Teachers can expect that autonomy support positively influences students’ affective-emotional perception in physical education (PE), when considering assumptions of the Self-Determination theory. ...Highly autonomy-supportive PE teaching comprises students’ free choices regarding organizational, procedural, and cognitive aspects of a PE lesson, whereas low autonomy support addresses these aspects only partly and controlling teaching refers to students as recipients of the teacher’s decisions. This quasi-experiment investigates effects to determine the effects of high autonomy-supportive (PE
high
), low autonomy-supportive (PE
low
) and controlling (PE
control
) PE class teaching styles on affective valence and enjoyment. As such, we compare the effects of these teaching styles on beneficial psychological outcomes (i.e., affective valence, enjoyment) in students. In a sample of German students (
N
= 57; age:
M
±
SD
= 15.6 ± 0.6; gender: 53% female, 47% male) perceived autonomy support, affective valence, and enjoyment were assessed via self-report questionnaires before and after a 20-min PE class intervention focusing on high or low autonomy-supportive, or controlling teaching. Students who participated in PE
high
perceived significantly more positive valence and enjoyment over time compared to students in the PE
low
and PE
control
groups (affective valence:
p
= 0.025,
η
p
2
= 0.13; enjoyment:
p
= 0.007,
η
p
2
= 0.17). Differences between groups show significant results for valence between PE
high
and PE
control
, and between PE
low
and PE
control
. Thus, PE
high
should be preferred over PE
low
to intensify these effects. Based on these results, PE teachers can employ a high autonomy-supportive teaching style (e.g., through a combination of free choices, social interaction, and informative feedback) to improve students’ positive affective-emotional perception and to foster an increase in students’ time engaged in physical activity.
Physical activity is fundamental to prevent common illnesses in youth and research shows that students who perceive enjoyment in physical education (PE) have a more physically active lifestyle. This ...study aims to identify psychological antecedents of student enjoyment in PE. We addressed this by assessing aspects of self-determination theory (SDT), including the extent of autonomy-supportive teaching in PE (reported by teachers), the satisfaction of students’ basic psychological needs, and student age (reported by students), via questionnaires. Correlational and multiple linear regression analyses of the collected data of N = 170 students (M = 14.3 ± 2.20, 10–19 years of age) and N = 10 teachers show that autonomy support is related to autonomy satisfaction in students (r = 0.20, p < 0.01). In turn, student perception of autonomy correlates with competence (r = 0.64, p < 0.001) and belonging (r = 0.37, p < 0.001). All three basic psychological needs predict enjoyment in PE (F(1, 163) = 19.59, R2 = 0.68, p < 0.01). Additional analyses show that higher student age predicts a decrease in enjoyment (ΔR2 = 0.04, B = −0.73, β = −0.21, p < 0.01). Thus, student enjoyment in PE, as a foundation for a physically active lifestyle, can help to prevent common illnesses by satisfying basic psychological needs in PE.
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted mobility worldwide. As a corollary, the health of top- and lower-level athletes alike is profoundly reliant on movement and exercise. Thus, the aim of ...this study is to understand impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on athletes' motivation to exercise and train. In detail, we aim to better understand who (i.e., demographic, sport-specific, and psychological state and trait variables) reported a change in motivation to train due to the lockdown, why they reported lower motivation (i.e., open-ended questions on problems), what they did to help themselves, what support they received from others, and what they are looking forward to after the lockdown (i.e., open questions). Questionnaire data and answers to these open-ended questions were assessed via an online questionnaire, completed by 95 amateur and recreational athletes during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Germany (April to mid-May 2020). Results show that greater numbers of female athletes are less motivated to train in comparison to male athletes (
= 0.029). No differences in motivation were found regarding type of sport (individual vs. team sport) and number of competitions during the year. Also, more motivated to train amateur and recreational athletes showed lower athletic identity than athletes who reported no change in motivation to exercise during the lockdown (
= 0.03). Additionally, differences in state emotional, perceived stress, and personality variables (i.e., orientation to happiness, volition) were found between athletes who stated that they were less motivated to train compared to athletes who reported no changes in motivation. In particular, closure of sports facilities and social distancing measures were perceived to be highly problematic. Even though athletes received emotional support, organized themselves via routines and schedules, and trained using online tools, they predominately stated that they wished that their coaches would have supported them more. Understanding the impacts of a pandemic-related lockdown on athletes' motivation, athletes' coping strategies, and their desired support will help better support them in future crises.
