The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of a hybrid teaching games for understanding (TGfU) and sport education (SE) physical education unit on autonomy support, perceived motivational climate, enjoyment and perceived competence, in comparison to a unit delivered via a traditional direct instruction model. A crossover design was utilized. Participants were 55 students divided into two groups. One group experienced a hybrid TGfU/SE unit first, followed by a unit of direct instruction. A second group experienced the units in the opposite order. The hybrid unit was designed according to the characteristics of SE (e.g. formal competition, seasons, team identity, roles, etc.) and learning tasks were designed to integrate the pedagogical principles of TGfU. Dependent variables were measured using validated questionnaires. Results showed that regardless of the order of intervention, students in the two groups reported significantly higher mean scores in interest in athletes’ input, praise for autonomous behavior, perceived competence, and enjoyment when they were taught using the hybrid TGfU/SE unit. The results demonstrate some initial evidence that a teacher’s employment of a hybrid TGfU/SE unit can encourage students to assume responsibilities and make independent decisions, which leads to them reporting greater enjoyment and perceived competence when compared to physical education lessons delivered via a traditional direct instruction model.

The Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) and Sport Education (SE) pedagogical models share several objectives and pedagogical processes. Despite this seemingly uncanny relationship, few studies have examined the efficacy of a hybrid TGfU/SE pedagogical model, particularly how a teacher’s utilization of such a model impacts on student motivation. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect a hybrid TGfU/SE unit, in comparison to direct instruction, on students’ perceptions of various aspects of their motivation to engage in physical education (autonomous motivation, basic psychological needs, enjoyment and intention to be physically active). A crossover design was utilized, using the technique of counterbalancing. One group experienced a hybrid SE/TGfU unit first, followed by a unit of direct instruction. A second group experienced the units in the opposite order. Participants were 55 students. The intervention was conducted over a total of 16 lessons. The hybrid unit was designed according to the characteristics of SE by using seasons, roles, persistent teams, etc. Learning tasks set by the teacher during individual lessons, however, were designed according to the pedagogical principles of TGfU. Student motivation data was generated using validated questionnaires. Results showed that regardless of the order of intervention, the two groups showed significant improvements in autonomy, competence and enjoyment when they were taught using the hybrid model. Instead, in the variables autonomous motivation, relatedness and intention to be physically active there were no significant improvements in one group. These results demonstrate that it is possible to design varied learning situations in which affiliation, leadership and trust are fostered, while tasks are adapted to the characteristics of the students. All this can cause greater autonomous motivation, and consequently, perceived competence in the student, a positive image of the sport to practice, and therefore greater enjoyment and to be physically active.

As an alternative to the direct instructional model, Metzler proposed a range of pedagogical models that include second generation models such as teaching games for understanding (TGfU) and sport education (SE). These pedagogical models have key design features that can promote high levels of autonomous motivation for both boys and girls. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to investigate the motivational outcomes of elementary boys and girls as they participated in an invasion game unit through two pedagogical models: a hybrid TGfU/SE unit or a direct instruction unit. Participants were 292 elementary school students (mean age = 10.41, standard deviation age = 0.49), who were taught through a hybrid TGfU/SE unit or a more traditional teacher-centred format within a pre-intervention/post-intervention quasi-experimental design. The hybrid unit was designed according to the characteristics of SE, while learning tasks were designed to integrate the pedagogical principles of TGfU. A 2 (pedagogical model) × 2 (test-time) × 2 (gender) multivariate analysis of variance was performed to detect between-groups and within-group differences. Significant differences in student motivation were observed for both boys and girls who participated in the hybrid TGfU/SE unit in both analyses across all motivational outcomes. Despite the existence of social stereotypes in terms of physical activity, teachers’ use of hybrid TGfU/SE units promotes an autonomy-supportive, inclusive, and equitable learning environment where all students, regardless of their gender and/or content focus of the unit and have opportunities to increase their engagement, enjoyment, and social interactions within physical education lessons.

The analysis of disciplined behaviors and academic performance in a school context has become one of the main concerns within the educational community. Physical Education is highlighted as a key subject to analyze students’ behavior. Researchers and Physical Education teachers are interested on the motivational processes that predict positive student outcomes in order to support them. Thus, the main purpose was to determine a predictive model of disciplined behaviors and academic performance in Physical Education students. The Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory acted as the theoretical framework. A total of 919 Spanish secondary school students participated in the study. The studied variables were task-oriented motivational climate, basic psychological needs, autonomous motivation, disciplined behavior, and academic performance. Data collection included Spanish validated questionnaires. The Mplus statistical program was used to perform a structural equation model of prediction. It included antecedents (task-oriented climate), motivational processes (basic psychological needs and autonomous motivation), and consequences (disciplined behavior, Physical Education and overall students’ performance). The results revealed that positive outcomes (discipline and academic performance in Physical Education) were positively predicted by autonomous motivation; autonomous motivation was positively predicted by basic psychological needs and these, in addition, by the task-oriented climate. The results highlighted the importance of the task-oriented motivational climate and the mediating role of the basic psychological needs and autonomous motivation in order to generate these positive student outcomes in Physical Education. This study could be a useful resource for teachers, since it offers the motivational variables that lead students to achieve disciplined behaviors and academic performance in Physical Education. Intervention programs based on the results of the present study could be applied in Physical Education classes in order to obtain better behavioral as well as cognitive positive student outcomes.

Grounded in self-determination theory, this pre-experimental study analyzed the effects of a hybrid teaching games for understanding/sport education (TGfU/SE) volleyball teaching unit on students’ motivational outcomes, using a mixed-method approach. It also examined whether the intervention was equally effective for boys and girls. Participants were 53 secondary school students (M_age = 15.50, SD_age = 0.57) who were taught through a hybrid TGfU/SE unit. The structure of this unit was designed according to the characteristics of SE model, while learning tasks were designed by using the pedagogical principles of TGfU model. Both self-reported validated questionnaires and focus groups were used before and after intervention to assess students’ motivational responses. After the hybrid TGfU/SE unit, both quantitative and qualitative findings showed improvements in students’ perceptions of need-support from the physical education (PE) teacher, basic psychological needs satisfaction, novelty, and variety satisfaction, as well as intrinsic motivation compared to baseline values. Although the hybrid TGfU/SE unit was effective in both genders, a large effect size was found for girls. Despite the existence of social and cultural stereotypes in team sports such as volleyball in favor of boys, results highlight the importance of developing hybrid TGfU/SE units to improve students’ motivational outcomes, especially in girls.

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study aims to examine whether the effects of a hybrid Sport Education (SE)/Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) a volleyball teaching unit were equally effective on a set of SDT-related variables according to students’ initial motivations. A pre-experimental pre-/post-test design without a control group was conducted in a volleyball teaching unit in Physical Education. A final sample of 49 students (M = 15.50, SD = 0.57), in their fourth year of secondary education, participated in a hybrid SE/TGfU volleyball teaching unit composed of 10 lessons. The structure of this unit was designed according to the characteristics of an SE model, while learning tasks were designed using the TGfU model. Different validated questionnaires on basic psychological need (BPN) support and satisfaction, novelty and variety satisfaction, motivation, and intention to be physically active were completed by students. Three different profiles with different Relative Autonomy Index (RAI) levels (i.e., “high”, “moderate”, and “low”) were identified through cluster analysis before starting the intervention. Although the SE/TGfU of a volleyball teaching unit were effective in improving SDT-related variables in the three profiles identified, a large effect size was observed in profiles with a “moderate” or “low” RAI. The hybridization of these two pedagogical models could be a tool for improving motivational outcomes in students who are less motivated in Physical Education lessons.