Physical Education Teacher Motivation: A Conceptual Review and Reconceptualisation

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Physical education teacher motivation: A conceptual review and

reconceptualisation
Article in Review of Education · October 2021

DOI: 10.1002/rev3.3301
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Tan Zhang
Winston-Salem State University
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Received: 8 January 2021 Accepted: 23 July 2021
DOI: 10.1002/rev3.3301
S T A T E - O F -T H E - A R T R E V I E W
Physical education teacher motivation:

A conceptual review and reconceptualisation
Tan Zhang
Department of Health, Physical Education

and Sport Studies, Winston-Salem State Abstract
University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina,
USA Accomplishing the goal of physical education re-
quires a motivated teaching force. The goals of this
Correspondence
Tan Zhang, Department of Health, Physical article are to (a) provide a theoretical perspective
Education and Sport Studies, Winston-
Salem State University, Winston-Salem, NC that physical education teacher motivation is con-
27110, USA. textually constructed in close relation with their job
Email: zhangt@wssu.edu
demands and recourses, and (b) articulate a recon-
Funding information
The author received no financial support for ceptualised theoretical platform for future research
the research, authorship, and/or publication based on the theoretical perspectives of extrinsic
of this article.
motivation and the job demand–job resource model.
A literature search was conducted and followed by a
conceptual review of theory-driven, data-based stud-
ies on physical education teacher motivation. The re-
view has established a need to reconceptualise and
consolidate the theoretical perspectives to enhance
future research. The review outcome also suggests
that examining the psychological and behavioural
processes that influence physical education teacher
motivation needs to incorporate an ecological per-
spective that assists in identifying and clarifying the
sources of motivation and the underlying regulatory
mechanisms. Based on the review and critique, I fur-
ther articulate the implications, argue for the need of
reconceptualising physical education teacher motiva-
tion research, and propose an alternative theoretical
framework integrating the external-regulation motiva-
tion and the job demand–job resource model for the
future research. The proposed framework provides a
© 2021 British Educational Research Association
Review of Education. 2021;9:e3301. |

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/roe 1 of 26
https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3301
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conceptual lens that enables researchers to connect

physical education teacher motivation to their job en-
vironment in future research.
KEYWORDS
extrinsic motivation, job demands, job resources, working
environment
Context and implication
Rationale for this study

By delineating current motivation theoretical perspectives, the study argues that
physical education teacher motivation can (and should) be considered extrinsic and
the external-regulation framework (Deci & Ryan, 1985) should be adopted as an ef-
fective framework to study teacher motivation.
Why the new findings matter

The study proposes and discusses an alternative conceptual framework that com-
bines external-regulation and job-demands/resources perspectives for future re-
search on teacher motivation.
Implications for educational researchers and policy makers

The proposed framework provides a conceptual lens that enables researchers to
connect physical education teacher motivation to their job environment in future
research.
INTRODUCTION
The primary goals of physical education are to educate all children for physical literacy and
to help them develop a physically active lifestyle (Society of Physical & Health Educators
[SHAPE], 2014). To accomplish the goals, a motivated teaching force is required. Motivation,
as a psychological construct, is defined as energetic mental forces that instigate and sustain
goal-directed behaviour (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002) and it consists of energy to maintain or
sustain the behaviour and direction to channel the energy to accomplishing the goal (Steers
& Porter, 1983).
Most research in physical education indicates that teacher motivation is influenced by
standards, policy and curricular factors. Curtner-Smith (1999) noticed that due to the lack of
institutional support and curriculum accountability, low motivation can be observed in many
physical education teachers. In some cases (Patton & Griffin, 2008), the lack of institutional
support can hinder teachers’ motivation to implement necessary curriculum change that
they would have embraced. These findings and others included in this review suggest that
physical education teacher motivation is a mental state determined by both individual mental
process and work environment.
RECONCEPTUALIZING PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER
MOTIVATION FROM AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE |
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The goals of this article are to provide a theoretical perspective that physical education
teacher motivation is contextually constructed in close relation with their job demands and
recourses and articulate a reconceptualised framework for future research based on the
theoretical perspectives of extrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985) and the job demand–
job resource model (Jones & Fletcher, 1996). After a brief summary of the literature search
criteria and methods, I will critique the findings from research findings, delineate current
motivation theoretical perspectives to argue why physical education teacher motivation can
(and should) be considered extrinsic and why the external-regulation framework (Deci &
Ryan, 1985) is an effective lens to study teacher motivation, and propose and discuss an
alternative conceptual framework that combines external-regulation and job-demands/re-
sources perspectives for future research.
LITERATURE SEARCH AND INCLUSION
I conducted a comprehensive literature search to gather relevant empirical evidence to sup-

port the goal of a theoretical reconceptualisation. Given this purpose, the resultant review
was conceptual rather than meta-analytical. Consistent with this purpose, I included re-
search studies on teacher motivation, teacher lives, teacher professional experiences, as
well as policies studies. Methodologically, I included studies using quantitative, qualitative,
and/or both methods. I paid particular attention to the studies on factors that influenced
teacher lives, motivation and decisions to stay or leave the teaching profession. Consistently,
I focused on data and information related to teacher job demands and job recourses. I also
included conceptual articles and scholarly books and book chapters that shared impor-
tant insights of policy, contextual and curricular issues to support my reconceptualisation of
teacher motivation.
In addition to the scope of the search, I followed the guidelines recommended in the
PRISMA system (Moher et al., 2009) for systematic reviews. Specifically, considering this
was a conceptual review rather than a meta-analysis study, I focused on the recommenda-
tions of setting up a protocol that included the eligibility criteria for article selection, sources
of literature/information sources (electronic and non-electronic), process of literature search,
criteria and procedure of article selection, and the review process.
The eligibility criteria included the following. The article must be published in the English
language, peer-reviewed scholarly journals in educational and physical education. The jour-
nals must be in-print; their open-access editions and supplements were included. Open-
access-only and/or publish-for-fee print journals and open-access journals were excluded.
Books and book chapters must be seminal theoretical work with focused attention given to
the topics defined in the scope described above. Literature sources included both electronic
databases and physical library on the university campus. I identified the Education Source
by the EBSCO Information Services (www.ebsco.com) as the primary electronic search en-
gine. The database contained more than 2000 full text scholarly journal in education. I used
the keyword search mechanism where I used “teacher motivation,” “motivation to teach,”
“teacher motivation and learning,” “marginalization,” “job demands,” “job resources,” and
“teacher life” and their combinations as the keywords. I connected these keywords to a set
of secondary keywords, such as physical education, movement education, K-12 schools,
and K-12 students. Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT and parentheses) and the proximity
operator were used to improve the search efficiency and accuracy. Table 1 provides exam-
ples of the search strings. To prevent selection bias resulting from using EBSCO solely, I
also used the university library catalogue to conduct the search of scholarly books (including
book chapters). I also made search attempts using popular internet-based engines such as
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TA B L E 1 Examples of search strings with keywords and Boolean and proximity operators
Boolean Secondary Boolean

