Exploring Female Students' Motivation Towards Physical Education in Hong Kong Secondary Schools

Objectives: Grounded in self-determination theory, this was a cross-sectional study aimed at exploring female students’ motivation in physical education (PE) lessons in Hong Kong secondary schools. Specifically, we examined... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives: Grounded in self-determination theory, this was a cross-sectional study aimed at exploring female students’ motivation in physical education (PE) lessons in Hong Kong secondary schools. Specifically, we examined the associations between three types of motivation representing different levels of relative autonomy: autonomous motivation, controlled motivation and amotivation.

Methods: 190 secondary female students（Grade 7 to Grade 9, mean age=13.83 years, SD= .84 years）participated in this study. Participants self-reported their engagement motivation in PE using the Perceived Locus of Causality Questionnaire. Using one-way ANOVAs, we explored whether students from different grade levels differed in the three forms of motivation respectively.

Results: Significant discrepancies in PE motivation were found between students in three grades. Specifically, (1) autonomous motivation: F (2,189)=10.052, p< .001, namely, Grade 8 was higher than Grade 7 and Grade 9. (2) Controlled motivation: F (2,189)=7.439, p< .001, in this section, Grade 8 was lower than Grade 9 as well as Grade 7. (3) Amotivation: F (2,189)=14.005, p< .001, Grade 8 was lower than Grade 9 and Grade 7.

Conclusions & Recommendations: Findings indicated that girls in Grade 8 reported the highest autonomous motivation levels and lowest amotivation levels. Grade 7 female students, however, showed highest amotivation and controlled motivation levels. Grade difference on PE participation may be related to learning environment, teaching style, peer relationship and ego sport performance, however, is much more complex. Consequently, the following focus groups interview will be conducted in the further research for locating in-depth reasons. Moreover, this research will strengthen the call for teachers to develop diverse instructional methods and targeted curriculum design for promoting girls’ autonomous motivation at different grade levels.