Gender and Educational Stage Differences in Motivation, Basic Psychological Needs and Enjoyment: Evidence from Physical Education Classes.

Background/objectives: There is evidence that shows an association between basic psychological needs, motivation, and enjoyment in the context of school physical education. However, there are no studies that have included all of them in a single study. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine if there are differences in motivation, basic psychological needs, and enjoyment in physical education classes between primary and secondary education students and between boys and girls.

Methods: A total of 740 schoolchildren (410 girls, 55.4%) from primary education (n = 310; 41.9%) and secondary education (n = 430; 58.1%) between the ages of 10 and 17 participated (M = 13.60; SD = 2.03). The Perceived Locus of Causality in Physical Education Scale (PLOC Scale), the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES), and the Physical Activity Enjoyment Measurement Scale (PACES) were administered.

Results: Statistically significant differences were found in the educational stage factor with higher scores in primary education students in intrinsic regulation ( 0.001), identified regulation ( 0.001), introjected regulation ( 0.004), perceived competence ( 0.001), relatedness ( 0.001), and enjoyment ( 0.001). In terms of the gender factor, there were significant differences in intrinsic regulation ( 0.005), identified regulation ( 0.007), and enjoyment ( 0.010), with higher scores in boys.

Conclusions: Primary education students present greater self-determined motivation (intrinsic, identified, and introjected regulation), as well as a greater sense of competition, relatedness, and enjoyment than secondary education students. Boys have greater regulation and intrinsic enjoyment than girls in physical education classes.