Instructional choices and student engagement in physical education

Classroom research suggests teachers can use instructional (cognitive, organizational, and procedural) choices to support student autonomy and promote their engagement in schools. Guided by self-determination theory, this study examined the relationships among these three instructional choices and students’ engagement in secondary physical education. Participants were 92 middle school (64 boys, 28 girls; M _age = 13.94 years, SD = 0.87) and 83 high school students (29 boys, 54 girls; M _age = 17.76 years, SD = 0.94) enrolled in physical education classes at six schools in Hong Kong. They responded to previously established questionnaires on 5-point scales. Results of the study revealed cognitive, organizational, and procedural choices emerged as differential predictors of student engagement in physical education for middle and high school students. Teachers should be aware of this finding while providing students instructional choices in physical education. Copyright © 2013 ACESS, Asian Council of Exercise & Sports Science.