Classroom relatedness of international college students and its impact on motivation from the framework of self-determination theory

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The presence of international students creates a more diverse learning environment in American college classrooms. However, these students often face challenges such as language difficulties that could limit meaningful interactions in the classroom followed by cultural differences that may influence motivation to learn. Therefore, given the lack of research on relatedness in the classroom especially among international students, the study aims to investigate relatedness inside the classroom among international students and how it impacts motivation using the framework of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). International (n = 44) and non-international undergraduate students (n = 50) completed an online survey that measured their basic psychological needs and motivation based on one specific course of their choice. Results showed that when considering autonomy and competence, relatedness support was found to be the most important for international students when predicting amotivation, identified motivation and intrinsic motivation. Additionally, classroom relatedness levels did not differ significantly between international and non-international students which suggested relatedness support was similarly important for both groups. Finally, autonomy and relatedness did not interact with student status which indicated that levels of classroom autonomy and relatedness do not depend on student status. Thus, relatedness support inside the classroom was important for all students but was especially important for international student population given their unique challenges.