Date
3-10-2026
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Michelle Barthlow
Keywords
school leadership, teacher motivation, need-supportive, need-thwarting, need-indifferent, autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, amotivation, need-related behaviors, rural schools, self-determination theory, SDT, school leader behaviors
Disciplines
Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
White, Christina M., "A Predictive Correlational Study on School Leaders' Need-Related Behaviors and Teacher Work Motivation" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7969.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7969
Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative, predictive correlational study was to examine how well the linear combination of school leaders’ need-supportive, need-thwarting, and need-indifferent behaviors predicts each type of teacher work motivation (autonomous work motivation, controlled work motivation, work amotivation) among primary and secondary teachers in rural public schools in northeast Mississippi. This study is important because the current literature has not fully addressed how the combination of school leaders’ need-related behaviors influences teachers’ motivational quality, particularly in the context of rural public schools. The sample included 306 primary and secondary school teachers from nine rural public school districts in northeast Mississippi. Data were collected by sending teachers a district-endorsed email with a link to an online Qualtrics survey containing the Tripartite Measure of Interpersonal Behaviors – Supervisor, the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale, a demographic survey, and an information sheet. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis found a significant predictive correlation between the predictors (school leaders’ need-supportive, need-thwarting, and need-indifferent behaviors) and teachers’ autonomous work motivation and work amotivation. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between the predictors and controlled work motivation. These results indicate that the combination of school leaders’ need-related behaviors predicts teachers’ autonomous work motivation and work amotivation. Future research should include the three psychological need states as mediators and utilize structural equation modeling to test latent relationships among need-related behaviors, need states, and motivational quality.
