Teachers’ Autonomy Support and Homework Effort: Moderated mediation of psychological control and autonomous motivation
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Keywords

Teachers
autonomy support
psychological control
autonomous motivation
homework effort

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Valdés-Cuervo, A. A. ., Velderrain-Valenzuela, M., Grijalva-Quiñonez, C. S., Morales-Álvarez, A. ., & Parra-Pérez, L. G. (2025). Teachers’ Autonomy Support and Homework Effort: Moderated mediation of psychological control and autonomous motivation. Universitas Psychologica, 24, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy24.tash
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Abstract

Teachers' autonomy-supportive practices have been associated with positive student behaviors in homework. However, little is known about the underpinnings of this association. This study examined how students’ perceptions of teachers' autonomy-supportive practices relate to their homework effort through autonomous motivation, and whether perceived psychologically controlling practices moderate this process. The sample involved Mexican elementary and secondary students. A moderated mediation model was tested. Results showed that students’ perception of teachers’ autonomy-supportive practices was positively associated with homework effort, and students’ autonomous motivation for homework partially mediated this relationship. Although perceived psychological control did not moderate the link between perceived autonomy support and autonomous motivation, it did moderate the relationship between perceived autonomy support and homework efforts. The positive effect of perceived autonomy support on effort was significant only under low levels of perceived psychological control, highlighting the detrimental role of controlling practices in students’ homework effort.

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Copyright (c) 2025 Ángel Alberto Valdés Cuervo, Michel Velderrain-Valenzuela, Christian Samhir Grijalva-Quiñonez, Agustín Morales-Álvarez, Lizeth Guadalupe Parra-Pérez