Changes in Perceived Instructor Support in a Summer Sports Camp

Background/Purpose: Perceived instructor support for autonomy, competence and relatedness has been found to be positively related to educational outcomes such as enhanced motivation to engage in learning, better academic performance, and decreased course-related anxiety (Black & Deci, 2000). However, little information exists about changes in perceived instructor support for autonomy, competence and relatedness in physical activity (PA) settings, particularly summer sport camps. The purpose of this study is to examine whether changes occurred in perceived instructor support among a group of adolescent at-risk boys participating in a sport camp setting across two summers.

Method: The summer camp is located in the Southwest US and a database from 2012 and 2013 was analyzed. Participants were 65 at risk-boys aged 10-13 (M age = 11.91, SD = 1.21) attending camp over the two summers. Each responded to the Perceived Instructor Support—Physical Education (PIS-PE) questionnaire (Shen, Weidong, Sun, & Rukavian, 2010) during the camp’s regularly scheduled camp activities. However, for the purpose of this study, only post-test questionnaire data were analyzed to assess changes in students’ perceived instructor support.

Analysis/Results: Paired t-test analysis examined changes in boys’ perceived instructor support over the two-year period. No significant changes occurred in perceived instructor support for relatedness (M (2012) = 3.53, M (2013) = 3.75; t (61) = -1.65, p = .104, 95% CI [-.49, .04]) and autonomy (M (2012) = 3.78, M (2013) = 3.72; t (62) = .48, p = .630, 95% CI [-.19, .33]). However, there was a significant decline in perceived instructor support for competence (M (2012) = 3.99, M (2013) = 3.51; t (63) = 5.02, p = .000, 95% CI [. 29, .67]).

Conclusions: : Results of the study revealed no significant changes in boys` perceived instructor support for relatedness and autonomy over two years. There was a significant decrease in perceived competence support. The drop in perceived competence result may be due to an externally regulated environment (i.e., highly competitive) or differences in instructional approaches over two years.  Camp instructors and administrators might modify instructional choices and/or activities to enhance greater autonomy, competence and relatedness support.