Is there a gap between research and practice? Reflecting on the motivational climate and attitudes towards physical education

Abstract

Over the last decades, motivational climate and students’ attitudes towards physical education has been extensively discussed by the teaching community and investigated in many socio-cultural contexts. Nevertheless, in some cases, there are numerous discrepancies between research and practice due to the cultural relevancy of physical education across educational systems, policy and teachers’ beliefs and practices. The purpose of this article is to analyze the existence of potential gaps between research and practice across socio-cultural contexts and suggest guidelines for future research and practice on motivational climate and attitudes towards physical education. In order to effectively create and disseminate knowledge, a broader focus on multiple contextual variables is needed which might help develop policies and evidence-based guidelines that reflect contextual intricacies across several socio-cultural contexts. In this article, we explore potential avenues for research and practice that might help increase our understanding about students’ attitudes towards physical education through an appropriate motivational climate.