In this knowledge-based society, people need new knowledge and skills throughout their lifetime. Formal education in classrooms then must nurture the love for learning--a human innate ability as discussed in Deci and Ryan (2008) and Niemiec and Ryan (2009)--to ensure that students’ learning does not end within the classroom walls. However, previous studies have shown that student’s intrinsic motivation dropped from elementary to secondary level (Corpus, McClintic-Gilbert, & Hayenga, 2009; Gottfried, Fleming, & Gottfried, 2001), suggesting the lack of support in the classrooms since a number of studies have shown how teachers can affect the students' motivation in the classroom (Assor, Kaplan, & Roth, 2002; Jang, Reeve, & Deci, 2010; Reeve, 2009; Wiśniewska, 2013)

This presentation thus aims at examining how teachers can facilitate or hinder the development of this internal motivation in the classroom contexts using the data that were collected from approximately 1,000 Thai ninth graders and their teachers in three core subjects—mathematics, science, and English as a foreign language. The findings will be discussed in the light of Self-determination theory and the dichotomy of teachers’ motivational support—controlling versus autonomy-support styles (Kaewdee, in press; Loima & Vibulphol, 2016; Nenthien & Loima, 2016; Vibulphol 2017). Suggestions on how teachers can nurture students’ motivation to learn will be presented. 

Assor, A., Kaplan, H., & Roth, G. (2002). Choice is good, but relevant is excellent: Autonomy-enhancing and suppressing teacher behaviors predicting students’ engagement in school work. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72, 262-278. Corpus, J.H., McClintic-Gilbert, M.S., & Hayenga, A.O. (2009). Within-year changes in children’s intrinsic motivational orientations: Contextual predictors and academic outcomes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 34, 154-166. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2009.01.001 Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 182-185. doi: 10.1037/a0012801. Gottfried, A. E., Feming, J.S., & Gottfried, A.W. (2001). Continuity of academic intrinsic motivation from childhood through late adolescence: A longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 3-13. doi: 10.1037//0022-0663.93.1.3 Jang, H., Reeve, J., & Deci, E. L. (2010). Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. American Psychological Association, 102(3), 588-600. doi:10.1037/a0019682 Kaewdee, S. (in press). Motivation and Learning of Ninth Grade Students in Science Classrooms. Journal of Education Studies. Loima, J., & Vibulphol, J. (2016). Learning and Motivation in Thailand: A Comparative Regional Study on Basic Education Ninth Graders. International Education Studies, 9(1), 31-43. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ies.v9n1p31 Nenthien, S., & Loima, J. (2016). Teachers’ motivating methods to support Thai ninth grade students’ levels of motivation and learning in mathematics classrooms. Journal of Education and Learning, 5(2), 250-257. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jel.v5n2p250 Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7(2), 133-144. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1477878509104318 Reeve, J. (2009). Why teachers adopt a controlling motivating style toward students and how they can become more autonomy supportive. Educational Psychologist, 44(3), 159-175. doi: 10.1080/00461520903028990 Vibulphol, J. (2016). Students’ motivation and learning and teachers’ motivational strategies in English classrooms in Thailand. English Language Teaching, 9(4), 64-75. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v9n4p64 Wiśniewska, D. (2013). Interest and interest-enhancing strategies of adolescent EFL learners.ELT Journal, 67(2), 210-219. doi: 10.1093/elt/ccs079