Herrera Dora, Lira-Delcore Aranza, Lira Luttges Benjamín
Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Lima, Peru.
Nebrija Research Center in Cognition (CINC), Nebrija University, Madrid, Spain.
Front Psychol. 2025 Feb 5;16:1536821. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1536821. eCollection 2025.
University syllabi are a semester-long working tool through which professors present a thematic content program, precise assessment mechanisms, and establish the activities schedule, among other tasks. Teachers can promote high-quality motivation among students through syllabi. The goal of this research was to replicate a previous study on the impact of syllabus language on student motivation.
Two studies were conducted. Study 1 aimed to examine, in 126 first- and second-year students in Humanities General Studies, how they perceive a syllabus with an autonomy-supportive "tone" vs. one with a controlling language. Study 2 explored, in 261 students, basic psychological needs (BPN) satisfaction and their affective approach to the course. Additionally, it investigated the type of motivation (autonomous vs. controlled) that students prioritize when selecting the course.
Findings from Study 1 suggest that autonomy-supportive syllabi are perceived as more attractive, fair, and respectful from the student's perspective. Results from Study 2 indicate that autonomy-supportive syllabi are related to a better perception of the course, greater BPN satisfaction, and autonomous motivation from students, increasing the probability of them choosing that subject.
It is concluded that promoting autonomy, even through the written language shared between teachers and students, is important for improving teaching quality.
大学课程大纲是一个为期一学期的工作工具，教授们通过它来呈现主题内容计划、精确的评估机制，并制定活动时间表等其他任务。教师可以通过课程大纲激发学生的高质量学习动力。本研究的目的是重复之前一项关于课程大纲语言对学生学习动力影响的研究。
进行了两项研究。研究1旨在调查126名人文通识专业一、二年级学生对具有自主支持“语气”的课程大纲和具有控制型语言的课程大纲的看法。研究2在261名学生中探索了基本心理需求（BPN）的满足情况以及他们对课程的情感态度。此外，还调查了学生在选择课程时优先考虑的动机类型（自主型与控制型）。
研究1的结果表明，从学生的角度来看，具有自主支持性的课程大纲被认为更具吸引力、更公平且更受尊重。研究2的结果表明，具有自主支持性的课程大纲与对课程的更好认知、更高的基本心理需求满足度以及学生的自主学习动机相关，增加了他们选择该学科的可能性。
得出的结论是，即使通过师生之间共享的书面语言来促进自主性，对于提高教学质量也很重要。
