Ecologically negotiated student motivation: a multi-perspective qualitative study through self-determination theory and ecological systems theory

Abstract This qualitative study examined how student motivation is described, supported, and understood by students, teachers, and parents in the Greek school located in Gökçeada (Imvros), Turkey. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (EST), the study addressed three questions: (a) how students interpret their motivation in daily school life, (b) how teachers and parents observe and foster motivation, and (c) how relational, institutional, and cultural factors shape motivational experiences across ecological levels. Data were collected through four focus group interviews with lower secondary school students ( N = 6), upper secondary school students ( N = 6), teachers ( N = 4), and parents ( N = 5), and analyzed thematically using a combined inductive–deductive approach. Participants described motivational experiences that could be situated along the SDT continuum (from disengagement to interest/enjoyment), while inductive themes across stakeholder accounts also highlighted teacher influence, perceived competence, and parental scaffolding. Teachers tended to emphasize structure, discipline, and observable engagement, whereas parents highlighted cultural identity, routines, and long-term aspirations. Viewed through an ecological lens, motivation was described as co-constructed across systems: microsystem relationships, mesosystem home–school alignment, exosystem institutional constraints, macrosystem cultural hybridity, and chronosystem disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic. By integrating SDT with EST analytically, the study demonstrates how the quality of motivational regulation is co-constructed across systems rather than residing solely within individual students. The findings offer context-sensitive insights into motivational processes in minority and bilingual school environments and highlight the importance of examining stakeholder perspectives comparatively to understand convergences and misalignments in motivational support.