The purpose of this study was to conduct a literature review on the motivational processes in a Sport Education curriculum model among high school-aged students using self-determination theory and achievement goal theory as theoretical frameworks. Literature for analysis was searched through electronic databases including Academic Research Complete, ERIC, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science by entering ‘Sport Education’, ‘physical education’, and ‘high school’ or ‘secondary school’ as keywords. Articles for review were then selected using the following criteria: (a) written in English; (b) published in a peer-reviewed journal; (c) a Sport Education curriculum model implemented in high school settings with three season phases; (d) providing empirical findings; and (e) investigating motivational variables as main outcomes. A total of 18 articles were identified of moderate and high quality based on a quality assessment. A systematic review of the articles resulted in three main findings: (a) self-determination theory and achievement goal theory strongly support the positive motivational influence of Sport Education; (b) Sport Education is relatively consistent in promoting motivational outcomes across genders, grade levels, sports, and motivational profiles; and (c) more research with long-term follow-up data and teacher participants in diverse school settings is needed to examine potential differences in the motivational impact of Sport Education programs.

The purposes of this mixed-studies review were to summarize (a) the social environments created by coaches, peers, and parents concurrently, (b) the relative influence of social agents in youth athletes' psychological needs, and (c) the emerging research gaps for future research in and practical implications for youth sport. Literature was searched in six databases, resulting in 20 final studies with 2851 participants. These studies were reviewed and synthesized based on the theoretical frameworks, research design, participants and sports, associations between social environments and psychological needs, data analyses, results, and limitations. Results suggest that coaches, peers, and parents serve different roles in athletes' psychological needs. Coaches are the most important social agent in influencing autonomy, while peers are the most important social agent in influencing competence and relatedness. Parental influence is the least influential but also least studied in current literature. More research, particularly studies that use mixed methods or longitudinal design across developmental periods, is needed to examine the relative influence of all three social agents in youth sport contexts.

Globally, more than half of school-aged children do not engage in the recommended 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Given that developing sufficient fundamental motor skills (FMS) competence during early elementary school years is important for a child’s physical and cognitive development, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an 8-week FMS-based afterschool program on physical and cognitive health outcomes among elementary children. Participants were 31 K–2 students (19 girls, 12 boys; Mage = 6.65 ± 0.98) from three public elementary schools in the southwestern United States who were assigned to the intervention group (FMS-based afterschool program; n = 20) or the control group (traditional afterschool program; n = 11). A 2 × 2 repeated measures MANOVA showed significant changes in FMS competence and MVPA between the intervention and the control group over time. However, no significant changes were found in cognitive functioning. The 8-week FMS-based afterschool program showed significant improvements in FMS competence and MVPA, compared to a traditional afterschool program. This finding suggests that structured FMS-focused strategies (e.g., fun games and goal setting) can be a critical component when implementing a physical activity program to enhance children’s motor skills and physical activity behavior.

A need-supportive environment can provide various motivational benefits to impact children’s psychomotor developmental levels. However, very little is known about the effects of need-supportive motor skill intervention on children’s motor skill competence and physical activity by gender. Guided by self-determination theory (SDT), this study aimed to (a) investigate the effect of a need-supportive fundamental movement skill (FMS) program on children’s FMS competence and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and (b) explore potential gender differences in these effects. Thirty-six children (63.8% girls; M_age = 6.52 ± 0.97) participated and were divided into two groups: an intervention group (24 need-supportive FMS sessions over eight weeks) and a control group. A repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine the influence of the motor skill intervention on FMS competence and MVPA over time by group (intervention, control) and gender (boys, girls). The results showed (a) significant group differences between the intervention and control group in FMS competence and MVPA (p < 0.001), (b) non-significant gender differences between boys and girls in FMS competence and MVPA (p = 0.85), and (c) non-significant interaction effects over time (p = 0.52). The findings highlight that a need-supportive FMS program may enhance FMS development and daily physical activity for both genders during the early school years.

Relatedness—a sense of meaningful connectedness and belonging—is one of the basic psychological needs proposed by self-determination theory. The current literature lacks evidence-based strategies that support student relatedness in the college classroom. In education, research has indicated what strategies support relatedness, but not how to implement this well-established and important concept in the college classroom. Self-determination theory suggests that supporting relatedness between the instructor and students, and among students, can foster intrinsic motivation, internalization of extrinsic motivation, and performance in educational settings. We present four evidence-based relatedness-supportive strategies—facilitating learning connections, preventing student self-silencing, providing and receiving feedback, and developing a student-centered classroom—to help promote greater student engagement and success in the classroom. We also share our examples and experiences applying these strategies as an instructor and an undergraduate teaching assistant in a physiological psychology course. Feedback from students and our reflections suggest that the four strategies are effective, which can be adopted and adapted by other instructors to implement in their classrooms.