Primary keywords operator keywordsa operator Tertiary keywordsb
Teacher motivation AND Physical education AND Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Teacher motivation AND Movement education AND Elementary School
Middle School
High School
(Teacher N3 motivation) AND Physical education AND Elementary School
Middle School
High School
(Teacher N3 motivation) AND Movement education AND Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Motivation to teach AND Physical education AND Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Motivation to teach AND Movement education AND Elementary Schoola
Middle School
High School
a
I used both “physical education” and “movement education” to define the secondary keywords because movement education
is often used in place of physical education at the elementary school level.
b
The search engine I used, EBSCO, has three default levels for entering keywords and two Boolean operators connecting the
three levels of keywords. I conduct each search cycle using fixed primary and secondary keywords, then rotating the tertiary
keywords (schools).
Google Scholar and Research Gate. The purpose of using the internet search engines was
to confirm the search outcomes.
The literature search steps were sequenced. I started with the EBSCO database search,
then expanded to the internet search engines. I did not specify a time frame in an attempt
to include as many relevant studies as possible. When a seminal study was identified, I
expanded the search to earlier years to locate the seminal work and its subsequent work,
which allowed me to trace to the origin of an issue. As Moher et al. (2009) described, litera-
ture search/review is a cyclic work. Throughout the reading and review process I repeatedly
started a new search based on the information I extracted from the process. Most books and
book articles were identified in these ‘secondary’ or ‘back-peddled’ search mechanisms. All
the literature were identified through cyclical searches based on a set of eligibility criteria.
The identified literature were subjected to further screening for final inclusion or exclusion
decisions.
Further screening was directed by the article selection criteria described below. The cri-
teria aimed to identify empirical studies with content relevant to physical education teacher
motivation. In other words, the article selection criteria were used to establish content spec-
ificity. The criteria included the following: (a) The article must be on an issue relevant for
physical education teacher motivation (the content relevance criteria). Articles about gen-
eral issues facing teachers were considered, but only those relevant to physical education
teacher motivation were included. Therefore, the initial review started with those in physical
education, which helped further determine the parameter for article selection. (b) Inclusion
priority was given to empirical studies, quantitative and/or qualitative (the merit criteria).
Review articles generally were not included unless a determination was made about the
unique theoretical perspectives it would bring to the reconceptualisation process.
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The initial search resulted in 735 journal articles published since 1968. I then, first, deter-
mined the content relevance by scanning through the abstracts and titles to exclude those
about professional development, athletics, recreational sports, learner/athlete motivation,
sport coach motivation, and studies in non-K-12 schools. Second, I carefully reread the ab-
stracts to determine their merit in terms of the goals of this review. At this step, I eliminated
447 articles. Lastly, I carefully read the remaining articles and articulated their relevance
based on the above two criteria (content relevance and merit for the review) to make the
final decision on their inclusion. After the procedure, 125 articles were included in the final
pool. An in-depth reading of the articles rendered 40 high quality articles that were guided by
theories, were conducted with trustworthy methodologies (quantitative and qualitative), and
were published in reputable scholarly journals in this century. Content-wise, the selected
articles were highly representative of the 125 studies in terms of the topics, scope, methods
and findings. I then conducted core reviews on each selected article to arrive at our major
arguments of this article. Content of other articles were also included in our writing to pro-
vide contextual information and supportive evidence. Although I do not cite each of the 125
articles in this article, our theoretical articulations were firmly based on this excellent pool
of the literature.
As in all review articles, the process carried potential biases. One salient bias lies in the
fact that the majority of the 125 articles were studies from North America and Europe. The
rest were from Australia and New Zealand. This fact renders a potential bias in the review
outcome of this article and may limit the relevance of the review outcome only to countries
in these regions. As a conceptual review article, the relevance and significance of the review
outcome are also subjected to the author's theoretical perspectives. It is not an intention of
this article to generalise its outcome beyond the context specified within this review and the
original studies. The significance of this work could lie in the process of the review effort and
the process of reconceptualising the issue associated with research on physical education
teacher motivation.
BEING A PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER AND MOTIVATION
Unlike language arts, mathematics or science education, physical education is a non-tested

