories of motivational resources. Such an analysis is nevertheless essential for identifying the development profile of the motivational resources of students who are at risk of abandoning their academic program or of having problems related to their academic grades. For example, such an analysis used on several samples of students might reveal that some students’ motivational resources develop in a particular way, putting them at greater risk of dropping out of school or having problems related to academic performance. Therefore, it would be useful to identify the percentage of students characterized by such a developmental trajectory. Moreover, since many studies have shown that socio-economic conditions are associated with students’ success, it is important to determine whether the trajectories of motivational resources are associated with academic success over and above socio-economic conditions. Lastly, it will be possible to assess whether mechanisms such as learning strategies can act as a “mediation” variable between motivational resources and academic success. Longitudinal studies conducted from this perspective and future studies will be unique in the world. They will also be particularly useful for understanding the development of youths with academic problems (dropping out and getting poor grades).

Theme 2: Factors which foster or hamper motivational resources

Goal 1: To identify the risk and protection factors associated with motivational resources and specify their role and mode of action.

Studies which examine the development of adolescents and young adults (see Harter, 1999 for a review of the literature) suggest that parents play an important role in the relational universe of adolescents but that this importance tends to decrease over the years while the importance of relationships with peers increases. For example, in a recent study, we have shown (Guay et al., forthcoming) that, compared to parents’ negative criticisms, peers’ negative criticisms are more likely to affect certain motivational resources among young adults (aged 18). Thus, our aim is to complete previous studies using large-scale longitudinal studies which focus on the following question: Do parents and teachers have more influence on the motivational resources in early adolescence whereas in mid-adolescence, peers have more impact on these resources? Moreover, we seek to determine whether certain factors can “protect” students from practices which are harmful to their motivational resources. For example, can positive relationships with peers soften the impact of conflict-ridden relationships with parents on the development of motivational resources? Lastly, it will be worthwhile to determine whether parents living in given socio-economic conditions are more likely to use practices which foster or hamper the development of their child’s motivational resources. Results stemming from these questions could eventually lead to more targeted interventions.

Goal 2: To identify the organizational and psychosocial factors associated with teachers’ pedagogical practices.

Some studies have shown that teachers’ work organization can lead them to use pedagogical practices which foster or hamper the development of students’ motivational resources (Pelletier, Séguin-Lévesque & Legault, 2002). Thus, our intention is to pursue research projects which focus on the organizational and psychosocial factors conducive to the use of certain pedagogical practices among teachers. More specifically, we will determine whether factors related to work organization, including the degree of decision autonomy offered at work (degree of control that the teacher has over the work to be done) as well as the teacher’s personality (level of self-determined motivation) can soften the impact of work requirements (amount of work to be done, time constraints, number of students, characteristics of students) on teachers’ pedagogical practices. These research studies are highly innovative since they deal with the organizational factors which indirectly foster or hamper students’ motivational resources.

Theme 3: Assessment of an intervention program

Goal: To develop and assess an intervention program aimed at fostering students’ motivational resources.

Over recent years, the studies in our research program have mainly involved understanding the factors likely to affect academic success. The results of these studies have already provided a few significant courses of intervention. Indeed, these studies indicate that parent and teacher autonomy support plays an important role in the development of students’ motivational resources. Therefore, in the coming years, we will develop and assess an intervention program with parents and teachers aimed at fostering students’ motivational resources. To this end, we will invite some parents and teachers to participate in various training days in which pedagogical practices that foster motivation will be taught. Parents and teachers should then use these techniques to motivate students. We will then assess the effect of this intervention not only on students’ motivation and academic success but also on teachers’ actual practices in class (observation of teacher’s behaviour) and parental practices at home. The results of the experimental group will also be compared with those of a control group to assess the real effectiveness of the intervention project. This large-scale project will help support schools and parents in their efforts to foster academic success.

Current and forthcoming studies linked to the research program

Studies funded by the SSHRC (2000-2003) and the FQRSC/FCAR(2000-2003) that were conducted in colleges will allow us to pursue the goals of themes 1 and 2 of our program. As part of two longitudinal studies, we evaluated at three points in time the different variables of our model on more than 800 college students. Moreover, a longitudinal survey which was recently funded by the SSHRC (2003-2006), will be conducted on more than 2000 secondary school students in the Québec City area and will allow us to complete the previous studies and establish a profile of development of the model’s components starting from early adolescence (12 years old) to the end of college studies. To our knowledge, these results will be the first of their kind internationally to deal with the issue of development of motivational resources. In addition, we have obtained two FQRSC grants which relate to success and persistence in science programs at college and university. These longitudinal studies will allow us to assess the validity of our model regarding the issue of persistence and success in science and technology programs. Lastly, in the medium term, we will examine the etiology of academic and motivational problems in a population of young children (preschool and elementary school levels). To this end, we will use our research centre’s large banks of longitudinal data (GRIP - Groupe de recherche sur l'inadaptation psychosociale- Research unit on children’s psychosocial maladjustment).