Investigating the relationships among teachers' motivational beliefs, motivational regulation, and their learning engagement in online professional learning communities. (June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Si; Liu, Qingtang
• Is Part Of: Computers & education. Volume 134(2019)
• Page Start: 145
• Page End: 155
• Publication Date: 2019-06
• Subjects: Learning communities -- Computer-mediated communication -- Cooperative/collaborative learning -- Teaching/learning strategies; Education -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Education -- Periodicals; Computers -- Periodicals; Computer-Assisted Instruction -- Periodicals; Éducation -- Informatique -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 370.285
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2019.02.013
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-1315

Abstract

Abstract: This study investigated the relationships among teachers' motivational beliefs, motivational regulation, and their learning engagement in online professional learning communities. More importantly, teachers' online learning behaviors were collected and used as indicates of learning engagement. 520 teachers involved in a training program were surveyed. The results of regression analyses showed that teachers' perceived task value positively predicted their online learning engagement. Moreover, teachers' motivational regulation played a partial mediating role in the predicting power of perceived task value to learning engagement. In addition, the first half of the mediating path among perceived task value, motivational regulation, and learning engagement was moderated by teachers' self-efficacy. The moderating effect on motivational regulation was higher for teachers with a high sense of self-efficacy than those with a low sense of self-efficacy. Therefore, it was suggested to assign learning tasks that meet the needs of teachers and pay attention to the cultivation of teachers' self-efficacy beliefs to increase their learning engagement in online professional learning communities. The limitations and the future research directions were discussed. Highlights: Teachers' learning engagement was measured by online learning behaviors. Teachers' perceived task value was positively related to their online learning engagement. The relationship between perceived task value and online learning engagement was mediated by motivational regulation. The mediating effect of motivational regulation was moderated by perceived self-efficacy.