This presentation argues that we need to consider teachers' basic psychological needs when formulating educational policy and by practitioners who are planning teacher education and teacher support. It describes the need for consideration of teachers' autonomy, competence and relatedness (through the lens of self-determination theory) and uses examples from the research of Dr Nick Kelly. Read the article supported by these notes here: https://www.nickkellyresearch.com/we-need-to-take-teachers-basic-psychological-needs-seriously-examples-of-research-supporting-teachers-self-determination/

1. Creating the space for
teachers to collaborate
Dr Nick Kelly
Senior Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Science & Engineering Faculty and Faculty of Education
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Digital Life Lab, Australia
nick.kelly@qut.edu.au | www.nickkellyresearch.com | scholar profile

2. The need to take teachers’ basic
psychological needs seriously.
•The problem
•What I mean by this
• Examples from my research

3. • Social, cultural, historical context
• Policy, regulation, economy
• Professional norms
• School characteristics
• Systemic support structures
• Personal & professional
networks
• Individual psychology
social
individual

4. Why we need to take teachers
basic psychological needs seriously

5. • Teacher estimates of student achievement
• Teacher collective efficacy
• “Collective teacher efficacy shapes the normative
environment of schools”(Goddard, Hoy & Hoy, 2000)

6. • Number of teachers
• Entering the profession
• Privatisation
• New public management

8. “Professionals in schools have lost control of
the field of judgment in regard to their
practice, which has passed instead to the test
constructors and system leaders, and the
not-for-profits and edubusinesses that are
often involved in test construction,
information management, and data analysis”
(Lingard, Sellar & Lewis, 2017)

9. Teacher education, support and
satisfaction
Staff in Australia’s Schools 2007 and 2010 data (Kelly, Sims & Ireland, 2018)

10. What are teachers’ basic
psychological needs?

11. • Positive psychology
• Eudaimonia, flourishing, intrinsic motivation
• (Deci & Ryan, 2006)
• Self-determination theory
•Relatedness
•Competence
•Autonomy

12. The self-determined teacher
“I am in control of my life”
“I am responsible for my own behaviour”
“I am self-motivated, not driven by external rewards”
“My actions are based on my own personal values and goals”

13. (Martin, Kelly, & Terry, 2018)

14. Research into supporting teachers
basic psychological needs

15. video

16. A space for deep reflection upon
teaching practice.
Pre-service and Early-career
teachers are mentored by
experienced teachers.
Mentorship Circles
Small
Private
Trusted
Stable

17. Community Q&A
Growing
Knowledge
database
Answering
questions
Sharing
resources
Giving
adviceKnowledge
never lost
Helping
one
another
A space for Community Knowledge
Sharing where teachers help one
another
Shared knowledge is easily
accessible to the rest of the wider
community.

18. TeachConnect
Registered users 779
Participating 185
Non-participating 597
Questions 85
Answers 164
Posts 330
Comments 506

19. RESOURCES
COMMUNITY
GOVERNMENT/INSTITUTION
CORPORATE/FOR-PROFIT/FOUNDATION
STEM discussions
(mailing list)

21. • Modelling practice
• Providing feedback
• Supporting reflection
• Making connections
• Socialisation into teaching culture
• Pragmatic support
(Kelly & Antonio, 2016)

22. https://www.designteachersqld.o
rg

23. https://www.codesignforcurriculumplanning.org
CoDesign for Curriculum Planning

25. 1. Basic psychological needs of teacher
2. The role of researchers
3. Positive psychology in policy & practice
Endeavour fellowships to Australia
www.nickkellyresearch.com

26. References
Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., & Hoy, A. W. (2000). Collective teacher efficacy: Its meaning,
and impact on student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 37(2), 479-
Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. Routledge.
Kelly, N., & Antonio, A. (2016). Teacher peer support in social network sites. Teaching and
Teacher Education, 56, 138-149. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2016.02.007
Kelly, N., Dawes, L., Wright, N., Kerr, J., & Robertson, A. (2018). Co-Design for Curriculum
Planning: A white paper on the co-design approach to developing teachers’ 21st Century
skills. Retrieved from Brisbane, Australia
Kelly, N., Russell, N., Kickbusch, S., Barros, A., Dawes, L., & Rasmussen, R. (2018). Online
communities of teachers to support situational knowledge: A design-based study.
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. doi: 10.14742/ajet.3867
Kelly, N., Sim, C., & Ireland, M. (2018). Slipping through the cracks: teachers who miss out on
early career support. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 1-25. doi:
10.1080/1359866X.2018.1441366
Lingard, B., Sellar, S., Lewis, S. (2017). Accountabilities in Schools and School Systems. Oxford
Research Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford University Press. doi:
10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.74
Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci, Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in
Motivation, Development, and Wellness, Guilford Press, New York, 2017. 756 pp. ISBN
9781462528769,
Verger, A., Fontdevila, C., & Zancajo, A. (2016). The Privatization of Education: A political