Effects of teacher autonomy support and students' autonomous motivation on learning in physical education.
This study applied self-determination theory to investigate the effects of students' autonomous motivation and their perceptions of teacher autonomy support on need satisfaction adjustment, learning achievement, and cardiorespiratory fitness over a 4-month personal conditioning unit. Participants were 253 urban adolescents (121 girls and 132 boys, ages = 12-14 years). Based on a series of multiple regression analyses, perceived autonomy support by teachers significantly predicted students'need satisfaction adjustment and led to learning achievement, especially for students who were not autonomously motivated to learn in physical education. In turn, being more autonomous was directly associated with cardiorespiratory fitness enhancement. The findings suggest that shifts in teaching approaches toward providing more support for students' autonomy and active involvement hold promise for enhancing learning.
Shen
Bo
B
Department of Kinesiology, Health, and Sport Studies, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. boshen@wayne.edu
McCaughtry
Nate
N
Martin
Jeffrey
J
Fahlman
Mariane
M
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D009042:Motivation; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011594:Psychometrics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013663:Teaching; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data