TY - JOUR TI - Investigating science teachers’ interpretations of motivating features of inquiry-based science curriculum and their enactment decision making DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-dm67-7080 PY - 2019 AB - It is challenging to motivate and deeply engage students in inquiry-based science settings. Inquiry tasks are difficult, require the coordination of deep-level learning strategies, and extend over time. Despite these challenges, the curriculum supports found in inquiry-based curricula have the potential to provide optimal conditions for high quality motivational enactment in support of students’ basic need for autonomy. The existing literature has not yet provided insights into how teachers draw on inquiry curriculum with autonomy-supportive features and translate it into high quality enactment. Thus, we need information about how teachers work with, optimize, supplement and modify inquiry materials to have a fuller understanding of how their enactment supports student autonomy in optimal ways within inquiry contexts. The purpose of this study was to (1) examine how teachers interpret and notice the autonomy supportive features provided within inquiry curricula, (2) investigate the particular modifications and revisions teachers make when considering enactment of these motivating features, and (3) explore the rationales and reasons behind these enactment decisions. Data was collected from interviews and classroom observations from four inquiry teachers to examine how they augment, diminish, or enact as intended autonomy-supportive curriculum features. Teachers planned to enact the curriculum as intended 78% of the time and planned modifications 22% of the time. Encouragingly, 56% of these planned modifications enhanced student autonomy. Reasons influencing teachers to adopt autonomy-supportive practices were driven not only by teaching pressures, but also by various supports. Implications for inquiry curriculum developers and for elaborating our understanding of autonomy-supportive practices within inquiry contexts will be discussed. Findings underscore the importance of accounting for motivation curricular features in combination with teachers’ motivational beliefs as antecedents to their resulting motivational enactment. KW - Education KW - Science teachers--Training of--United States KW - Science--Study and teaching--Curricula LA - eng ER -