Background/Purpose: Children's motivation towards physical education (PE) decreases over the elementary school year (Eccles et al., 1998, Xiang et al, 2004), but little is known about how this decline influences their physical activity (PA). Guided by the expectancy-value model, this study examined the relationship among changes in children's motivation, their self-reported PA, and their intentions for future participation in PE.
Method: Using previously validated instrumentation in a repeated measures design, school children (N= 354; 180 4th and 174 5th graders) completed questionnaires twice over the course of a school year, at the mid-point of the fall semester and again at the mid-point of the spring semester. Their expectancy-related beliefs, task values, PA, and intentions to participate in PE in the future were assessed.
Analysis/Results: Students' expectancy-related beliefs and task values were positively related to their PA and intentions for future participation in PE at both Time 1 and Time 2. Task values and intentions decreased during the school year (all p < .01). Regression analyses indicated that changes in expectancy-related beliefs emerged as a significant predictor of changes in children's PA. Additionally, decreases in children's expectancy-related beliefs and task values explained significant portion of the variance in the decrease in their intentions.
Conclusions: Children reported lower task values toward PE across an academic year. Decreases in children's motivation contributed to decreases in PA and intentions. The findings indicated that it is important for PE teachers to focus on competence beliefs and the value of activities in their classes to foster engagement.
See more of: Research Consortium