When examining the role of parental style to explain student motivation, researchers have often used students' perceptions of their parents. In general, mothers tend to be perceived as more autonomy supportive than fathers ([Grolnick] et al., 1991), although mothers' and fathers' perceptions tend to be positively correlated (Niemiec et al., 2006). In fact, when evaluated by external judges, mothers and fathers were found to display similar amounts of autonomy supportive behaviours (Grolnick & Ryan, 1989). When predicting autonomous school motivation, there are inconsistent findings as to the relative importance of each parent. Some studies (e.g., Grolnick et al., 1991; [Ratelle, Guay] & Chanal, 2008) have found that the autonomy supportive styles of both parents significantly predicted children's autonomous self-regulation. Others (e.g., d'Ailly, 2003; Grolnick & Ryan, 1989) found that only mothers' autonomy supportive style predicted students' feeling of autonomy at school. Since most of the research on parental autonomy support deals with either mothers' style or a composite of both parents' styles, further research is needed to disentangle the specific roles of mothers' and fathers' support for their children's autonomy. For example, it would be interesting to examine whether having two autonomy supportive parents is associated with the most positive outcomes for students, such as high autonomous regulation. In the absence of this optimal parenting context, having at least one parent who is autonomy supportive might "protect" the child from the deleterious consequences associated with the controllingness of the other parent (see [Simons] & Conger, 2007).

Testing the relative autonomy support of parents and teachers. So far, we have presented the contributions of parents and teachers separately, since few studies have tested the relative contribution of parents and teachers to explain students' autonomous regulation. A first study (d'Ailly, 2003) tested adults' contributions to students' motivational resources and academic outcomes in a large sample of Chinese grade school students. Their findings suggest that parents (mostly mothers) have a role relatively similar to teachers' in predicting children's self-regulation at school. In a second study with a sample of Quebec high school students, parents' autonomy support predicted higher autonomy than teachers' and school administrators' ([Vallerand] et al., 1997). Interestingly, teachers' and school administrators' autonomy support made similar contributions to students' autonomy. This suggests that, in an academic setting, adults other than teachers can contribute to students' motivational resources. In sum, while there is ample evidence for the benefits associated with both parents' and teachers' autonomy support, the findings suggest that parental autonomy support is the most important for the development of students' motivational resources.

Le présent article procure une vue d'ensemble des études sur l'éducation qui ont été guidées par la théorie de l'autodétermination. En premier lieu, nous examinons les études qui ont évalué la motivation fondée sur la théorie de l'autodétermination. Nous expliquons ensuite la recherche portant sur les liens existant entre les types de motivation et les résultats des étudiants en matière de comportement et de composantes affectives et cognitives. Nous présentons aussi les études sur les contextes d'apprentissage (parents, enseignants) qui contribuent aux ressources motivationnelles des étudiants. Nous en déduisons que les types de motivation proposés par la théorie de l'autodétermination permettent de comprendre les éléments qui permettent aux étudiants de se démarquer et de réussir en milieu scolaire. Nous mettons aussi en relief le rôle important que jouent les enseignants et les parents dans le développement de la motivation de l'éudiant En conclusion, nous présentons un résumé des bienfaits de G automotivation dans le cadre de l'apprentissage et offrons quelques recommandations pertinentes au domaine en question.

Student behavior
Motivation
Theory