Influential motivational variables in a teaching unit of rugby: the key to improving the educational intervention

Abstract

Physical inactivity is one of the most important problems that affect to our society due to the lack of student motivation in some school contents. The objective of this study was to study the relationship between motivational climate created by the Physical Education teacher in a teaching unit of rugby and basic psychological needs, self-determined motivation and affective consequences experienced by students. A total of 77 students (M age = 15.35, SD = 0.53) of an educational institution, belonging to 4th year Secondary Education, completed the following questionnaires: Perceived of Motivational Climate Scale (EPCM), Basic Psychological Needs in Excersice Scale (BPNES), Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS-14) and the Scale of Entertainment / Boredom in Physical Education (SSI-EF). The results showed that task climate predicted positively and significantly the three basic psychological needs and self-determined forms of motivation, while the ego climate predicted amotivation. In turn, the three basic psychological needs predicted positively intrinsic motivation, while the amotivation was negatively predicted by perceived competence and social relationships. Also, it was found a positive prediction between intrinsic motivation and enjoyment, and negatively with respect to boredom, which was also predicted by amotivation. The results suggest the idea that Physical Education teachers should create a task climate, favoring the satisfaction of the psychological mediators and developing a more self-determined motivation which could trigger affective consequences like enjoyment.

Keywords

• Clima tarea
• Necesidades psicológicas básicas
• Motivación autodeterminada
• Diversión
• Aburrimiento