Unpacking Department Teaching Culture Through the Lens of Self-Determination Theory

To transform undergraduate education, individuals need to work within their department to strengthen cultural aspects and encourage positive changes (Baldwin, 2009). We draw on self-determination theory (SDT; Deci et al., 2017) as a way to assess departmental culture by measuring if individuals within a department perceive their psychological needs (i.e., relatedness, competence, and autonomy) as being met. When instructors' psychological needs are met, they are more likely to use practices aligned with optimal student learning (Stupnisky et al., 2018). Looking across individuals within a single department, we can begin to get a sense of the culture therein. In this poster, we specifically ask whether faculty perceptions of their satisfaction with the three psychological needs correspond with what SDT states would lead to the most optimal well-being and performance. Understanding how faculty perceptions align or misalign with the tenets of SDT will give us insight into the types of instructors who may benefit most from a professional development program aimed toward increasing levels of relatedness, competence, and autonomy across STEM departments. We developed a 24-item survey, with 12 items focused on the individuals' perceptions of their current actions (i.e., what they perceive they do) with respect to their psychological needs in teaching. The other 12 items focused on individuals' preferences (i.e., what they want to occur) with respect to their psychological needs in teaching. We surveyed 11 departments (n = 133 individuals) at one R2 university, analyzed the differences between individuals' actions and preferences regarding their psychological needs for teaching, and interpreted those results through the lens of SDT. We will present preliminary findings showing how analyzing psychological need satisfaction through SDT can reveal insights into departmental culture and guide targeted efforts to support change in higher education.