Research article - (2015)14, 477 - 483
Students’ Perceptions of Motivational Climate and Enjoyment in Finnish Physical Education: A Latent Profile Analysis
Timo Jaakkola1,, C. K. John Wang2, Markus Soini1, Jarmo Liukkonen1
1University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Finland
2Nanyang Technological University, National Institute of Education, Physical Education & Sport Science

Timo Jaakkola
✉ University of Jyväskylä, Department of Sport Sciences, Rautpohjankatu 8, P.O. Box 35 (Viv), 40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Email: timo.jaakkola@jyu.fi
Received: 10-09-2014 -- Accepted: 10-04-2015
Published (online): 11-08-2015

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to identify student clusters with homogenous profiles in perceptions of task- and ego-involving, autonomy, and social relatedness supporting motivational climate in school physical education. Additionally, we investigated whether different motivational climate groups differed in their enjoyment in PE. Participants of the study were 2 594 girls and 1 803 boys, aged 14-15 years. Students responded to questionnaires assessing their perception of motivational climate and enjoyment in physical education. Latent profile analyses produced a five-cluster solution labeled 1) ‘low autonomy, relatedness, task, and moderate ego climate’ group’, 2) ‘low autonomy, relatedness, and high task and ego climate, 3) ‘moderate autonomy, relatedness, task and ego climate’ group 4) ‘high autonomy, relatedness, task, and moderate ego climate’ group, and 5) ‘high relatedness and task but moderate autonomy and ego climate’ group. Analyses of variance showed that students in clusters 4 and 5 perceived the highest level of enjoyment whereas students in cluster 1 experienced the lowest level of enjoyment. The results showed that the students’ perceptions of various motivational climates created differential levels of enjoyment in PE classes.

Key words: Motivational climate, enjoyment, physical education, clusters

Key Points
  • Latent profile analyses produced a five-cluster solution labeled 1) ‘low autonomy, relatedness, task, and moderate ego climate’ group’, 2) ‘low autonomy, relatedness, and high task and ego climate, 3) ‘moderate autonomy, relatedness, task and ego climate’ group 4) ‘high autonomy, relatedness, task, and moderate ego climate’ group, and 5) ‘high relatedness and task but moderate autonomy and ego climate’ group.
  • Analyses of variance showed that clusters 4 and 5 perceived the highest level of enjoyment whereas cluster 1 experienced the lowest level of enjoyment. The results showed that the students’ perceptions of motivational climate create differential levels of enjoyment in PE classes.








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