subject in most K-12 school systems, thus it is marginalised (Richards et al., 2018). This re-
sults in physical education teachers facing tremendous challenges in fulfilling their teaching
responsibilities (Kougioumtzis et al., 2011). Their teaching schedules are often unstable. The
instructional time is constantly interrupted by other school activities such as standardised
testing, school assembly, picture days and voting days (e.g., polling stations are often set up
in the school gymnasium). They teach unusually large classes without sufficient equipment
and activity space. In the United States, many states mandate physical education in elemen-
tary (44 states), middle (41 states) and high (41 states) schools, but only a handful of states
require schools to offer recommended physical education instructional time (SHAPE, 2016).
In an instructional environment characterised by unfavourable teaching conditions, cur-
ricular and instructional restriction, and accountability systems, many physical education
teachers are likely to remain motivationally challenged and become resistant to curriculum
innovations although they probably know the benefits for their students (Patton & Griffin,
2008). Teacher motivation barriers seem to come from two primary sources: a pressing
need to deliver quality physical education demanded by the public to address health con-
cerns (Lounsbery et al., 2011) and the lack of institutional and curricular support for teachers
to meet the need (Curtner-Smith, 2001). The barriers negatively impact teacher motivation.
In a case study, Curtner-Smith (1999) noticed that due to the lack of policy support and
the absence of curriculum accountability, physical education teachers’ motivation became
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weak. In turn, the weak motivation would lead to a low fidelity of curriculum implementation.
Patton and Griffin (2008) reported, based on extensive interview data, that teachers con-
stantly encounter institutional barriers, which in turn contributed to their low motivation or
resistance towards their career.
These early findings of low motivation and its sources were confirmed in recent studies. Kul
et al. (2018) conducted a phenomenological inquiry to explore 41 physical education teachers’
motivation and performance. Through content analysis and statistical analysis that quantified
interview themes, Kul et al. (2018) were able to attribute physical education teachers’ low moti-
vation to the marginalised status of physical education. The marginalisation was characterised
by the lack of administrative support, haphazard scheduling, infrequent class meetings, insuf-
ficient resources and equipment, parents’ misunderstanding of physical education as a waste
of time, and students’ equating physical education as ‘free time’ or ‘play time’.
It is interesting that in the studies cited above, physical education teacher motivation,
or the lack of it thereof, was inferred rather than being measured as a construct of energy
(effort) and direction (goals) as defined by psychologists (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). The
studies were based on the teacher socialisation theory (Curtner-Smith, 1999, 2001), the
teacher change perspective (Patton & Griffin, 2008), or the job-context perspective (Kul
et al., 2018). Other studies, however, took a stronger theoretical approach based on mo-
tivation theories from social-cognitive theory and/or cognitive evaluation paradigms with
a strong achievement motivation orientation. These theories include self-efficacy theory
(Bandura, 1997), self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), and achievement goal the-
ory (Nicholls, 1984).
RESEARCH BASED ON MOTIVATION THEORIES
The motivation theories provide needed guidance to motivation research with a focus on
the sources. Nevertheless, not all motivation theories were equally adopted. When organ-
ising the articles by their theoretical perspectives, I found nine using self-efficacy theory
(including one using expectancy-value theory), seven using self-determination theory, and
three using achievement goal theory. There are nine articles mentioning physical education
teacher motivation as an ecological function of job requirement and eight articles using or-
ganisational socialisation theory. I considered these to be relevant to the topic of this article
and included the articles in the review. Table 2 describes the demographic information of the
articles included in the core review. Below I will present major findings from the core review
by the theoretical perspectives followed by my critique about the relevance of using these
theories in research on physical education teacher motivation.
Findings from self-efficacy theory
The primary theoretical tenet of self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997) is that a person is more
likely to be motivated to engage in actions that they perceive capable of success than in ac-
tions that they perceive incapable of success. Bandura (1997) articulated that self-efficacy
motivation is specific to the actions perceived efficacious for. Martin et al. (2001) studied
physical education teachers’ self-efficacy on teaching physically active lessons that was
defined as 50% of lesson time devoted to moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
The results indicate that the teachers were highly efficacious about teaching MVPA les-
sons. However, the hierarchical multiple regression revealed low or non-predictability of
self- efficacy (β = 0.07, p = 0.051) for the behaviour intention to teach MVPA lessons. The
finding suggests a mismatch between self-efficacy motivation and actions of teaching.
TA B L E 2 Summarised information of the studies reviewed
Authora and year Theory/Perspective Methods/Data Journal/Publisher Key finding(s)

Broekhoff (1979) Ecological Conceptual Quest • Successful physical educators depend on convincing the
perspective synthesis public that the subject contributes to students’ health and
well-being.
• The profession should be defined by a cross-disciplinary
body of theoretical and pedagogical knowledge.
Carson and Chase Self- determination Quantitative Physical education & • Physical educators’ perceived autonomy, competence, and
(2009) Sport Pedagogy relatedness were positively associated with self-determined
motivation.
• Professional development activities and a supportive
working environment contributed to physical educators’
autonomy, competence or relatedness.
Curtner- Smith Occupational Qualitative Sport, Education and • Physical educators held different motivation toward an
(1999) socialisation Society innovative National Curriculum of Physical Education.
MOTIVATION FROM AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
• Their motivation or lack thereof were influenced by their

personal experiences, teacher education training, peer
influence and working environment.

Curtner- Smith Occupational Qualitative Sport, Education and • Physical education teacher candidates’ perception of the
(2001) socialisation Society profession had been shaped by their personal experience
of physical education in schools, teacher preparation
programmes and the working environment.
Ennis (2006) Ecological Conceptual Quest • Constraints embedded in schools continued to hamper the
perspective synthesis efforts of physical educators to teach physical education
content.
Ennis (2017) Ecological Conceptual Research Quarterly for • The three types of physical education programmes—
perspective synthesis Exercise and Sport recreation, public health, and educational, respectively—
brought different approaches to evaluate teaching
effectiveness.
• Physical education curriculum should be cognitively mindful,
motivational and meaningful for students.
Evans and Williams Occupational Quantitative Benchmark • Institutionalised disadvantage limited physical educators’
(1989) socialization career trajectory and contributed to their leaving of the
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profession.
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(Continues)
TA B L E 2 (Continued)

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Fejgin et al. (1995) Occupational Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • Low remuneration, bureaucratic limitations and role
8 of 26
socialisation Physical Education limitations were the three leading work condition that
contributed to physical educators’ burnout.
• Physical educators experienced social isolation, role
conflicts, lack of diverse activities and opportunities for
development.
Gorozidis and Self-efficacy Quantitative European Physical • Physical educators who were mastery-oriented and
Papaioannou Education Review high self-efficacious had positive attitudes towards the
(2011) curriculum innovation and demonstrated higher fidelity of
implementation.
• Strategies should be taken to strengthen physical educators’
self-efficacy, mastery goals, attitudes and intentions for
implementation.
Hein et al. (2012) Self- determination Quantitative Journal of Sports Science • Autonomously motivated physical educators were more
and Medicine likely to adopt the student-centred teaching styles.
• Externally motivated physical educators were more likely to
adopt teacher-centred teaching styles.
Kougioumtzis et al. Occupational Conceptual European Physical • Physical educators had high profession-related esteem
(2011) socialisation synthesis Education Review despite the mistrust from students, colleagues and parents.
• Physical educators’ implementation of their curriculum was
limited by instruction time, facilities and equipment.
Kul et al. (2018) N/A Qualitative Higher Education Studies • School administers did not have necessary domain
knowledge to evaluate physical educators’ performance.
• Parents focused on academic achievement and devalued
physical education.
• Challenges faced by physical educators included limited
facilities, curricular resources, equipment, and instruction
time.
Lindholm (1997) Ecological Conceptual Journal of Teaching in • Physical educators reported less opportunities for
perspective synthesis Physical Education recognition and decision making, and lower organisation
commitment.
ZHANG
(Continues)

