Including the construct of novelty in a full sequential model of the bright side of self-determination theory in physical education

Abstract

The aim of this study was to incorporate the construct of novelty into the sequential model proposed by self-determination theory, analyzing the paths between teachers’ need support in physical education and students’ need satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and intention to be physically active. Participants in this cross-sectional study were 888 secondary school students (472 girls), aged between 11 and 17 years (M = 13.15). Results from the final structural equation model showed that each type of teacher need support (i.e. autonomy, competence, relatedness, and novelty) was most strongly associated with the satisfaction of its respective need in students. Moreover, teachers’ competence and relatedness support were positively associated with novelty satisfaction. Only competence and novelty satisfaction were positively related to students’ autonomous motivation, which, in turn, was positively associated with their intention to be physically active. These findings provide further evidence for considering novelty from a self-determination theory perspective.