Physical activity opportunities during recess may contribute between 5-40% toward daily physical activity recommendations (Ridgers, Sratton, Clark, Fairclough, & Richardson, 2006). Recess provides valuable amounts of physical activity for children, as they are active, on average between 63-78% of recess time (Beighle et al., 2006).The amount of recess physical activity (RPA) children engage in is both theoretically and practically impacted by school-based social influences, such as classroom and physical education teachers. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), perceptions of how autonomy supportive versus controlling significant others (e.g., teachers) are with regard to the climate surrounding the pursuit of activity in a particular context will predict the levels of intrinsic motivation individuals in pursuit of that activity in that context experience (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Deci & Ryan, 1991). Perceptions of greater autonomy support, versus control, from key social influences in the form of positive feedback, support, and encouragement are factors that can ultimately predict how intrinsically motivated children are to be physically active during discretionary-time periods such as elementary school recess. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between children’s perceptions of, and teachers’ self-reported, autonomy support for RPA and children’s RPA motivation.
Method:
Children (N = 272; 3rd-5thgrade, 140 females) from three elementary schools in the Southeastern US completed surveys of their RPA motivation and perceived autonomy support versus control for RPA from their classroom teacher (CR) and physical education (PE) teacher. Elementary teachers from each school (N = 24 CR; N =3 PE) completed self-reported autonomy support versus control for children’s RPA.
Analysis/Results:
T-tests indicated children’s perceived PE and CR teachers’ autonomy support for RPA was significantly lower than both PE and CR teachers’ self-reported levels of autonomy-support for RPA. CR teachers, both perceived and self-reported, were significantly less autonomy supportive of children’s RPA as compared to PE teachers. Regression analyses revealed children’s perceptions of PE teachers’ and CR teachers’ autonomy support for RPA significantly, and positively, accounted for 20.1% of the variance of children’s intrinsic motivation for RPA. PE teachers’ self-reported autonomy support for RPA significantly, and negatively, predicted 8% of children’s externally-regulated RPA.
Conclusions:
Findings provide important evidence of the impact teachers have on children’s motivation for school-based physical activity during discretionary times such as recess. Results also establish further support for the use of SDT in examination of the social psychological processes associated with promotion of children’s school-based physical activity.