A systematic review on self-determination theory in physical education

Abstract

The present study focused on researches using both psychological and physiological measurements in the context of physical education with a self-determination framework. A total of 28 studies were selected and analyzed using types of measurements and their relations. This literature review was conducted to (a) establish the state-of– the-art of existing research using both types of measurement in the field of physical education, (b) discuss the effectiveness of each parameter considered in the selected studies, and (c) helping researchers to select the appropriate tools in their future studies by better understanding the relationships between each parameter using the SDT framework. This review highlights the fact that a combination of psychological and physiological assessments is needed to reach the most global understanding of physical activity engagement during PE classes and that this engagement mostly depends on students' motivations. Moreover, subjective motor engagement methods seem efficient for highlighting correlations between motivation and physical activity, when combined with the SDT framework. Some limitations and perspectives regarding the gender, the students, and the contextual variables have identified for future studies.