The role of the motivational climate in female engagement in secondary school physical education: a dual study investigation

ABSTRACT

This qualitative dual study paper explores girls’ engagement in secondary school physical education (PE). Girls’ engagement in PE has been at the forefront of changes to the PE curriculum in the UK, after global statistics show only 15% of teenage girls meet the guideline of 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Focus groups with 73 students (N = 30 girls and 43 boys) were conducted across four schools in the UK. Data were thematically analysed. Results suggest girls perceive teacher and peer-created performance motivational climates within their lessons. Students specifically indicated a dislike of being watched by those of better ability (boys and girls), gender stereotypes, and enjoyment as factors influencing their motivation to engage in PE. As a result, we suggest schools engage in an intervention to enable peers and teachers to create a mastery-focused motivational climate and classes be set by ability for non-contact sport.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical education
• gender stereotypes
• learning environment
• motivational climate
• adolescent females

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Grace Tidmarsh

Grace Tidmarsh is a doctoral researcher in the department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. She is social scientist with interests relating to girl’s engagement in physical activity/sport, strengths-based sport psychology and process evaluations.

Florence E Kinnafick

Dr Florence E Kinnafick is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise Psychology in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University. She is a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society and has research interest in motivation, adherence and drop out to exercise, and broader determinants of exercise behaviour. She has worked with various population groups including school aged youth in mainstream education and alternative provision and pupil referral units.

Julie P Johnston

Dr Julie P Johnston is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology in the Department of Sport Science at Nottingham Trent University. She has research interest in the impact of social relationships on the psychosocial development, health and well-being of young people both within and through sport and exercise. She has worked within both school and organised sport environments and with various population groups including school aged youth and their teachers, coaches and parents.