Relationship of self-determined motivation with time-related academic behavior in Korean primary school students: A person-centered approach

This study aimed to determine the relationship between self-determined motivation and time-related academic behavior (T-AB) of Korean primary school students, using a person-centered approach, and identified differences in the fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and level of achievement to explore the characteristics of each profile. This study is unique, as previous studies on this topic have used a variable-centered approach. To this end, the current study involved a latent profile analysis of 451 fifth and sixth graders (male: 48.3%, female: 51.7%) in three primary schools located in medium- and small-sized cities in the G province of Korea. First, the analysis resulted in four profiles of self-determined motivation: “low motivation” (3.3%), “controlled regulation” (43.5%), “external regulation dependent” (12.4%), and “autonomous” (40.9%). Second, three profiles were derived for T-AB: “low approach” (6.9%), “timely engagement-approach” (55.2%), and “procrastination-approach” (37.9%). Third, this study examined the relationship between the profiles of self-determined motivation and T-AB through a chi-squared test. “Low approach” represented the largest proportion in the “low motivation” profile of self-determined motivation; “procrastination-approach” represented the largest proportion in the “controlled regulation” and “external regulation dependent” profiles; and “timely engagement-approach” represented the largest proportion in the “autonomous” profile. Fourth, analysis of variance was performed (ANOVA) to understand the differences in the FNE and level of achievement of each derived type. Among the self-determined motivation profiles, “low motivation” was associated with the highest level of FNE, and “autonomous” had the highest level of achievement. Furthermore, among profiles of T-AB, “low approach” was associated with the highest level of FNE, and “timely engagement-approach” had the highest level of achievement. However, the interaction effect between self-determined motivation and T-AB profiles showed significant differences only for FNE that were highest in the “low motivation” profile of self-determined motivation and in the “low approach” profile of T-AB, and lowest in the “autonomous” and “timely engagement-approach” profiles. Lastly, the positive types of motivation and academic behavior in primary school students and some important educational implications are presented.