THE EFFECTS OF AUTONOMY ON MOTIVATION AND PERFORMANCE IN THE COLLEGE CLASSROOM

The goals of this study were to extend the literature about classroom autonomy in several ways. First, since previous research on autonomy h as tended to focus on younger learners, we examined whether the positi ve effects of autonomy on motivation and performance would be replicat ed in a college sample. Second, we tested to see whether the well-esta blished links between intrinsic motivation and autonomy would also be found using motivational constructs that play key roles in learning (s pecifically, task value, self-efficacy, and test anxiety). Third, we s ought ro trace the effect of autonomy on changes in student motivation over the course of a semester, Finally, we examined the role of auton omy on course performance. We found that experiences of classroom auto nomy in the college classroom were more closely related to motivationa l factors than to performance. While the immediate experience of auton omy may not be directly facilitative of high course grades, autonomy d oes seem to foster intrinsic goal orientation, task value, and self-ef ficacy, all of which are critical components of ''continuing motivatio n.'' The data presented here lend further support for the benefits of fostering autonomy within academic settings. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.