How task are communicated matters: psychological needs and being physically active in physical education

Abstract

This study is based on the Mini-Theory of Basic Psychological Needs and aimed to examine the interrelationships between the quality of task presentation by the physical education teacher as a social factor, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs as personal mediating factors of the students, and their intentions to b physically active as an indicator of a health-related habit. The sample consisted of 448 students (207 males and 241 females; Mage = 10.58 years, SD = 0.54) from elementary school in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico. The results obtained through structural equation modeling revealed that task presentation was positively and significantly associated with the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and this, in turn, was similarly associated with intentions to be physically active. In conclusion, the quality with which the teacher communicates the learning tasks plays a relevant role in students' perception of themselves as autonomous, competent and related, as well as in their future desires to engage in physical activity.