Control Yourself: Physical Education Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence Has a Minor Role in Pupils’ Need Satisfaction

Abstract

Purpose: There is a lack of empirical evidence concerning emotional intelligence (EI) in physical education (PE) teachers. From a basic needs theory perspective (Ryan & Deci, 2000), this study aimed to examine the role of PE teachers’ EI in perceiving and supporting pupils’ need satisfaction. Method: Within this cross-sectional study, 319 pupils from 14 PE classes were each administered a Contextual Basic Need Satisfaction questionnaire for PE (CBANS) and Sport Climate Questionnaire. Correspondingly, PE teachers were administered a Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire—Short Form and CBANS from their pupils’ perspective. Results: Analyses revealed that PE teachers’ EI self-control significantly positively predicted the accuracy of their perceptions of pupils’ relatedness satisfaction. No other significant relationships emerged. Discussion/Conclusion: These findings repudiate a direct role of PE teachers’ EI in supporting pupils’ motivation. However, the control of one’s own emotion appears to be important for teachers to perceive need satisfaction in pupils.