PE teachers’ motivational styles have a substantial impact on students’ engagement in learning and can influence children to adopt physically active lifestyles. The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) seeks to explain human motivation and behaviour. Central to SDT, three basic psychological needs must be supported (the needs for autonomy, competency and relatedness) to enhance intrinsic motivation. Autonomy-support refers to the subjective experience of autonomy. Structure is important in PE as it creates the conditions whereby effective learning can take place. The current study examined the effects of a ten-week, school-based, autonomy-supportive structure (ASTS-PE) teacher training intervention in PE, on students’ PE outcomes. Psychological needs satisfaction, perceived autonomy-support, relative autonomy index (RAI), engagement and objective moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels in PE were measured. The study consists of two treatment (autonomy-supportive structure and autonomy-support only) and one control group. The results indicate that students in the autonomy-supportive structure group show better overall outcomes compared to the other two groups. The findings in this study provide strong evidence that both autonomy-support and structure are needed to maximise effectiveness in PE lessons. We further suggest practical ways in which teachers could implement an autonomy-supportive structure in their lessons.

Resumen

Los estilos motivacionales de los profesores de educación física tienen un impacto sustancial en el compromiso de aprendizaje y pueden influir en la adopción, por parte de los niños, de un estilo de vida físicamente activo. La teoría de la autodeterminación (SDT) trata de explicar el comportamiento y la motivación humana. Según esta teoría, tres necesidades psicológicas deben ser respaldadas para potenciar la motivación intrínseca (la necesidad de autonomía, de competencia y de relación). El soporte de autonomía se refiere a la experiencia subjetiva de autonomía. La estructura en las clases de educación física es importante en cuanto a la creación de condiciones que permiten que tenga lugar un aprendizaje efectivo. El presente estudio examinó los efectos de una enseñanza con una estructura de soporte de autonomía en estudiantes de educación física tras un entrenamiento de 10 semanas. Se midieron la satisfacción de las necesidades psicológicas, el nivel de apoyo a la autonomía percibido, el índice de autonomía relativo (RAI), el compromiso y los niveles la actividad objetiva moderada-vigorosa (MVPA). El estudio consta de dos condiciones (estructura de apoyo a la autonomía y solamente soporte de autonomía) y un grupo control. Los resultados indican que los estudiantes en el grupo de estructura de apoyo a la autonomía mostraron mejores resultados globales en comparación con los otros dos grupos. Los resultados de este estudio proporcionan una fuerte evidencia de que tanto el apoyo a la autonomía y la estructura son necesarios para maximizar la eficacia en las clases de educación física. Además, sugerimos maneras prácticas en las que los profesores podrían implementar una estructura de apoyo a la autonomía en sus clases.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5232/ricyde2016.04301

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