Psychological needs satisfaction, self‐determined motivation, and physical activity of students in physical education: Comparison across gender and school levels

Abstract

This study applies self-determination theory (SDT) to test the hypothesised relationships amongst three basic psychological needs, level of self-determined motivation (i.e. self-determination index, SDI) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) of Chinese elementary and secondary school students during their physical education (PE) in Shanghai, China. Gender and schoollevel differences in these relationships are also explored. The participants comprise 1829 students from three elementary and secondary schools in Shanghai, China. Accelerometers are used to measure the MVPA duration of the participants in PE. The Self-regulation Questionnaire and the Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale are completed by the participants to assess PE motivation and the three psychological needs of students. The structural equation modelling (SEM) results show that the hypothesised model has a good fit with our data. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness are positively associated with SDI for MVPA. The SDI is positively related to the time spent by students in MVPA in PE. The multi-group path analysis results reveal that the relationship between SDI and MVPA is stronger for secondary school students than elementary students. Overall, our findings support the applicability of SDT in understanding and promoting the physical activities amongst Chinese school students in PE. Accordingly, intervention should be conducted to develop autonomy, competence and social relatedness of elementary and secondary school students. Additional efforts are required to encourage elementary school students to be more self-determinant in PE classes.: Highlights. Findings support the applicability of SDT in understanding and promoting the physical activities amongst Chinese school students in PE . SDI was positively related to school students' MVPA level. The satisfaction of autonomy, competence and relatedness towards PE was positively associated with students' SDI. . The proposed motivational sequence for adolescent MVPA in PE were similar for male and female students. . The relationship between SDI and MVPA of secondary school students was significantly stronger than elementary school students

High-School Students’ Continuous Engagement in Taekwondo Activity

“…Second, intrinsic motivation will be positively and directly associated with Taekwondo activity continuity (Cid et al, 2019). Third, intrinsic motivation will positively mediate the relationship between the three psychological needs and Taekwondo activity continuity (Wang & Chen, 2022) (see Figure 1). …”

“…Third, intrinsic motivation will positively mediate the relationship between the three psychological needs and Taekwondo activity continuity (Wang & Chen, 2022) (see Figure 1).…”

The relationship between self-determined motivation, emotional involvement, cognitive involvement and leisure-time physical activity among college students

“…However, substantial evidence indicates that more than half of college students fail to meet the recommended guideline of accumulating at least 150 min of moderate physical activity per week in China [ 4 ]. Physical education is a sport-based physical education curriculum and instructional model [ 5 ] that plays a crucial role in influencing health behaviors [ 6 ]. In fact, a structured university physical education and health promotion program can increase students' physical activity levels, motivation for life, and optimize their perceived health [ 7 ].…”

Predicting social skills in disadvantaged Chinese high school students through physical education

“…When we focus on the subject of SDT in sport context in China, we can find some studies focusing on: academic motivation and its relationship with participation in school academic stress enjoyment, Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity guidelines and intentions to exercise during leisure time ( Yang, 2019 ; Wang and Chen, 2021 ); impact of coaching methods and sport climate on athletes’ behavior ( Fu and Ding, 2008 ; Chen et al, 2016 ) and relationship between student’s time practicing physical activity and their behaviors ( Wan et al, 2021 ). Despite the rapid advances in social skills research recently, to date there is not an emphasis of the research on the relation with PE and sport environments, being these studies scarce in Chinese context too.…”