THE SOCIAL CONTEXT AS 24
Moreover, it was perceived that the power imbalance between students and teachers
changed developmentally, thus altering the amount of autonomy support and interpersonal
involvement used. For example, Carly suggested:
Depending on the year group. Lower school you need to have the teacher-
pupil professional relationship. Yes you've got to communicate with the kids
and that's important, but in terms of the social interaction I wouldn't have
said it’s particularly important, My sixth form class (sixteen to eighteen year
olds) is completely different because they're only five years younger than
me, you can have social, you can discuss other things as well at the same
time and I'm on first name terms which gives them a greater responsibility
when they're in sixth form as well which I think is quite important.
These extracts indicate that teachers’ beliefs about general developmental differences
have a strong impact upon the motivational strategies that they use. However, such broad
beliefs are more likely to be inaccurate compared to specific beliefs. Consequently, teacher
strategies may not be adapted to the needs of individual students; hence, students who do not
fit in with their teachers’ general developmental beliefs about their age group may suffer
motivationally.
The Students’ Gender
In accordance with past literature (e.g., Jones & Dindia, 2004), some teachers felt that
they adapted their attempts to motivate students depending on the students’ gender.
Specifically, teachers in the present study suggested that boys find competition and social
comparison conducive to their motivation. In other words, these teachers use more ego-
involving strategies with boys. Contrastingly, the teachers perceived that girls prefer
activities that do not promote normative comparison. An example is provided by Joe:
Interviewer: What do you think motivates students in PE?