We examined the utility of distinguishing between appearance- and competition-focused approach and avoidance performance goals to our understanding of motivation in physical education. Four achievement goals were tested composed of approach-avoidance and appearance-competition components. Three hundred and two pupils, aged 11-14 years, completed…

This study examined barriers to Physical Education (PE) in a sample of Christian and Muslim schoolgirls attending UK comprehensive secondary schools. Also assessed was whether religion and school year (age) had any impact upon barrier strength and if school year × religion interactions existed. A questionnaire was developed and exploratory factor…

Sport appears to present a powerful tool for engaging socially vulnerable youth in an organised context, which offers an opportunity to work with them. However, we have little understanding regarding participation of socially vulnerable young people in the "traditional" sport sector (i.e. sports clubs). Nor do we have sufficient insights…

The main purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the role of motivational climates, perceived competence and motivational regulations as antecedents of self-reported physical activity during junior high school years. The participants included 237 Finnish students (101 girls, 136 boys) that were 13 years old at the first stage of the…

Motivation to learn is a disposition developed through exposure to learning opportunities. Guided by the expectancy-value theory of Eccles and Wigfield (1995), this study examined the extent to which expectancy belief and task value influenced elementary school students' physical activity and knowledge learning in physical education (PE).…

Using a multilevel latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) approach, this study examined longitudinal change in levels of physical fitness performance over time (i.e. four years) in young adolescents aged from 12-13 years. The sample consisted of 6622 students from 138 secondary schools in Singapore. Initial analyses found between-school variation on…

The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Amotivation Inventory in Physical Education (AI-PE). In addition, the study sought to identify the relationships between students' amotivation, physical self-concept, and teacher ratings of National Curriculum attainment levels in PE. Students ("N" = 510) from a…

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the physical activity (PA) levels of high school Portuguese students during physical education (PE) and investigate the association of PA levels with students' goal orientation and intrinsic motivation. Forty-six students from three high schools participated. Heart rate telemetry and pedometry were used…

The study purpose was to investigate predictive associations between adolescent girls' motivational predispositions to physical education (PE) and habitual physical activity. Two hundred girls (age 13.1 [plus or minus] 0.6 years) completed the Physical Education Predisposition Scale and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children.…

School-based physical activity (PA) interventions impact children's PA involvement and thus opportunities and associated factors for the promotion of physical activity in children need to be examined. The purpose of this study was to examine physical education teachers' perceptions of PA opportunities available to students at the middle school…

The promotion of an active lifestyle is one of the central aims of physical education (PE). The present study aimed at investigating the relation between students' motivation for PE and activity levels using self-determination theory as a guiding framework. A retrospective design was used involving 2617 university students, of which 878 (33.5…

In Portugal, two sports systems exist, one through schools and the other in community clubs. The purpose was to determine the impact of extra-curricular sports (EC sports) on boys' and girls' moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). 208 adolescents (79 boys and 129 girls), between 12 and 18 years old, wore an accelerometer over seven days.…

This study examined the relationship between participation in organized youth sport and attitude to physical education (PE) during adolescence and physical activity in young adulthood. The sample comprised 630 participants who completed questionnaires over a 10-year period. Analysis of variance and regression were used to examine the relationship…

This study compared the self-reported physical activity, perceived social support for, and perceived barriers to, physical activity of primary and secondary school children from Hong Kong and Australia. Hong Kong boys and girls reported spending significantly less time, outside of school hours, on physical activity than their Australian…

The aim of the present study was to investigate the differential relationships between five dimensions of motivational climate and achievement goals, as the latter have been conceptualized by the revised achievement goal theory. Adolescents (N = 336, M age = 13.45 years, SD = 1.04) participating in a summer camp in southern Greece took part in the…