The influence of basic psychological needs on secondary school students’ intrinsic motivation at RRI activity

Abstract

The article deals withthe role of responsible research and innovation (RRI) at science educationin promoting intrinsic motivation ofsecondaryschool learners from Lithuania.RRI deals with uncertain areas of knowledge and gives students an opportunity for responsibility and self-expression to cometo informed decisions about science innovationsand their impact. The theoretical background of learners’ intrinsic motivation was analysed on the basis of Self-Determination Theory (STD). STD highlights three basic psychological needs of learners: the need for autonomy, the need for competence and the need for relatedness.The research problemis formulated as a question: how do basic psychological needs influence intrinsic motivation of secondary school learners at RRI activity? Intrinsic motivation inventory was used to assess the secondary school students’ intrinsic motivation related to RRI activity. The collected data were analysed using simple regression. The findings confirm that the need for competence and the need for relatednessare important internal factors in promotion of intrinsic motivation of secondary school learnersat RRI activity.