Variables motivacionales, metas sociales, actitud, satisfacción y percepción de las estrategias del profesorado para mantener la disciplina en clase en alumnado de Educación Física de secundaria

Abstract

Discipline problems in the classroom are becoming more and more frequent in our educational centers, becoming one of the biggest difficulties that teachers face in their lessons. They trigger problems, such as work stress, due to the lack of control of the situation in our lessons. These disruptive behaviors can have different natures, and can vary according to the teacher who teaches the class, depending on whether it is a man or a woman, their years of experience, etc. For this reason, it is interesting to approach the discipline from the perception of the students, taking into account the nature and reasons they have for its application by teachers. In order to delve into all of the above, several objectives were proposed in this thesis: (I) to analyze the predictive relationship of social goals, according to the work experience of the teaching staff and, based on the perceived motivational climate, discipline strategies and attitude of Physical Education (PE) students; (II) to study the effects of the teacher's gender and work experience on social goals, the motivational climate, discipline strategies and the attitude of PE students; (III) investigate the motivational differences of PE students in secondary school, according to the teacher's strategies to maintain discipline; (IV) deepen the relationship between gender and weekly practice time of physical-sports activities in relation to different points: student perception of the strategies used by the teacher to maintain discipline in class; in the perception of the motivational climate created by the teacher and in the dispositional orientation of the students; (V) to analyze the mediating effect of the teacher's discipline strategies between the motivational climate and satisfaction and boredom with PE. The design of this study was observational, descriptive and cross-sectional. A non-probabilistic selection of the sample was made and for convenience, according to the people who could be accessed. The study involved 2,002 students (for objectives 1, 2, 3, and 4) (970 men and 1,032 women) from seventeen public secondary schools in the provinces of Almería, Córdoba, Granada, Jaén, and Seville, Spain, aged between between 12 and 19 years old (M = 14.99; SD = 1.43). For objective 5, a total of 145 students (80 boys; 65 girls) were added to the previous sample from another educational center in the province of Granada, so that the total participation amounted to 2147 students (M = 15.05; SD = 1.45) from eighteen public institutes. The distribution according to the teacher's gender variable was the following: 84.5% had a male teacher compared to 15.5% who were women. The percentage of students whose teachers had between 0 and 10 years of service time (i.e., work experience) was 59.5%; between 11 and 20 years of experience, 22.3%; and 18.2% of the students received lessons from teachers with more than 20 years of service time. To respond to aim 1, the following instruments were used: Scale of Social Goals in Physical Education (EMSEF), Scale of Orientation to Learning and Performance in Physical Education classes (LAPOPECQ), Scale of Teacher Strategies to Maintain Discipline (SDSS), Attitudes towards the Conduct of Teachers and the Contents of the Physical Education Program (CAEFP). Descriptive statistics were calculated, and multiple linear regression was performed to check to what extent the different dimensions of LAPOPECQ, SDSS, and CAEFP influence social goals. In relation to aim 2, the following scales were used: EMSEF, LAPOPECQ, SDSS, CAEFP and, in addition, the gender variable and the teacher's work experience were taken into account. An analysis of Linear Multilevel or Mixed Regression Models (MLM) carried out with the MIXED procedure was made. For objective 3, the following scales were used: SDSS, LAPOPECQ, POSQ, and SSI-EF. A cluster analysis, in which three profiles of reasons for maintaining discipline in class by the teacher were established, was carried out, followed by a multivariate analysis (MANOVA). To respond to aim 4, the following instruments were used: SDSS, LAPOPECQ, POSQ, and SSI-EF and, in addition, the students' gender and number of hours of weekly physical exercise were taken into account. For statistical analysis, a 2x2 MANOVA was performed. In relation to aim 5, the following instruments were used: LAPOPECQ, SDSS, and SSI-EF. In the statistical analyses, a two-step structural equation model (SEM) was carried out, controlled by gender and length of service of the teaching staff. As conclusions, it should be noted that teachers should continue working, as the years go by, so that students have a good attitude, both towards the teacher and towards the PE subject, and not only in the first part of their work experience as teachers. It is reflected, in the same way, that teachers with less experience show higher levels of ego climate and emphasis on intrinsic reasons for discipline. Student age only maintains significant relationships with social goals, while gender is significant in ego climate, social goals, introjected reasons for maintaining discipline, and teacher’s indifference to maintaining discipline. Students with a high profile of disruptive behaviors are mostly boys, with lower values of intrinsic motivation and higher values of amotivation and inappropriate behaviors. For this reason, teachers have to be more attentive to male students and to that group of students that is less active in their spare time. Teachers who intend to improve the lesson environment should do so by promoting a positive learning climate, enhancing the discipline profile in intrinsic reasons and controlling the introjected reasons profile. Lastly, more learning and mastery oriented strategies should be applied to foster satisfaction with the subject and avoid ego or performance oriented climates to promote and maintain the quality of learning in PE classes. All the results are discussed with current works and specifically linked to the theme.