Background/Purpose Enhancing children's PA and motivation during physical education (PE) is one way to increase their overall PA. The purpose of this research was to determine whether autonomy (choice vs. no choice) and lesson type (individual vs. team sport) impacted children's motivation/self-determination and PA levels in elementary physical education.
Method Children (N=296), aged 9-13, from four elementary schools in the southern US completed a modified Self-Regulation Questionnaire for PE the week prior to PA data collection. Teacher participants at each school taught four lessons representing each condition in random order (e.g., team/individual sport using choice/no choice instruction). Students completed the Situational Intrinsic Motivation Scale at the conclusion of each PE lesson. Children's PA levels were measured with pedometers (steps) and accelerometers (overall MVPA and %MVPAtime) during each lesson.
Analysis/Results Three separate RM 2X4 MANOVAs revealed significant main effects for steps and overall MVPA as well as interactions for steps and %MVPAtime by school/teacher. Data indicate that students typically had increased step counts and high levels of self-determination for PE following team choice and team no choice lessons. Although situational motivation was consistently high, no significant differences were found between lesson type or gender.
Conclusions Because team sport lessons elicited more activity and higher self-determination for children, team sport oriented activities should be a part of a balanced physical education curriculum. These data suggest teachers' instructional practices influenced student MVPA during PE; therefore, continuous professional development is necessary to encourage physical educators to maximize PA during PE.