Study on the Relationship Among Perceived Teachers' Autonomy Support, Self-efficacy, and Academic Enjoyment of Junior High School Students

This study attempted to analyze the relationship among perceived teachers' autonomy support, self-efficacy, and academic enjoyment of junior high school students. The study adopted a longitudinal study design and collected data from 7th grade junior high school students (N = 254, 137 boys). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the results. The study found showed that: (a) the model of perceived teachers' autonomy support, self-efficacy, and academic enjoyment constructed in this study well explained the empirical data observed; (b) the perceived teachers' autonomy support of students (T1) enhanced their self-efficacy, and their self-efficacy (T2) positively predicted their academic enjoyment (T3). Based on the study findings, implications, practice for junior high school teaching, and further research were discussed.