Can a Hybrid Sport Education/Teaching Games for Understanding Volleyball Unit Be More Effective in Less Motivated Students? An Examination into a Set of Motivation-Related Variables

Luis García-González,Sergio Diloy-Peña,Alexander Gil-Arias,Ángel Abós,Javier Sevil-Serrano

doi:10.3390/su12156170

Abstract

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study aims to examine whether the effects of a hybrid Sport Education (SE)/Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) a volleyball teaching unit were equally effective on a set of SDT-related variables according to students’ initial motivations. A pre-experimental pre-/post-test design without a control group was conducted in a volleyball teaching unit in Physical Education. A final sample of 49 students (M = 15.50, SD = 0.57), in their fourth year of secondary education, participated in a hybrid SE/TGfU volleyball teaching unit composed of 10 lessons. The structure of this unit was designed according to the characteristics of an SE model, while learning tasks were designed using the TGfU model. Different validated questionnaires on basic psychological need (BPN) support and satisfaction, novelty and variety satisfaction, motivation, and intention to be physically active were completed by students. Three different profiles with different Relative Autonomy Index (RAI) levels (i.e., “high”, “moderate”, and “low”) were identified through cluster analysis before starting the intervention. Although the SE/TGfU of a volleyball teaching unit were effective in improving SDT-related variables in the three profiles identified, a large effect size was observed in profiles with a “moderate” or “low” RAI. The hybridization of these two pedagogical models could be a tool for improving motivational outcomes in students who are less motivated in Physical Education lessons.

Highlights

Despite the benefits of physical activity (PA) [1], less than a quarter of young people met the PA recommendations of the World Health Organization [2]
Two students were excluded due to the fact that they did not attend to 80% of the lessons, and the other two because they did not respond to all the questionnaires
This study aimed to examine the extent to which a hybrid sport education (SE)/teaching games for understanding (TGfU) volleyball teaching unit was effective on a set of Self-Determination Theory (SDT)-related variables according to students’ initial motivation

Summary

Introduction

Despite the benefits of physical activity (PA) [1], less than a quarter of young people met the PA recommendations of the World Health Organization [2]. There is a growing body of literature that evidences that student motivation decreases over the high school years [5]. In the last few years, PE has continued to be immersed in a process of pedagogical renewal of the methodologies used in classrooms to increase student learning, and student motivation. Teacher-centered technical models are evolving towards student-centered pedagogical approaches, such as sport education (SE) [6] and teaching games for understanding (TGfU) models [7]. SE and TGfU Models in Physical Education

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Conclusion