The COVID-19 pandemic is also called a crisis of uncertainty because of so many unforeseeable events like canceled qualification competitions, loss of training facilities, and postponement of the ...Olympic games. Athletes and their entourage experience this uncertainty as stressful. Sport psychology practitioners (SPPs) are in a key position to support athletes in coping with these unforeseeable stressors. However, SPPs are similarly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and simultaneously have to cope with stress. Salutogenesis, which describes how to manage stress and to stay well, provides a theoretical approach to how to cope with uncertainty. The salutogenetic approach aims at strengthening individuals’ sense of coherence (SoC) and consists of three components, namely comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. Although it is known that the SoC can be enhanced
via
psychological skills training, so far, this approach has not been systematically applied to the elite sport context. Athletes have been advised to see SPPs for help; thus, the question of how SPPs handle the time of uncertainty while supporting others emerges. The aim of this contribution was to outline how the salutogenetic approach can be applied to strengthening SPPs’ SoC
via
a single-day four-part workshop. Additionally, we applied the workshop to
N
= 26 volleyball coaches and evaluated the workshop’s effects on participants’ psychological aspects i.e., the Sense of Coherence—Leipziger short version (SoC-L9), resilience (RS-13): coping with uncertainty, affective response, and stress
via
semantic differentials and the workshop’s quality ratings (i.e., Quality Questionnaire for Sport Psychological Coaching, QS-17). The evaluation provides results that show a positive impact on a descriptive level of the participants’ SoC, uncertainty, affect, and stress perception; however, the results show no significant main effect of time
F
(8, 10) = 1.04,
p
= 0.467, η
p
2
= 0.454. Workshop quality (on average, 3.60 ± 0.35 out of 4.00) and skill acquisition (on average, 3.00 ± 0.64 out of 4.00) were positively evaluated; 82.00% of the participants would use the learned tools in the future. Thus, we outline how this workshop might help strengthen SPPs’ SoC and at the same time empower them to strengthen their athletes’ SoC. Overall, we add a theoretical (i.e., salutogenesis in sports) and a practical perspective (i.e., coping techniques based on salutogenesis) on how to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic for SPPS, athletes, and their support network.
Physical education (PE) can be the starting point for many students to be physically active throughout their lives. Positive emotional experiences in PE are discussed as beneficial for long-term ...physical activity, however, triggers of students' emotions are still unclear. The purpose of this study is to explore, from a student's perspective, emotions and their triggers, which occur in PE classes. N = 12 students (male: six, female: six, ø-age: 15.6 ± 1.2 years) have been interviewed using a focused semi-structured interview to identify their emotions in PE and to explore the situations in which they occurred. An inductive approach with elements of the Grounded Theory Method was implemented to analyze the data. Students reported a wide range of positive and negative emotions. Furthermore, four crucial triggers were identified: (I) Attractiveness of the task, (II) social belonging, (III) competence and (IV) autonomy. Parallels to existing theories, especially the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), will be discussed. These results can be used to improve teachers' knowledge about students' emotions in PE in order to build a basis for lifelong physical activity.
In dieser Dissertation wurde zur Untersuchung von Affekten und Emotionen als zentrales Phänomen im Sportunterricht ein Modell entwickelt, das das affektiv-emotionale Erleben im Sportunterricht aus ...Schülerinnen-Schüler-Perspektive als eigenständiges Phänomen betrachtet und in Bezug zu seinen Auslösern, Unterrichtsmaßnahmen und Konsequenzen setzt. Zur Beschreibung des affektiv-emotionalen Erlebens wurden Auslöser von Affekten und Emotionen in einer qualitativen Interviewstudie exploriert: Attraktivität der Aufgabe, Zugehörigkeit, Kompetenz und Autonomie erscheinen als entscheidende Auslöser des affektiv-emotionalen Erlebens aus Sicht der Schülerschaft. Daran anknüpfend wurden Kompetenz und Zugehörigkeit experimentell untersucht, um die Wirkung dieser Auslöser auf das affektiv-emotionale Erleben zu überprüfen. Eine positive bzw. negative Kompetenzbedingung führt zu einem positiven bzw. negativen Affekt und soziale Interaktion (Zugehörigkeitsbedingung) führt zu einem positiven Affekt bei den Schülerinnen und Schülern. Weiterführend wurden in einer systematischen Review Arbeit Unterrichtsmaßnahmen untersucht, die das affektiv-emotionale Erleben der Schülerinnen und Schüler im Sportunterricht effektiv beeinflussen können, indem sie die explorierten Auslöser anwenden. Dabei kann gezeigt werden: Autonomieunterstützende Unterrichtsmaßnahmen, die mit den identifizierten Auslösern zusammenhängen, können zu einem positiven affektiv-emotionalen Erleben bei den Schülerinnen und Schülern führen. Die identifizierten Auslöser des affektiv-emotionalen Erlebens und die effektiven Unterrichtsmaßnahmen werden in dieser Dissertation in ein heuristisches Modell zur Erklärung des affektiv-emotionalen Erlebens von Schülerinnen und Schülern im Sportunterricht integriert und hinsichtlich zukünftiger Forschungsansätze inhaltlich und methodisch diskutiert. Diese Dissertation schließt mit zukünftigen Forschungsfragen und praktischen Implikationen für die Bildungslandschaft.
