Perceived teachers’ behavior and students’ engagement in physical education: the mediating role of basic psychological needs and self-determined motivation

Abstract

Background: Although several studies that rely on self-determination theory have shown the positive interrelations among perceived need supportive learning environment, needs satisfaction, quality of motivation, and desired outcomes in the context of physical education, only few studies have tested so far the full sequence of relations within a single integrated model. Purpose: The main aim of this study was to test whether indeed needs satisfaction and in turn quality of motivation mediate the relations of need supportive learning environment to physical activity engagement and intentions. Method: Participants were 1120 Spanish students (49.9% males; Mage = 11.70 years; SD = 1.63; range = 10-17 years) from 30 classes out of 13 primary and secondary schools. Results: The multilevel path model showed a positive relation of perceived need-supportive teaching to physical activity engagement and intentions by means of needs satisfaction and autonomous motivation and a negative relation of perceived need-thwarting teaching to engagement and intentions by means of needs frustration and amotivation. Although controlled motivation was found to associate with need frustration and need-thwarting teaching it was not associated with engagement and intentions. Conclusion: the present findings suggest that the type of teaching style employed by the teachers is decisive to achieve positive consequences in physical education students.

Future Academic Expectations and Their Relationship with Motivation, Satisfaction of Psychological Needs, Responsibility, and School Social Climate: Gender and Educational Stage

“…In this sense, the data analysis reported a positive correlation among autonomous motivation (intrinsic motivation and identified regulation), higher basic psychological needs satisfaction, higher personal and social responsibility development, and a better school climate perception. This correlation between motivation and basic psychological needs satisfaction was already verified by Leo et al [ 45 ] and Kaiser et al [ 46 ], who also found a positive correlation, as this study stated. As Leo et al [ 45 ] remarked, specifically in the educational context, in Physical Education lessons, the teaching methodology used by teachers, conditions whether this correlation exists or not.…”

“…This correlation between motivation and basic psychological needs satisfaction was already verified by Leo et al [ 45 ] and Kaiser et al [ 46 ], who also found a positive correlation, as this study stated. As Leo et al [ 45 ] remarked, specifically in the educational context, in Physical Education lessons, the teaching methodology used by teachers, conditions whether this correlation exists or not. In turn, the relation between personal and social responsibility and motivation (also from an SDT perspective), was studied by Manzano-Sánchez et al [ 26 ] and Manzano-Sánchez and Valero-Valenzuela [ 2 ].…”

Motivational profiles and their relationship with responsibility, school social climate and resilience in high school students

“…Therefore, it forms a broad framework that facilitates the understanding of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and psychological well-being, issues of direct importance for educational centres [ 8 ]. Following the SDT, Ryan and Deci [ 6 ] establish that people have three basic psychological needs that are essential and inherent (autonomy, competence and relatedness) which promote optimal functioning [ 9 ], but whose frustration can lead to maladjustment [ 10 ].…”

Web-Based and Face-To-Face Autonomy-Supportive Intervention for Physical Education Teachers and Students’ Experiences

“…However, recent SDT-based research has highlighted that autonomy support is an essential part of a need-supportive style along with competence support (or structure) and relatedness support (e.g., Aelterman et al, 2019;Leo et al, 2020;Rocchi et al, 2017). Similarly, controlling (or autonomythwarting) behaviours represent a meaningful part of a need-thwarting (or demotivating) style together with competence-thwarting (or chaos) and relatedness-thwarting (cold environment) behaviours (e.g., Aelterman et al, 2019;Leo et al, 2020;Rocchi et al, 2017). Future research could do well when adopting a broader conceptualization of PE teachers' interpersonal behaviour as a theoretical framework.…”