ECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH19
Introduction Physical Education provides a critical context for fostering children's interpersonal communication. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, supportive teacher behaviours are theorised to enhance outcomes through satisfying students' basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. However, the specific pathways linking perceived teacher support to interpersonal communication remain underspecified, particularly whether the three needs operate as parallel mediators and whether these indirect effects vary by gender. This study examined: (1) whether autonomy, competence, and relatedness need satisfaction concurrently mediate the association between perceived PE teacher support and interpersonal communication; and (2) whether student gender moderates these indirect pathways. Methods Participants were 281 senior primary school students (M_age = 10.94 years, SD = 0.70; 53.8% boys) recruited from eleven Grade 5–6 classes across four public schools in Changsha, China. Validated Perceived Need-Supportive Teaching in PE Scale, Basic Psychological Needs in PE Scale, and Interpersonal Communication Scale were administered. A moderated parallel mediation analysis was conducted to test the conditional indirect effects of perceived teacher support on interpersonal communication, mediated by the three needs, with gender as a moderator. Results Perceived PE teacher support was positively associated with interpersonal communication. In the parallel mediation model, competence needs and relatedness needs significantly mediated this relationship, whereas autonomy needs did not. Gender significantly moderated the paths from teacher support to all three needs. Conditional indirect effects revealed that the mediating role of competence needs was significant for both genders, but substantially stronger for boys. Notably, mediation via relatedness needs was significant only for boys, not for girls, indicating a gender-specific psychological pathway. Conclusions Perceived PE teacher support enhances children's interpersonal communication primarily through competence and relatedness needs, with autonomy needs not significant in this context. Gender critically moderates these pathways: boys benefit more strongly from both competence- and relatedness-based mechanisms, while the relatedness pathway is absent for girls. Findings advance Self-Determination Theory by demonstrating differentiated, parallel mediating roles of psychological needs and identifying for whom specific pathways operate. Practically, PE teachers require gender-sensitive strategies—prioritising competence-building for boys whilst developing alternative pathways (e.g., emotional belonging, relational safety) to support girls' psychological need satisfaction and interpersonal skill development. Without such tailoring, universal need-supportive practices risk perpetuating gendered disparities in PE's social benefits.
Read CV Mengqing WangECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH19
Introduction. Pupils’ motivation in physical education (PE) is a key concern, particularly given the low level of physical activity among youth. The initial training of PE teachers represents a critical opportunity to prepare them with evidence-based motivational strategies that can sustain pupils’ engagement and well-being in PE, but also create a psychologically safe and supportive environment that encourages sustained participation in physical activity. Grounded in the principles of an empowering motivational climate and with a view to understand how supporting pupils’ motivation is addressed during PE teachers’ initial training, this study aimed: 1) to identify the motivational strategies that are explicitly or implicitly taught in pedagogical courses, and 2) to explore how university teacher educators perceive the place of pupils’ motivation’s support within their teaching practices. Methods. To this end, four university teacher educators took part in the study (two in fall 2024 and two in winter 2025). To meet the first objective, each teacher educators was video-taped during three university classes (approximately 3 hours per class). The motivational strategies they addressed were identified according to a list of empowering motivational strategies. To meet the second objective, individual interviews were conducted using a clinical objectivation protocol. Segments from the recorded classes, where motivational strategies were addressed, were presented to university teacher educators. They were then invited to reflect on and comment upon their own practices. Results. Preliminary results suggest that university teacher educators frequently refer to empowering motivational strategies, mainly those related to supporting pre-service teachers’ need for autonomy and competence. However, these strategies are often addressed implicitly, with little explicit intent to influence pupils’ motivation and engagement. During the interviews, when university teacher educators were invited to reflect on selected teaching sequences, some reported becoming more aware of the motivational potential for pupils of their teaching practices. Essentially, the reflective process sometimes helped them articulate connections between the strategies they taught and their possible effects on pupils’ motivation. Discussion. The results of this study suggest that, despite the central role of motivation for pupils in initial PE teacher education, university teacher educators experience difficulties in making explicit links between the content they teach and how it supports pupils’ engagement and motivation. The findings also indicate that this lack of explicitness may be explained by difficulties in articulating motivational theoretical concepts within the content they teach. This points to a need to strengthen support for university teacher educators to better integrate motivational frameworks and help pre-service teachers understand the usefulness of the concepts they learn.
Read CV Audrey-Anne de GuiseECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH19
Introduction Beliefs about motivational concepts play a key role in shaping the teaching strategies used by physical education (PE) teachers to foster pupils’ motivation. However, these beliefs do not always align with practices that are supported by scientific evidence to promote pupils’ engagement in PE. To address this issue, a 1-year training course grounded in the Self-Determination and Achievement Goal Theories, followed by two years of support, was offered to PE teachers in Quebec (Canada). The study aimed to (1) examine how PE teachers’ beliefs and intention to apply empowering motivational strategies evolved over the two years period, and (2) describe how they perceived the development of their competent action during this period. Methods An explanatory sequential mixed-method design was employed. Quantitative data were first collected at the beginning and end of each year. Overall, ten teachers who received the training and support (experimental group; EG) and five who did not, as a comparison group, completed online surveys assessing their beliefs about empowering motivational strategies and intention to use them. In addition, teachers in the EG took part in a focus group at the end of Year 1 and individual interviews at the end of Year 2 to deepen the understanding of teachers’ competent action with qualitative data. Results Quantitative results showed modest positive changes in intention to apply empowering motivational strategies among teachers in the EG. Qualitative findings revealed that support was necessary to deepen their understanding of the content learned during the training, and that such support enhanced their confidence. It also provided concrete tools for integrating motivational strategies into practice. However, some teachers still reported resistance to implementing some strategies due to contextual constraints. Furthermore, several teachers indicated that, to fully feel capable of applying the strategies learned, direct observations and feedback were necessary. Such support modalities were considered the most important for helping teachers gain a concrete understanding of their own strengths and limitations in implementing these strategies. Discussion These results suggest that teachers’ intention can change to some extent through training and support. When integrating quantitative and qualitative findings, it appears that for training and support to effectively influence beliefs, it must directly and explicitly target them by demonstrating how they can positively impact pupils’ engagement and motivation. At the same time, training and support should help teachers understand concretely how these strategies can be implemented within the constraints of their specific environment and organizational context, and in ways that align with their sense of preparedness and ability to apply them.
Read CV Stéphanie GirardECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH19