Student Interest and Engagement in Middle School Physical Education: Examining the Role of Needs Supportive Teaching

Authors

  • Joseph Opiri Otundo University of Arkansas at Little Rock
  • Alex C Garn Louisiana State University

https://doi.org/10.17583/ijep.2019.3356

Keywords:


Downloads

Abstract

This study examines the complexities of the social learning environment in middle school physical education. Specifically, we investigate the independent and interactive predictive effects of situational interest and needs supportive teaching on students’ personal interest and class engagement. Middle school students (N = 388) in compulsory physical education courses completed questionnaires on situational interest, needs supportive teaching, personal interest, and behavioral and emotional engagement. Results from structural equation modeling tests revealed independent predictive effects of situational interest and needs supportive teaching on personal interest, and behavioral and emotional engagement. There was also an interactive effect between situational interest and needs supportive teaching on personal interest. This association was conditional on a minimum level of needs support in the social learning environment. To date, the conceptualization of situational interest has focused on student – activity interactions; however, our findings highlight the importance of social learning environment on student – activity interactions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Joseph Opiri Otundo, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Dr. Joseph Otundo is an Assistant Professor of Health Education and Promotion in the school of Counseling, Human Performance, and Rehabilitation at University of Arkansas at Little Rock, AR, USA. Joseph is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). 

Joseph's research is Physical activity Motivation, Physical Activity and health Education pedagogy, Green exercises, global trends in Health Education and Promotion. He has presented papers at regional, national, and international conferences. His work has been published in peer reviewed journals. 

Alex C Garn, Louisiana State University

Associate Professor, School of Kinesiolgy

References

Bauer, D. J., & Curran, P. J. (2005). Probing interactions in fixed and multilevel regression: Inferential and graphical techniques. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 40, 373–400.

Google Scholar Crossref

Chen, A., & Darst, P. W. (2001). Situational interest in physical education: A function of learning task design. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 72, 150–164.

Google Scholar Crossref

Chen, A., & Darst, P. W. (2002). Individual and situational interest: The role of gender and skill. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27, 250–269.

Google Scholar Crossref

Chen, A., Darst, P. W., & Pangrazi, R. P. (1999). What constitutes situational interest? Validating a construct in physical education. Measurement in Physical Education & Exercise Science, 3, 157–180.

Google Scholar Crossref

Chen, A., & Ennis, C. D. (2009). Motivation and achievement in physical education. In K. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 553–574). New York, NY: Routledge.

Google Scholar Crossref

Chen, A., & Wang, J. (2017). The role of interest in physical education: A review of research evidence. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 36, 313–322.

Google Scholar Crossref

Ciani, K., Ferguson, Y., Bergin, D., & Hilpert, J. (2010). Motivational influences on school-prompted interest. Educational Psychology, 30, 377–393.

Google Scholar Crossref

Deci, E. L. (1992). The relation of interest to the motivation of behavior: A self-determination theory perspective. In K.A. Renninger, S. Hidi, & A. Krapp (Eds.), The role of interest in learning and development (pp. 43–70). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Google Scholar Crossref

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268.

Google Scholar Crossref

Ding, H., Sun, H., & Chen, A. (2013). Impact of expectancy-value and situational interest motivation specificity on physical education outcomes. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 32, 253–269.

Google Scholar Crossref

Enders, C. K. (2010). Applied missing data analysis. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Ennis, C. D. (2015). Knowledge, transfer, and innovation in physical literacy curricula. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 4, 119–124.

Google Scholar Crossref

Garn, A. C., Cothran, D. J., & Jenkins, J. M. (2011). A qualitative analysis of individual interest in middle school physical education: perspectives of early-adolescents. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 16, 223-236.

Google Scholar Crossref

Hidi, S., & Renninger, K. A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational Psychologist, 41, 111–127.

Google Scholar Crossref

Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equations Modeling, 6, 1–55.

Google Scholar Crossref

Huang, C., & Gao, Z. (2013). Associations between students’ situational interest, mastery experiences, and physical activity levels in an interactive dance game. Psychology, Health, & Medicine, 18, 233–241.

Google Scholar Crossref

Johnson, P. O., & Neyman, J. (1936). Tests of certain linear hypotheses and their application to some educational problems. Statistical Research Memoirs, 1, 57–93.

Google Scholar Crossref

Klein, A., & Moosbrugger, H. (2000). Maximum likelihood estimation of latent interaction effects with the LMS method. Psychometrika, 65, 457–474.

Google Scholar Crossref

Kline, R. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Little, T. D. (2013). Longitudinal structural equation modeling. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Little, T. D., Bovaird, J. A., & Widaman, K. F. (2006). On the merits of orthogonalizing powered and product terms: Implications for modeling interactions among latent variables. Structural Equation Modeling, 13, 497–519.

Google Scholar Crossref

Marsh, H. W., Hau, K., & Grayson, D. (2005). Goodness of fit in structural equation models. In A. Maydeu-Olivares & J. J. McArdle (Eds.), Contemporary psychometrics: A festschrift for Roderick P. McDonald. (pp. 275-340). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Google Scholar Crossref

Marsh, H. W., Morin, A. J. S., Parker, P. D., & Kuar, G. (2014). Exploratory structural equation modeling: An integration of the best features of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 10, 85–110.

Google Scholar Crossref

Mercier, K., Donnovan, C., Gibbone, A., & Rozga, K. (2017). Three-year study of students’ attitudes toward physical education: Grades 4–8. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 88, 307–315.

Google Scholar Crossref

Mitchell, M. (1993). Situational interest: Its multifaceted structure in the secondary school mathematics classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 424–436.

Google Scholar Crossref

Muthén, L. K. & Muthén, B. O. (2015). Mplus user guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.

Google Scholar Crossref

Ntoumanis, N. (2001). A self-determination approach to the understanding of motivation in physical education. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 225–242.

Google Scholar Crossref

Ntoumanis, N., & Standage, M. (2009). Motivation in physical education classes: A self-determination theory perspective. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 194–202.

Google Scholar Crossref

Olson, A. L., Gaffney, C.A., Lee, P. W., & Starr, P. (2008). Changing adolescent health behaviors: The Health Teens Counseling approach. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 35, S359–S364.

Google Scholar Crossref

Reeve, J. (2006). Teachers as facilitators: What autonomy‐supportive teachers do and why their students benefit. The Elementary School Journal, 106, 225–236.

Google Scholar Crossref

Renninger, K. A., & Hidi, S. (2016). The power of interest for motivation and learning. New York, NY: Routledge.

Google Scholar Crossref

Rotgans, J. I., & Schmidt, H. G. (2011). The role of teachers in facilitating situational interest in an active-learning classroom. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 37–42.

Google Scholar Crossref

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2007). Active human nature: Self-determination theory and the promotion and maintenance of sport, exercise, and health. In M.S. Hagger & N.L.D. Chatzisarantis (Eds.), Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in exercise and sport (pp. 1–20). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Google Scholar Crossref

Schraw, G., Flowerday, T., & Lehman, S. (2001). Increasing situational interest in the classroom. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 211–224.

Google Scholar Crossref

Shen, B., Chen, A., & Guan, J. (2007). Using achievement goals and interest to predict learning in physical education. Journal of Experimental Education, 75, 89–108.

Google Scholar Crossref

Shen, B., Chen, A., Scrabis, K. A., & Tolley, H. (2003). Gender and interest-based motivation in learning dance. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 22, 396–409.

Google Scholar Crossref

Shen, B., McCaughtry, N., Martin, J., Fahlman, M., & Garn, A. C. (2012). Urban high-school girls’ sense of relatedness and their engagement in physical education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 31, 231–245.

Google Scholar Crossref

Skinner, E., Furrer, C., Marchand, G., & Kindermann, T. (2008). Engagement and disaffection in the classroom: Part of a larger motivational dynamic? Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 765–781.

Google Scholar Crossref

Skinner, E., Kindermann, T., & Furrer, C., (2009). A motivational perspective on engagement and disaffection: Conceptualization and assessment of children’s behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 69, 493–525.

Google Scholar Crossref

Spiller, S. A., Fitzsimons, G. J., Lynch, J. G., & McCelland, G. H. (2013). Spotlights, floodlights, and the magic number zero: Simple effects tests in moderated regression. Journal of Marketing Research, 50, 277–288.

Google Scholar Crossref

Standage, M., Duda, J. L., & Ntoumanis, N. (2005). A test of self‐determination theory in school physical education. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 411–433.

Google Scholar Crossref

Taylor, I. M., & Ntoumanis, N. (2007). Teacher motivational strategies and student self-determination in physical education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 747–760.

Google Scholar Crossref

Trautwein, U., Ludtke, O., Marsh, H. W., Koller, O., & Baumert, J. (2006). Tracking, grading, and student motivation: Using group composition and status to predict self-concept and interest in ninth-grade mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 788–806.

Google Scholar Crossref

Tsai, Y., Kunter, M., Ludtke, O., Trautwein, U., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). What makes lessons interesting? The role of situational and individual factors in three school subjects. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 460–472.

Google Scholar Crossref

Zhu, X., Chen, A., Ennis, C., Sun, H., Hopple, C., Bonello, M., & ... Kim, S. (2009). Situational interest, cognitive engagement, and achievement in physical education. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 34, 221–229.

Google Scholar Crossref

Downloads

Published

2019-06-24
Logo Metrics

Almetric

Dimensions

How to Cite

Otundo, J. O., & Garn, A. C. (2019). Student Interest and Engagement in Middle School Physical Education: Examining the Role of Needs Supportive Teaching. International Journal of Educational Psychology, 8(2), 137–161. https://doi.org/10.17583/ijep.2019.3356

Issue

Section

Articles