Background/Purpose The satisfaction of the needs for both competence and autonomy influence student motivation. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), this study examined the influence of gender, grade level, program type, and school sport participation (SSP) on perceived competence and self-regulation among secondary physical education students.
Method
Participants included 158 students (109 males and 49 females) aged 14 to 24 years old (M = 18.91; SD = 1.48) enrolled in compulsory second and third year (Grades 11-12) PE at one high school in Ghana. The students completed the Perceived Competence Scale (PCS; Williams, & Deci, 1996) and the Self-Regulation Questionnaire-Learning (SRQ-L; Black & Deci, 2000). The PCS and SRQ-L were reworded to pertain to the PE context. The Relative Autonomy Index (RAI) for each student was determined by subtracting the SRQ-Controlled subscale score from the SRQ-Autonomy subscale score. The RAI indicates the degree to which a student is self-determined in learning—positive scores indicate more self-determination.
Analysis/Results
Correlation results indicated a positive relationship between PCS and RAI (r = .183; p = .02). Both PCS and RAI were not significantly correlated with Age. Independent t-Test analyses suggested PCS scores differed with grade level (t = -6.275; p = .000), but not gender, program type or SSP. RAI mean scores by program type were significant (F = 2.98; p = .021). However, RAI mean scores for males and females or SSP did not differ.
Conclusions
Differences in grade level and program type should be considered to enhance students' perceived competence and self-determination in PE.
See more of: Research Consortium