Highlights Intrinsic motivation toward physical education was the only significant motivational predictor of adolescents’ objectively measured daily physical activity. Perceived autonomy support from the physical education teacher was indirectly related to objectively measured physical activity. Psychological need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation in physical education mediated the effect of perceived autonomy support on objectively measured physical activity.

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Teachers’ behavior is a key factor that influences students’ motivation. Many theoretical models have tried to explain this influence, with one of the most thoroughly researched being self-determination theory (SDT). We used a Delphi method to create a classification of teacher behaviors consistent with SDT. This is useful because SDT-based interventions have been widely used to improve educational outcomes. However, these interventions contain many components. Reliably classifying and labeling those components is essential for implementation, reproducibility, and evidence synthesis. We used an international expert panel (N = 34) to develop this classification system. We started by identifying behaviors from existing literature, then refined labels, descriptions, and examples using the Delphi panel’s input. Next, the panel of experts iteratively rated the relevance of each behavior to SDT, the psychological need that each behavior influenced, and its likely effect on motivation. To create a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of behaviors, experts nominated overlapping behaviors that were redundant, and suggested new ones missing from the classification. After three rounds, the expert panel agreed upon 57 teacher motivational behaviors (TMBs) that were consistent with SDT. For most behaviors (77%), experts reached consensus on both the most relevant psychological need and influence on motivation. Our classification system provides a comprehensive list of TMBs and consistent terminology in how those behaviors are labeled. Researchers and practitioners designing interventions could use these behaviors to design interventions, to reproduce interventions, to assess whether these behaviors moderate intervention effects, and could focus new research on areas where experts disagreed.

The facilitative role of perceived autonomy support from physical education (PE) teachers on adolescents’ leisure-time physical activity (PA) has been supported. This study aimed to examine the mechanism by which perceived controlling behaviors from PE teachers relate to adolescents’ objectively measured leisure-time PA. In a three-wave prospective study, a total of 159 students (64 boys) aged 11 to 19 years old (Mage = 14.94 years; SD = 2.11) completed measures of perceived controlling behavior, frustration of the basic psychological needs, and motivational regulations in PE. One week later, motivational regulations towards leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were assessed. Five weeks later, MVPA was measured using accelerometers (ActiGraph GT3X) during seven consecutive days. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that perceived controlling behavior predicted students’ frustration of basic psychological needs in PE. The competence need frustration in PE had a negative direct effect on objectively measured MVPA. A significant indirect effect supported the mediating role of competence frustration in PE in the relation between perceived controlling behavior from PE teachers and MVPA in adolescents. Findings suggest that future interventions striving to promote adolescents’ PA engagement in their leisure-time should focus on decreasing controlling behaviors from teachers in PE that may manipulate the teacher–student relation.

Objective: This study tested effects of changes in the psychological constructs of the transcontextual model (TCM) on changes in adolescents' outside of school moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (PA) measured using self-report and accelerometer-based device.Design: A three-wave longitudinal design was used. High school students (N=331) completed measures of all the TCM constructs at Time1 and at Time2, five weeks apart. Self-reported PA behaviour was measured also at Time3, five weeks after Time2. PA was measured using accelerometer-based devices for seven days following Time1 and Time3 for a census week. Results: A structural equation model using residual change scores revealed that perceived autonomy support from physical education (PE) teachers positively predicted autonomous motivation in PE. Autonomous motivation in PE positively predicted autonomous motivation in leisure time. Leisure-time autonomous motivation was positively and indirectly related to intention, mediated by attitude and perceived behavioural control. Intention positively predicted self-reported PA, and mediated the effect of autonomous motivation on self-reported PA. There were no effects on outside of school PA measured by accelerometer-based device. Conclusions: Results provide qualified support for the TCM in the prediction of change in adolescents' leisure-time autonomous motivation, intention, and self-reported PA, but not change in PA measured by accelerometer-based device.