Goal Orientation and Intrinsic Motivation for Physical Education: Does Perceived Competence Matter?

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between perceived competence, intrinsic motivation and goal orientation in children regularly attending physical education (PE) classes and to study the differences between boys and girls of different ages in this respect. The results obtained on the sample of 594 Croatian pupils showed positive correlation of perceived competence with goal orientation, enjoyment and interest in PE. In general, girls were more intrinsically motivated and task-oriented for PE than boys. Highly competent children, especially competent boys, enjoyed PE better, worked harder and were more taskand ego-oriented than less competent children. Girls who perceived themselves as less competent were in general less motivated for PE, and their motivation decreased with age. MANOVA indicated that children who felt more competent showed more interest, put more effort into PE classes and were more task-oriented; children’s intrinsic motivation and goal orientation depended on age. The older pupils were more intrinsically motivated for PE and were both more taskand more ego-oriented than the younger ones. Interaction between age and perceived competence had a significant effect on the perception of interest and enjoyment in PE, along with the increase of PE contents complexity, the role of pupils’ perceived competence increases. Perceived competence plays an important role in goal orientation and enjoyment in PE classes and should be emphasized within the educational system in order to promote healthy lifestyle habits.