Lounsbery et al. Ecological Quantitative Journal of Physical • Physical educators in schools that adopted evidence-
(2011) perspective Activity & Health based programmes demonstrated higher satisfaction with
programme outcomes and played a more active role in
teacher evaluation and programme decision making.
• School administrators did not have sufficient knowledge
to evaluate physical education programmes and failed
to recognise barriers to implement evidence-based
programmes.
Mäkelä et al. (2014) N/A Quantitative Research Quarterly for • Nearly 40% of physical educators were either considering
Exercise and Sport to leave the profession or in the process of leaving the
profession.
• The leading factors that contributed to their intention to leave
were poor facilities, poor equipment and social isolation, low
status, and excessive workload.
Martin and Kulinna Self-efficacy Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • The development of a psychometric instrument to evaluate
(2003) Physical Education physical educators’ self-efficacy generated a construct

that contained four factors: students-, time-, space-and
institution-related factors.
Martin and Kulinna Self-efficacy Quantitative Research Quarterly for • Physical educators reported a positive cognition towards
(2004) Exercise and Sport teaching physically active programmes.
• Physical educators’ intention to teach physically active
classes were determined by attitude, perceived behavioural
control and subjective norms.
Martin and Kulinna Social- cognitive Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • By promoting fitness and limiting general instruction and
(2005) Physical Education student management, physical educators increased the
likelihood of students’ participation of moderate to vigorous
physical activities.
Martin et al. (2001) Social- cognitive Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • Physical educators’ intention to teach physically active
Physical Education classes was determined by attitude, subjective norm and the
interaction between the variables.
Martin et al. (2009) Social- cognitive Quantitative Professional Development • Mentoring-based professional development increased
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in Education physical educators’ pedometer and computer efficacy.

9 of 26
(Continues)

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Martínez- López Self-efficacy Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • Physical educators who were self-efficacious in meeting
et al. (2017) Physical Education overweight and obese students’ learning needs were more
10 of 26
sensitive and less pejorative toward overweight and obesity.

Moreira et al. (2002) Expectancy-value Quantitative British Educational • The development of a psychometric instrument to assess
Research Journal physical educators’ job commitment revealed a construct
of four factors: job satisfaction, job dissatisfaction, personal
investment in the job and perceived career alternatives.
Mouton et al. (2013) Self-efficacy Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • The sociability factor of emotional intelligence predicted
Physical Education physical educators’ teacher self-efficacy.
Pan (2014) Self-efficacy Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • Physical educators’ self-efficacy influenced student
Physical Education motivation, learning atmosphere, and learning satisfaction.
Papaioannou and Achievement goals Quantitative Educational Psychology • The development of a psychometric instrument that
Christodoulidis measures physical educators’ achievement goal revealed a
(2007) three-factor construct that includes mastery, performance
approach and performance avoidance goals.
• Physical educators demonstrated higher level of
performance avoidance goals than math teachers.
Patton and Griffin Ecological Qualitative Journal of Teaching in • Through participating a reform-based teacher development
(2008) perspective Physical Education project, physical educators changed some but not all of their
assessment and instructional practices.
• For physical educators to embrace educational reform, they
needed support, professional development opportunities,
and time to learn and practice.
Richards et al. Occupational Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • Physical educators' personal accomplishment, resilience,
(2018) socialisation Physical Education physical education mattering, and teacher mattering
were negatively related to feelings of marginalisation and
isolation.
ZHANG
(Continues)

Sas- Nowoseilski Self-efficacy Quantitative The New Educational • Physical educators’ sense of accomplishment was positively
and Kowalczyk Review predicted by their efficacy in applying scientific knowledge in
(2020) teaching and teaching students with special needs.
• Physical educators’ emotional exhaustion was negatively
predicted by efficacy to conduct assessment efficacy,
efficacy to use technology and positively predicted by
efficacy of accommodating students on different skill levels.
Spittle et al. (2009) Self- determination Quantitative Teaching and Teacher • Five factors, including confident interpersonal reasons, sport
Education and physical activity, low perceived demand, role model,
and family, contributed to student choices for becoming a
physical educator.
• Choosing the career because of confident interpersonal
service reasons was positively related to intrinsic motivation.
• Choosing the career because of sport and physical activity
reasons was positively related to extrinsic motivation.

• Choosing the career because teaching the subject seemed

easy was positively related to amotivation.
Spittle and Spittle Self- determination Quantitative Australian Journal of • The main factors that contributed to teacher candidates’
(2014) Teacher Education choice of teaching primary physical education were sport
and physical activity, confident interpersonal service, and
role models.
• Confident interpersonal service, low perceived demand, and
family reasons predicted intrinsic motivation.
• Confident interpersonal service and low perceived demand
predicted extrinsic motivation.
Taylor et al. (2008) Self- determination Quantitative Journal of Sport & • Physical educators’ perceived job pressure, perceptions
Exercise Psychology of student self-determination, and teacher autonomous
orientation predicted their psychological need satisfaction,
which, in turn predicted their self-determination.
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(Continues)

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Todorovich (2009) Achievement goals Mixed data Journal of Teaching in • Ego-oriented pre-service physical educators shared the
Physical Education understandings that they should control the class, athletic
12 of 26
students should be recognised, physical education connects

with athletics, and assessment should be based on effort.
Van den Berghe Self- determination Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • Physical educators who were autonomously motivated
et al. (2013) Physical Education reported lower level of emotional exhaustion.
• Physical educators who were extrinsically motivated
reported higher level of emotional exhaustion.
Var and Yildiz (2019) Occupational Qualitative Journal of Education and • Physical educators’ vocational motivation varied by
socialisation Learning demographic variables, including age, seniority and gender.
Wang et al. (2018) Achievement goals Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • The validation of a psychometric instrument that measures
Physical Education physical educators’ achievement goal confirmed a construct
with four factors: mastery, ability-approach, ability-
avoidance, and work-avoidance goals.
• Physical educators’ job satisfaction was predicted by
mastery goals and ability-approach goals.
Washburn et al. Occupational Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • Physical educators who perceived their subject’s
(2020) socialisation Physical Education significance influenced role ambiguity negatively and
relatedness satisfaction positively.
• Promoting physical educators’ perceived significance of
their subject area may reduce role stress and increase
psychological need satisfaction.
Whipp and Salin Ecological Quantitative Social Psychology of • The satisfaction of three basic needs, competence,
(2018) perspective Education autonomy and relatedness, professional interaction,
participation in decision-making, and respect predicted
physical educators’ retention.
Whipp et al. (2007) Ecological Qualitative Research Quarterly for • Lack of respect from administrators, colleagues, parents
perspective Exercise and Sport and students, and lack of decision making and professional
development contributed to physical educators’ burnout.
ZHANG
(Continues)

Woods and Ecological Quantitative Journal of Teaching in • National Board Certified physical educators chose the
Rhoades (2010) perspective Physical Education profession because of enjoying interaction with children,
continuous involvement with sports, low aspirations to
coaching, and enjoying physical activity.

