Understanding students’ experiences in a PE, health and well-being context: a self-determination theory perspective

ABSTRACT

Framed by Self-Determination Theory, this investigation explored student experience as they engaged in their physical education (PE), health and well-being (HWB) curriculum in Scotland for the first time. We aimed to uncover the features of various learning environments that appeared to impact upon student motivation in PE over the period one academic year. We carried out focus group interviews with students from one state secondary school (secondary 1 and 2; ages 12–14) and its feeder primary schools (primary 7; age 11 years) immediately after a selection of PE lessons throughout the year. Furthermore, to provide some additional context for our analysis, the students in each year completed a questionnaire (pre–post) to identify and understand their motivation for PE over time. The results from the interviews indicated that students had a number of positive and negative PE experiences. However, the results from the questionnaire demonstrate that the students’ experiences during the first year of this ‘new’ curriculum had little impact on their motivation for PE. The findings highlight the importance of mixed methods research to provide context-specific account of student experience. This detail may be critical for the development of informed and effective pedagogy that supports student learning, health and well-being.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical education
• health and well-being
• learning experiences
• self-determination theory
• basic needs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr Shirley Gray is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education at the University of Edinburgh, UK. Her research investigates the learning experiences of both teachers and pupils in the PE context. Her recent work explores the experiences of young people who have disengaged from PE, and attempts to understand how their experiences are formed and transformed.

Dr Fiona Mitchell is a Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Strathclyde, UK. Her background is in Exercise and Health Psychology and her research interests are mainly focused around investigating behaviour change, particularly in hard to reach populations. She is currently involved in two Cancer Research UK projects; Incentivised smoking cessation for tobacco treatment-resistant diabetics and Project HATCH – Staying Healthy After Childbirth.

Professor John Wang is currently the Associate Dean in the Office of Education of Research, National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University. His areas of research include motivational and emotional aspects of physical activity and exercise. His recent publications have been on sport ability beliefs, achievement goals, intrinsic motivation, emotion, and self-esteem. His strength is also in statistical analyses, structural equation modelling, multilevel analysis and latent growth curves analyses.

Dr Ashley Robertson is a Research Associate at Coventry University, UK. Her main research interest is in identifying ways to improve the quality of life of autistic people. Her research to date has focused on (a) sensory reactivity and (b) mental health (specifically, anxiety and suicidality) in autism.