Goal orientations and motivational climate by sex and age in physical education

Abstract

This research has analysed differences by gender and age on perceived motivational climate and goal orientations of students in their Physical Education lessons. For this, a questionnaire composed of the Perception of Success in Sport adapted to Physical Education and the Learning Orientation Questionnaire and Performance in Physical Education Lessons was administered. The sample consisted of a total of 846 high school students from 12 to 19 years of age. We performed correlation analyses and multivariate variance analyses (MANOVA 2×3). The results showed that there is a significant positive relationship between goal orientations and perceived motivational climate by students. The girls presented higher values of ego orientation and perception of a performance climate than the boys. The only age differences exist in the performance motivational climate. As the main conclusion, we note that teachers should pay much more attention to the motivational climate created in class as the students get older, fostering a learning climate. Also, the teacher needs to find strategies that keep girls away from traditional stereotypes and reinforce them socially.