• Factors that contributed to teachers’ pursuit of National
Board Certification were financial incentives, willingness to
take challenges and continuous professional development.
Zach et al. (2015) Self- determination Qualitative Journal of Teaching in • Satisfaction of the needs for competency, relatedness
Physical Education and autonomy was related to novice physical educators’
perception of success.
a
First author only. See reference list for full citations.
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In a subsequent study, Martin and Kulinna (2003) developed a sophisticated four-

dimensional Physical Education Teachers’ Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Scale (PETPAS)
to not only tap into the MVPA self-efficacy but also identify possible influential factors: stu-
dent, space, time and institution. The significance of this study lies in the recognition that the
teaching environment would determine the teachers’ self-efficacy motivation to teach MVPA
lessons. Using the new instrument, Martin and colleagues conducted follow-up studies and
found that teachers’ (n = 342) self-efficacy motivation remained a marginal predictor for ac-
tion to teach MVPA lessons (β = 0.029, p = 0.435) (Martin & Kulinna, 2004) and contributed
little to student learning (Martin et al., 2009).
Self-efficacy was also hypothesised (Mouton et al., 2013) as a positive reinforcer of
teaching performance. In a study involving 119 physical education teachers from elemen-
tary and secondary schools, Mouton et al. (2013) correlated the teachers’ emotionality with
their efficacies for student engagement, instructional strategy and classroom management.
The descriptive statistics showed that the teachers held strong self-efficacy portfolios in all
three actions. The correlation analysis, however, found no to low associations between the
teachers’ self-efficacy and emotional well-being and teaching performances (r ranged from
0.01 to 0.34). The findings, again, show that physical education teachers tend to, rightly so,
demonstrate strong self-efficacies for teaching. But the efficacy hardly results in something
beneficial for themselves and student learning.
Recently, physical education teacher self-efficacy has been studied with student motiva-
tion (Pan, 2014), teacher attitudes toward overweight/obese students (Martínez-López et al.,
2017), and teacher burnout (Sas-Nowoseilski & Kowalczyk, 2020). In Pan's (2014) study,
physical education teacher self-efficacy was hypothesised in an a priori model as a con-
tributor to student motivation, perceived learning atmosphere, and learner satisfaction. The
model was tested with a sample of 462 high school physical education teachers in Taiwan
and their students (n = 2681). The results showed, again, that the self-reported self-efficacy
scores were on the high end. A sizable contribution of the teacher self-efficacy to student
motivation was found in the structural equation model with a path coefficient of 0.70 from
teacher self-efficacy to student motivation (Pan, 2014, p. 84). Martínez-López et al. (2017)
focused on teacher self-efficacy for involving overweight/obese students in-class physical
activity participation, fostering their learning, and assessing their learning achievement. The
results again showed a strong teacher self-efficacy in all three action areas. Using the me-
dian to split the teachers into high and low efficacy groups, Martínez-López et al. (2017)
found that the high efficacious teachers demonstrated more favourable attitudes in all three
actions than the low efficacious teachers. A recent study (Sas-Nowoseilski & Kowalczyk,
2020) measured 401 physical education teachers' self-efficacy on content knowledge, ap-
plying the content knowledge, accommodating skill differences, teaching special needs stu-
dents, instruction, using assessment and using technology. The researchers found that the
self-efficacies did help reduce the possibility of burnout except the efficacy of accommo-
dating skill differences which contributed, with a positive β of 0.24, to emotional exhaustion.
In summary, all the above studies have shown that physical education teachers hold
strong efficacious beliefs about their ability to teach. Yet, the findings also have shown that
the strong self-efficacy was rarely associated with actions and outcomes of teaching. These
findings seem to raise questions about self-efficacy as a strong source of motivation as
manifested in teaching physical education.
Findings from self-determination theory
Self-determination theory was proposed to be a comprehensive framework of motivation for

