Using motivational interviewing to promote teacher efficacy, autonomy-supportive teaching and students’ academic motivation

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a collaborative communication style used to promote individuals’ motivation, and there is growing support for using MI in schools. This study aims to test whether a teacher-focused intervention program based on MI and autonomy-supportive teaching increases teachers’ autonomy-supportive teaching, teacher efficacy and students’ academic motivation and perceptions of autonomy support. In this intervention study with a short-term longitudinal design, teachers were trained in MI and autonomy-supportive teaching style, along with a control group in which the students’ teachers did not receive specific training. 14 teachers and 478 students (10–12 years) participated in the study. The MI-based intervention were found to significantly increase teachers’ perceived autonomy-supportive teaching and sense of efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management from Time 1 to Time 2. However, the intervention did not increase students’ academic motivation or perceptions of teacher autonomy support over time. The current study indicate that school-based MI may be more important for teachers’ professional development than for younger students’ academic motivation. This study demonstrates that MI training can have an impact on teachers’ instructional behaviors and increase teacher efficacy, providing valuable insights for both teacher education and school leaders