Motivation and Physical Self-Concept in Physical Education: Differences by Gender

This paper examines the relationship between dispositional goal orientations, the perception of different motivational climates and physical self-concept in physical education classes. An additional purpose was to examine the nature of these relationships among boys and girls. Eight hundred and eighty-four students from a large Spanish metropolitan school district were participants in this study and completed questionnaires assessing the above mentioned variables. Results revealed that sport competence and physical condition were the domains of physical self-concept that had a greater connection with goal orientations and motivational climates. Gender differences were also identified for all variables except for task orientation. In addition, the task-involving motivational climate was the main predictor in the sport competence and physical condition subscales in the case of the girls, while ego and task orientation were, respectively, the strongest predictors for the same physical self-concept subscales in the case of the boys. In order to provide more inclusive teaching, especially for students with low self-concept, this study suggests the need to create classroom participation that favours task-involving motivational environments.