life (Deci & Ryan, 1985). It is built on the assumption that human motivation derives from
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satisfying three fundamental needs: competence, relatedness and autonomy. The need of
competence is the inner propensity of humans to strive to develop knowledge, skill and
ability in pursuing success in life. The need of relatedness refers to the acquired sense of
relating to people by interacting with others. The need of autonomy is defined as the sense
of agency to control and act in harmony with one's own destiny of life (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
Equally important in self-determination theory is the acknowledgement of extrinsic mo-
tivation, which suggests that humans can be motivated by external controlling factors such
as rewards or punishments (Ryan & Deci, 2000). The mechanism of control consists of four
behavioural regulations: external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, and
integrated regulation (Deci & Ryan, 1985). The motivation by the external regulation is char-
acterised by external demands for action that are manipulated with rewards or punishments.
The motivation by the introjected regulation is characterised by imposed or derived self-
esteem contingencies to demonstrate self-worth or avoid negative feelings of guilt, shame
or worry. The motivation by the identified regulation is more autonomous in a sense that it in-
volves a conscious or subconscious need to regulate one's own behaviour to meet the goal
that is identified as important by the individual. The motivation by the integrated regulation
is characterised by an individual's internalisation of externally accepted values or goals as
one's own underlying reasons for action.
Studies based on self-determination theory focused on the need of autonomy. Van den
Berghe et al. (2013) investigated the autonomous motivation in relation to emotional exhaus-
tion of physical education teachers (n = 104) in secondary schools in Flanders. The teach-
ers reported an extremely high mean on autonomous motivation (M = 4.31, SD = 0.53 on a
5-point Likert type scale) and low controlled motivation (M = 2.19, SD = 0.66). Autonomous
motivation was found to be negatively correlated to emotional exhaustion. In a qualitative
study, Zach et al. (2015) collected document and interview data from 45 novice physical
education teachers. The analysed data revealed a high satisfaction of the relatedness need
in teachers who also perceived themselves being actively involved in school life, making de-
cisions about pupils’ learning, and contributing to administrative decisions about the recess
schedule. However, the findings should be viewed with caution because the teachers also
reported that any demonstrations of incompetence, inability to socialise in the school, and
a lack of professional independence would lead to their termination from their probationary
position (Zach et al., 2015). Thus, the intrinsic nature of autonomous motivation may be
questionable because it might be the result of stringent external control.
Spittle and colleagues (Spittle et al., 2009; Spittle & Spittle, 2014) used self-determination
theory as a lens to understand the motivation for becoming a physical education teacher.
Spittle et al. (2009) measured 324 Australian physical education teacher candidates’ in-
trinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation, and factors influencing their de-
cisions to become a physical education teacher. The teacher candidates responded with
high-moderate extrinsic motivation, moderate intrinsic motivation, and low amotivation. The
researchers also reported a low association between the motivation types and influential
factors, r ranging from −0.26 to +0.38 (Spittle et al., 2009). In another study with 248 physical
education teacher candidates majoring in elementary school physical education, Spittle and
Spittle (2014) found identified regulation to be the strongest source of motivation, followed
by intrinsic motivation, introjected regulation motivation and external regulation motivation.
The researchers also reported that the intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation patterns are
consistent across gender. In addition, years of education in the physical education teacher
education programme did not change the patterns of their motivation. As teaching experi-
ences cumulate, antecedent variables—including those from training—would assist phys-
ical education teachers in developing motivation regulatory strategies (Taylor et al., 2008).
The findings indicate, collectively, that the physical education teachers started off with an
extrinsic motivation for the teaching career through identifying the values of teaching sports
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and physical activity. Their motivation patterns were consistent throughout their teacher
education career.
In a large-scale study involving 808 Finnish physical education teachers, Mäkelä et al.
(2014) found that 13% of teachers were leaving teaching and another 26% were considering
leaving. The potential turnover rate was as high as nearly 40%. A turnover rate was reported
earlier in England (Evans & Williams, 1989), as 80% male and 40% female teachers were
reported leaving or considering leaving physical education instruction. These findings, at
least, suggest that physical education teacher turnover rate can be high, and the turnover
may be an international phenomenon. In addition, the findings strongly imply that physical
education teachers leaving the profession can be indicative of loss of motivation.
To find out the driving reasons for the stay-versus-leave decisions, Whipp and Salin
(2018) identified 139 ‘stayers’ from 234 physical education teachers in Western Australia.
The data showed that the ‘stayers’ scored higher in all three needs satisfaction regardless
of gender or school types. A logistic regression indicated that the ‘stayers’ were two times
more likely than the others to stay in teaching physical education (odds ratio = 2.27); and the
satisfaction of the autonomous, competence and relatedness needs contributed sizably to
the decision with the odds ratios of 1.87, 2.30 and 2.08, respectively.
Extrinsic motivation is not a mainstream topic in studying physical education teacher
motivation. Only one study (Hein et al., 2012) involved both intrinsic motivation and extrin-
sic motivation mechanisms. Hein et al. (2012) gathered self-report data from 176 physical
education teachers on intrinsic motivation (operationalised as the autonomy to teach), ex-
trinsic motivation (operationalised as the identified, introjected and external regulations),
and teaching styles (student-centered versus teacher centered) to examine the relationship
between motivation and teaching styles. The correlation between the motivation and the
teaching styles was low (r ranged from 0.15 to −0.27).
Taken together, the findings from self-determination theory studies showed that satis-
faction of the three basic needs may be the key for teachers to stay motivated and keep a
positive attitude towards teaching physical education. Externally regulated motivations can
function positively for teacher candidates to choose teaching physical education as a career.
Regardless of the motivation types, the impact of teacher motivation on instruction and stu-
dent learning appears to be absent.
Findings from achievement goal theory
John Nicholls (1984) conceptualised a dual achievement goal orientation model to interpret
fundamental reasons of achievement motivation. An ego/performance-oriented goal moti-
vates an individual for achievement by focusing on the possibility of outperforming others,
while a task/mastery-oriented goal motivates an individual by guiding the attention to the
completion of a task. The conceptualisation was further extended into a context-based theo-
retical platform (Ames, 1992) where the goal orientations were operationalised as classroom
climate to nurture students’ task/mastery achievement goal. The dual-goal construct was
further reconceptualised with two additional pathways to become a 2 × 2 model (Elliot, 1999)
that includes an approach and an avoidance pathway in each of the two goal orientations.
Using the achievement goal theory to study teacher motivation has been scarce. I found
two studies on instrument development (Papaioannou & Christodoulidis, 2007; Wang et al.,
2018) and two studies on relations between the goals and teaching in preservice teach-
ers (Todorovich, 2009) and between the goals and curriculum implementation (Gorozidis &
Papaioannou, 2011). In Papaioannou and Christodoulidis' study (2007), a sample of Greek
teachers (n = 430, including 73 physical education teachers) responded to items written
for the development of an instrument to measure teachers' achievement goal orientations.
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The confirmatory factor analysis rendered a 12-item solution with three goal orientations: a
mastery goal, a performance approach goal, and a performance avoidance goal. The three-
dimensional model showed, however, an acceptable but marginal fit with RMSEA = 0.06
(MacCallum et al., 1996). Wang et al. (2018) adopted Butler's conceptualisation of teacher
achievement goal orientations to test an achievement goal orientation instrument. Using
a split-sample method in China with data from 322 physical education teachers (n1 = 162,
n2 = 160), Wang et al. (2018) confirmed Butler's (2007) teacher achievement goal structure
with four dimensions including the mastery goal, ability/performance approach goal, ability/
performance avoidance goal, and work avoidance goal. The work avoidance goal is quite
unique, according to Butler, which is a perceived ‘success’ defined as ‘get through the day
with little effort’ (Butler, 2007, p. 248). The model fit test from the confirmatory factor analy-
sis was also acceptable but marginal (RMSEA = 0.06). Although both studies revealed the
achievement goal structure may be similar to those validated with students, the weaknesses
are apparent as Butler (2007) pointed out in her study: ‘The predicted four-factor measure-
ment model only approached acceptable fit, and fit indices were not as good…’ (p. 248).
Collectively, the results of these studies might have raised theoretical doubts about the rele-
vance of applying the achievement goal theory in studying teacher motivation.
Using the ego/performance versus task/mastery dual goal construct, Todorovich (2009)
selected four preservice teachers with extremely high ego-goal orientation to examine their
perspectives of teaching physical education. The analysis of the interview data revealed
that the preservice teachers had an extremely strong ego/performance perspective toward
teaching physical education and believed absolute teacher control and competition as a key
to successful teaching. They defined learning success as superior skill/ability performance
and advocated using a competitive reward system (publicly posting performance levels) to
enhance learner self-esteem (Todorovich, 2009). Gorozidis and Papaioannou's data (2011)
from 290 Greek physical education teachers suggested a strong task/mastery goal orien-
tation (M = 4.35 on a 5-point Likert scale, SD = 0.53) and weak performance-approach and
performance-avoidance goals (M = 2.51, SD = 1.00 and M = 2.41, SD = 0.88, respectively).
A correlation analysis and a theorised structural equation model failed to identify a mean-
ingful relationship between the goal orientations and implementation intention, attitudes and
behaviour of teaching a new physical education curriculum (rs ranged from 0.02 to 0.25;
path coefficients ranged from 0.03 to 0.04).
In summary, the above evidence suggests that although the achievement goal theory is
a prominent construct in interpreting students’ achievement motivation, it may lack rigour in
accounting for physical education teacher motivation. It seems possible that the weakened
theoretical rigour may be due to the lack of a tangible goal of success/achievement for teach-
ing physical education (Chen & Ennis, 2004). Instead, the ‘get-through-the-day’ scenario is
a prevalent benchmark as success (Butler, 2007). This observation is also supported by the
review findings where the association and/or contribution of physical education teachers’
goal orientations did not seem to relate to their intentions and actions of teaching.
Motivation as a function of job demands and resources
An interesting finding from the review is that physical education teachers’ motivation, re-
gardless of the theoretical basis, is connected to their views, perceptions and experiences
of work conditions, perceived jab satisfaction, and perceived job demands and resources.
Physical education teachers’ self-efficacy to teach was found as associated with specific
work conditions such as teaching space, schedule and perceived institutional barriers, in-
cluding the negative perception of physical education from peer teachers and administrators
(Martin & Kulinna, 2003) and curriculum conditions (Martin et al., 2009).
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Studies based on self-determination theory provide similar motivation and job-factors

