Background/Purpose: Self-determination theory postulates that satisfaction of needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness can enhance learner motivation and lead to greater learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of pre-service teachers' motivational styles and self-determined motivation for teaching on their students' perceived need satisfaction in physical education.
Method: Participants included 28 Pre-service teachers at a large, urban university and their students (n = 857) from 20 middle schools in China. Problems in Schools Questionnaire (PIS) and Situational Motivation scale were used to measure pre-service teachers' autonomous vs. controlling motivational styles and their self-determined motivation to teach. To measure students' perceived satisfaction of three innate needs, we used previously validated need satisfaction instrument.
Analysis/Results: Results from Generalized Estimating Equations analysis indicated that teachers' moderately controlling style negatively predict students' need satisfaction of autonomy (p = .011) and competence (p < .001). For students' relatedness need, pre-service teachers' intrinsic motivation was a positive predictor (p =.049) while external regulation was a negative predictor (p =.035). Surprisingly, pre-service teachers' amotivation was found positively predict all three needs (p =.023, p =.013, and p = .010).
Conclusions: Research has suggested that teachers who reflect a controlling style are more likely to use extrinsic incentives and consequences for teaching. The findings indicate that teachers' moderately controlling style might have negative impact on students needs for competence and autonomy in physical education. Future research on examining the function of teacher's amotivation on student need satisfaction is warranted.