Autonomy–Mastery, Supportive or Performance Focused? Different teacher behaviours and pupils' outcomes in physical education

Abstract

We investigated the role of motivational climates, teacher autonomy support, perceived competence and autonomy on pupils' self‐regulated motivation in physical education (PE) classes of Norwegian 10th‐graders. Path analyses revealed that a mastery climate and teacher autonomy support both (a) positively influenced intrinsically regulated motivation as measured by the relative autonomy index (RAI) and by the intrinsic motivation subdimension, and (b) negatively influenced amotivation. Perceived competence, but not perceived autonomy, significantly and partially mediated these relationships. Unmediated by perceived competence, a performance climate was found to facilitate amotivation. A mastery climate, autonomy support, perceived competence and intrinsically regulated motivation predicted enhanced levels of interest/enjoyment in PE. Intrinsically regulated motivation and perceived competence predicted after‐school physical activity. Findings suggest that blending achievement goal theory and self‐determination theory add to our understanding of motivational, affective and behavioural outcomes in school physical education.