relations. Preservice teachers who were intrinsically motivated to teach physical educa-
tion were driven by the opportunity to serve, whereas those who were extrinsically moti-
vated were attracted to the profession by the potential opportunity to become sport coaches
(Spittle et al., 2009). The teachers who perceived a low autonomous working environment
experienced higher levels of emotional exhaustion than those in a high autonomous envi-
ronment (Van den Berghe et al., 2013). The teachers who chose to stay in teaching physical
education indicated strong satisfaction in autonomy, competence and relatedness needs
(Whipp & Salin, 2018). In an environment where the role of the physical education teacher is
vague or in conflict with their professional values or where physical education is perceived
as not mattering, the three needs will not be satisfied, which will in turn lead to low teacher
motivation (Washburn et al., 2020).
Likewise, similar findings are emerging from the limited number of studies from the achieve-
ment goal theory perspective. Low correlations were reported between the task/mastery
goal orientation and job satisfaction among the teachers (Papaioannou & Christodoulidis,
2007; Wang et al., 2018). In addition, no causal relations were identified between teachers’
goal orientations and instructional and learning variables. The results cast doubt on the
function of achievement goal motivation in physical education teachers.
Research on the physical education teacher job environment and their motivation has
focused on teacher motivation profiles (Moreira et al., 2002), work conditions (Whipp
et al., 2007), motivation factors (Woods & Rhoades, 2010), and supportive conditions of
the job (Var & Yildiz, 2019). Adopting a teacher motivation investment model, Moreira
et al. (2002), in England, profiled 183 physical education teachers' expectancy-value
theory motivation in relation to their job satisfaction/dissatisfaction, personal motivation
investment (Lindholm, 1997) operationalised as intrinsic and extrinsic resources, and
career intention along with their job commitment. The results showed that the teachers'
job satisfaction was determined by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The intrinsic fac-
tors primarily derived from student growth and success, whereas the extrinsic factors
included job security, regular vacations and the feeling of prestige as a teacher. The two
factors also accounted for their job dissatisfaction. The intrinsic factor for dissatisfaction
included concerns of own teaching performance and perception of student low motiva-
tion. The extrinsic factors included the lack of administrative support, low recognition of
their work, and isolation/marginalisation of physical education. Whipp et al. (2007) inter-
viewed three experienced and successful Australian physical education teachers who
resigned from and never returned to their teaching positions, to explore reasons why
they moved to a different career. The two primary reasons were: the lack of professional
respect as manifested by ‘a lack of “genuine opportunities” to participate in educational
decision making’ (p. 496) and ‘untenable’ job demands requiring extraordinary time and
effort. The powerlessness and disrespect the teachers experienced drove these suc-
cessful teachers to seek other careers.
There are physical education teachers who not only excel in teaching but also are
highly motivated in pursuing continued excellence. Woods and Rhoades (2010) explored
334 successful US physical education teachers' reasons why they wanted to be the best
physical education teachers defined by the National Board Certification. Survey and in-
terview data suggest that their motivation for teaching was clearly based on the joy of
helping children and the association of physical education to the passion for sport and
physical activity, which can be classified as intrinsic motivation. For most of the teach-
ers, however, the leading reason for pursuing the National Board Certification was found
to be the financial incentives, which is consistent with the extrinsic motivation. In most
states, the certification brought an average 12% salary increase for 10 years as well as
‘the best teacher’ reputation (Woods & Rhoades, 2010). Var and Yildiz (2019) surveyed
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300 physical education teachers in Turkey and found most teachers (~90%) were equally
motivated by intrinsic factors such as ‘I love my job’ (91%), ‘I am doing my job/mission in
a right way’ (96%), and ‘It makes me happy to think that I am successful in doing my job’
(93%) as well as extrinsic factors such as ‘Whether I want or not, the conditions make me
to do this job’ (88%), ‘It is a treasure to have a job’ (93%), and ‘I do not do this job if I don't
need money’ (90%) (p. 223). It is surprising, though, that 90% of the teachers were ready
to give up teaching physical education when responding to the statement, ‘I can give up
my profession and do a job in another field’ (p. 223). Collectively, these findings are signif-
icant in that they provide a picture about the diversity of motivation sources that physical
education teachers may rely on.
MOTIVATION BASED ON THE JOB DEMAND AND

