The Relationship Between Students’ Perception of Teacher Enthusiasm and Learning Motivation: The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs

The learning environment in a school greatly influences students’ learning motivation. The enthusiasm with which the teacher delivers their lessons has a positive impact on students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. According to Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory (2000), the fulfillment of basic psychological needs positively predicts the emergence of intrinsic learning motivation among students. This study investigates the impact of teacher enthusiasm on students’ learning motivation and the role that autonomy, competence, and relatedness may play in this relationship. The research involved students from grades V-XII in two public high schools from North-West part of Romania (N=193). All students completed anonymous online questionnaires regarding their perception of the enthusiasm with which their Romanian language and literature teacher conducts their lessons, and the level at which they perceive their basic psychological needs to be met. Students’ learning motivation typology (i.e., intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjection, and extrinsic regulation) was also assessed. Data were collected in February 2021, one year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that there is no direct relationship between teacher enthusiasm and student motivation. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness explain the effect of teacher enthusiasm on intrinsic learning motivation, but only autonomy and relatedness explain the effect of enthusiasm on identified regulation. There is no mediating effect of basic psychological needs, nor any direct effect of teacher enthusiasm on extrinsic motivation or introjected regulation.