CASTL Research Brief: The Pivotal Role of Adolescent Autonomy in Secondary School Classrooms

AUTHORS: Christopher A. Hafen

DATE: February 29 2012

TYPE:

Students’ perceptions of their autonomy in the classroom, their connection with their teacher, and their own academic competence were analyzed to see if their perceptions predicted students’ engagement across the school year. The researchers found that when students perceived that their classrooms allowed and encouraged autonomy in the first few weeks of the course, their engagement increased throughout the course.