Could an intermittent Physical Education-based fitness teaching unit affect secondary school students’ motivation, autotelic experience, and physical self-concept? A cluster-randomized controlled trial

The authors want to thank you to all the students and the Physical Education teachers who made this research possible. We also thank Aliisa Hatten for the English revision of the manuscript. Santiago Guijarro-Romero and Carolina Casado-Robles are supported by a research grant from the Spanish Ministry of Universities [grant number: FPU15/02387 and FPU16/03314, respectively].Objective: The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of traditional and intermittent physical fitness-based teaching units on secondary school students’ motivation toward Physical Education, autotelic experience, and physical self-concept. Methods: Six classes [126 students (57.9% females) aged 13-15 years], balanced by grade, were cluster-randomly assigned into control (n = 40), traditional (n = 34) and innovative (n = 52) groups. The traditional group performed a physical fitness teaching unit twice a week for nine weeks (35-40 minutes of the main part of each session). The innovative group worked during the first half of the sessions’ main part (18-20 minutes) similarly to the traditional group, and during the second half they worked on invasion sports. Before and after the intervention, students’ motivation toward Physical Education and physical self-concept were measured through the Perceived Locus of Causality-II Scale and the short form of the Physical Self Description Questionnaire. Results: The Multilevel Linear Model showed that the control group students decreased statistically significantly in the integrated, introjected, and controlled motivation compared to those from the innovative and traditional groups (p 0.05). Conclusion: Regardless of the teaching unit structure applied (i.e., traditional or intermittent), it could be necessary that Physical Education teachers apply specific strategies for improving these psychological variables of the students.Spanish Ministry of Universities FPU15/02387Spanish Ministry of Universities FPU16/0331