Mediating Effect Of Perceived Sports Competence On Achievement Goals In Physical Education And Exercise Intentions

Abstract

The major goal of physical education (PE) is to facilitate students to develop physically active lifestyles. An important research area is to identify motivational strategies to maximize student motivation and engagement in PE and examine its trans-contextual effect on leisure-time physical activity. One important strategy synthesized from achievement goals research is the creation of a task-involved motivational climate in PE. Under this climate, students' goal orientations can be reinforced or altered to focus on mastery learning and self-improvements, rather than social comparisons. A task-involved goal is linked to adaptive motivational and behavioral patterns regardless of PSC. However, PSC mediates the relation between an ego-involved goal and motivational and behavioral responses. It is expected that such motivational effect in PE may affect leisure time physical activity via perceived sports competence (PSC). Evidence shows that PSC is distinguished from perceived behavioral control and strongly related to intentions. Little is known of the mediating relations among achievement goals, PSC, and exercise intentions. PURPOSE: To examine the mediating relation among the perceived motivational climate and goal orientations in PE, PSC, and exercise intentions. METHODS: 248 middle school students completed the questionnaires assessing the perceived motivational climate, goal orientations, PSC, and exercise intentions. RESULTS: The SEM analysis with manifest variables indicated that PSC completely mediated the effect of ego goal orientations on intentions to exercise, and partially mediated the effects of task goal orientations. PSC and task goal orientations accounted for 11% of the variance in exercise intentions, and task and ego goal orientations accounted for 11% of the variance in PSC. The perceived motivational climate significantly predicted goal orientations in physical education. CONCLUSION: A task-involved motivational climate not only can motivate students to learn in physical education, but also may go beyond the boundary of school physical education to facilitate them to develop physically active lifestyles. An important teaching implication is that physical education teachers should create task-involved and competence-focused motivational climates.