This doctoral thesis focusses on affective and emotional states of students in the context of physical education (PE). Affects and emotions represent the theoretical framework. In order to investigate affects and emotions as a central phenomenon in PE, a model was developed that declares the affective and emotional states of students in PE to an independent phenomenon and relates this to its triggers, teaching styles and consequences. A qualitative interview study explored triggers of affects and emotions to describe the affective-emotional states: attractiveness of the task, belonging, competence, and autonomy appear to be decisive triggers of the affective-emotional states from the students' perspective. Based on this, competence and belonging were experimentally examined in order to successfully check the effect of these triggers on the affective and emotional states. A positive or negative trigger of competence influences students’ positive or negative affect and social interaction (belonging) influences students’ positive affect. In addition, teaching styles using the explored triggers were examined in a systematic review due to their influencing effects on the affective-emotional states of students in PE. It can be shown that autonomy-supportive teaching styles, which are related to the identified triggers, can positively influence the affective and emotional states of students. The identified triggers of the affective-emotional states and possible teaching styles are integrated into a heuristic model of affective-emotional states from students’ perspectives in PE. Based on this heuristic model, the contribution of this thesis will be critically reflected for further analysis of affective-emotional perception in future studies. Finally, the presented research is linked to future research questions. Practical implications are addressed for PE classes, schools, teacher training and general educational policy.
Physical activity is fundamental to prevent common illnesses in youth and research shows that students who perceive enjoyment in physical education (PE) have a more physically active lifestyle. This ...study aims to identify psychological antecedents of student enjoyment in PE. We addressed this by assessing aspects of self-determination theory (SDT), including the extent of autonomy-supportive teaching in PE (reported by teachers), the satisfaction of students’ basic psychological needs, and student age (reported by students), via questionnaires. Correlational and multiple linear regression analyses of the collected data of N = 170 students (M = 14.3 ± 2.20, 10–19 years of age) and N = 10 teachers show that autonomy support is related to autonomy satisfaction in students (r = 0.20, p < 0.01). In turn, student perception of autonomy correlates with competence (r = 0.64, p < 0.001) and belonging (r = 0.37, p < 0.001). All three basic psychological needs predict enjoyment in PE (F(1, 163) = 19.59, R2 = 0.68, p < 0.01). Additional analyses show that higher student age predicts a decrease in enjoyment (ΔR2 = 0.04, B = −0.73, β = −0.21, p < 0.01). Thus, student enjoyment in PE, as a foundation for a physically active lifestyle, can help to prevent common illnesses by satisfying basic psychological needs in PE.
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted mobility worldwide. As a corollary,
the health of top- and lower-level athletes alike is profoundly reliant on movement
and exercise. Thus, the aim of ...this study is to understand impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic lockdown on athletes’ motivation to exercise and train. In detail, we aim to
better understand who (i.e., demographic, sport-specific, and psychological state and
trait variables) reported a change in motivation to train due to the lockdown, why they
reported lower motivation (i.e., open-ended questions on problems), what they did to
help themselves, what support they received from others, and what they are looking
forward to after the lockdown (i.e., open questions). Questionnaire data and answers to
these open-ended questions were assessed via an online questionnaire, completed by
95 amateur and recreational athletes during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Germany
(April to mid-May 2020). Results show that greater numbers of female athletes are
less motivated to train in comparison to male athletes (p = 0.029). No differences in
motivation were found regarding type of sport (individual vs. team sport) and number of
competitions during the year. Also, more motivated to train amateur and recreational
athletes showed lower athletic identity than athletes who reported no change in
motivation to exercise during the lockdown (p = 0.03). Additionally, differences in state
emotional, perceived stress, and personality variables (i.e., orientation to happiness,
volition) were found between athletes who stated that they were less motivated to train
compared to athletes who reported no changes in motivation. In particular, closure of
sports facilities and social distancing measures were perceived to be highly problematic.
Even though athletes received emotional support, organized themselves via routines and
schedules, and trained using online tools, they predominately stated that they wished
that their coaches would have supported them more. Understanding the impacts of
a pandemic-related lockdown on athletes’ motivation, athletes’ coping strategies, and
their desired support will help better support them in future crises.
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