Apoyo a la autonomía en las clases de educación física: percepción versus realidad / Supporting Autonomy in Physical Education: Perception Versus Reality

Abstract

© 2016, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid y CV Ciencias del Deporte. All rights reserved. This investigation, on the one hand it focuses on students´ and teachers´ perception about autonomy support during Physical Education instruction, and on the other hand, in the coherence between perception and reality observed in the classes. Two scales were administered to determine the frequency of instructional behaviors favoring the development of autonomy, and teacher´s classes were observed and videotaped. The results show that the observed frequency of instructional behavior favoring autonomy support during classes is significantly lower than that perceived by students and teachers. The observed reality reveals a teacher profile with room for improvement in behaviors such as: communication quality, task functionality, promotion of students’ thinking, creation of situations in which students can express their opinions of the tasks, and increasing intrinsic motivation.