Students' Motivational Profiles and Achievement Outcomes in Physical Education: A Self-Determination Perspective

International audiencePrevious studies in educational settings have examined the relations between students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and relevant outcomes. In most of those studies a global indicator of self-determined motivation as defined by Self-Determination Theory was created to examine the relations between motivation as a global construct, its antecedents and specific outcomes. The purpose of this paper was to extend this line of research by examining (1) whether the different types of motivation proposed by SDT can combine into distinct profiles as identified by cluster analysis and (2) the links between those profiles and objective criteria of achievement. In Study 1, motivation toward physical education was assessed at the beginning of a 10-week gymnastics teaching cycle and performance was assessed at the end of the cycle, among a sample of high school students (N= 215). Study 2 (N=210) extended the results of Study 1 by controlling the initial performance of the students, measuring the effort they exerted and recording the grade obtained. Cluster analyses revealed three motivational profiles: self-determined, non self-determined and moderate levels of both types of motivation. Path analysis showed that the self-determined profile was related to the best level of achievement. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the assessment of students' motivational profile and the consequences that those profiles may have for educational outcomes