RESOURCE FRAMEWORK
Broekhoff (1979) proclaimed 41 years ago that ‘the strength of Physical Education as a
profession is related directly to the success physical educators have in convincing the
public that they have important contributions to make to the health and well-being’ (p.
252). This statement cannot be more relevant today than ever when physical education
teachers are expected to deliver the health-enhancing curriculum in the gymnasium with
or without administrative support, peer recognition and/or public appreciation. To un-
derstand their motivation, it seems imperative to adopt a theoretical perspective beyond
the existing paradigm of achievement motivation to incorporate the job demand–job re-
source model.
The concepts of job demand and resource
Jones and Fletcher (1996) proposed the job demand–job resource model to study work-
place motivation issues. Job demand is defined as ‘the things that have to be done’ (Jones
& Fletcher, 1996, p. 34). It often ‘refers to those physical and/or psychological (cognitive
and emotional) efforts and is therefore associated with certain physiological and/or psy-
chological costs’ (Bakker et al., 2004, p. 86). Across various professions, examples of job
demand include high workload pressure, time pressure, unfavourable work schedule, unfa-
vourable physical environment, and emotionally demanding interactions with clients (Bakker
& Demerouti, 2007). Job resource refers to the physical, psychological, organisational and
social aspects of the job that are ‘functional in achieving work goals; reduce job demands
and the associated physiological and psychological costs; stimulate personal growth, learn-
ing, and development’ to promote greater productivity (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007, p. 312).
Job resources can be organisational (e.g., salary, career opportunities), interpersonal (sup-
port from administrators and co-workers), work specifics (role clarity, communication, and
decision-making involvement), and task- specific (skill level, performance, performance
feedback) (Bakker et al., 2007).
The model assumes that worker motivation is developed through both demands and re-
sources. When exposed to excessive job demands, workers will likely put forth additional
physical and/or mental efforts that are often perceived as cost for motivation. An earlier
study (Hockey, 1993) showed that such cost may gradually exhaust workers' energy and
eventually lead to low motivation. When job resources are sufficient, workers will be able to
use them and, in turn, invest additional motivation in the work (Bakker et al., 2004). Without
sufficient job resources, workers tend to disengage and withdraw from their work (Bakker
et al., 2003).
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Demand–resource relation and motivation
Job demand can be further conceptualised into two types: job hindrances and job chal-
lenges (Broeck et al., 2010). Job hindrances refer to those demands that drain workers’
energy, create feelings of a lack of control and elicit negative emotions about the job. Job
challenges refer to the demands that require energy and effort but also provide workers
with potential gains and opportunities for development. The two types of job demands
have been observed empirically as two distinct factors in a confirmatory factor analy-
sis (Broeck et al., 2010). Demerouti et al. (2001) proposed three strategies to promote
worker motivation: reducing or removing job demands, providing job resources, and of-
fering resources to stimulate personal growth, learning and professional development in
relation to workers’ aspiration.
One practical implication of the strategies is to customise resources according to work-
ers’ individual motivation profile (Harpaz, 2002). According to Harpaz (2002), workers who
demonstrate an intrinsic orientation often value the work of intellectual fulfillment, opportuni-
ties of being creative and autonomy. Workers who have an extrinsic motivation profile tend
to perceive their job as a means to remuneration. From a theoretical perspective, organi-
sations may provide intrinsically motivated workers the resources that can stimulate their
personal growth, learning and professional development. They may provide workers with
extrinsic motivation the resources that facilitate the work processes. For example, for an
intrinsically motivated physical education teacher, offering professional development about
innovative grouping to facilitate learning would greatly motivate them. For an extrinsically
motivated physical education teacher, providing useful equipment may be a motivation strat-
egy because it helps make the work process manageable.
Clearly, physical education teacher motivation is determined by both organisational and
personal factors. The job demand–job resource model provides a useful theoretical platform
for us to carefully study and understand the sources of motivation. Combining the model
with viable motivation theories may provide necessary insights about physical education
teacher motivation. More importantly, it may help form an integrated theoretical perspective
based on which intervention strategies can be developed at both organisational and per-
sonal levels to promote physical education teacher motivation.
RECONCEPTUALISING TEACHER MOTIVATION RESEARCH
It is clear that physical education teachers are motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic con-
tingencies. It also appears clear that physical education teacher motivation is controlled
and confined by imposed job demands and available job resources. Taking these into con-
sideration, I will discuss the limitations of the current research and propose an integrated
framework for future research.
Theoretical pitfalls of the achievement motivation frameworks
Applying the achievement motivation theories (e.g., self- efficacy, achievement goals,
expectancy-values) to study teacher motivation seems to be based on two assumptions. First,
motivation is assumed to be a mental dispositional construct independent from job demands
and resources rather than a person-environment interactive construct dependent on the teach-
ing environment. Different types of physical education (recreational, public health and educa-
tional) present a diverse array of curriculum contexts (Ennis, 2017). Teaching in a recreational
curriculum and teaching in an educational curriculum may require different types and levels
21 of 26
of motivation because of the differences in job demands and job resources. As illustrated in
Martin and Kulinna's studies (2004, 2005), physical education teachers may be motivated with
high self-efficacy, but their motivation may not be producing desired student outcomes.
The second assumption seems to be that physical education teachers have tangible
achievement goals as their students do. This assumption may be limited in terms of rele-
vance. When applying the achievement motivation theories to study learner motivation, the
learning goals are often tangible, well-defined (e.g., by the national standard benchmarks)
and visible, such as completing a task, performing a skill, answering a written test and/
or scoring in a fitness test. In the study of teacher motivation, the relevance can be ques-
tionable due to the fact that most instructions may not be guided by specific, tangible and
immediately achievable lesson-by-lesson goals for the teacher.
Theoretical pitfalls of the sole intrinsic motivation perspective
Self-determination theory acknowledges that human motivation is construed as the results

of interaction between externally imposed constraints and personal mental dispositions.
Intrinsic motivation is experienced by individuals when they engage in an activity for the
sake of experiencing the activity (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Extrinsic motivation refers to motiva-
tion in which an individual engages in an activity due to the controlling effects of external
factors such as receiving tangible or symbolic rewards or complying with an external contin-
gency imposed by those in control (Ryan & Deci, 2000). As illustrated in the review, physical
education teachers do value extrinsic rewards as a source of motivation (Woods & Rhoades,
2010) as much as they value the intrinsic value of teaching (Carson & Chase, 2009; Var &
Yildiz, 2019; Woods & Rhoades, 2010).
Intrinsic motivation is the ideal type of teacher motivation. Intrinsically motivated teachers
are teaching for the enjoyment that the teaching brings. Using externally controlled contin-
gencies, such as rewards, to motivate intrinsically motivated teachers is an unnecessary
over-justification (Lepper et al., 1973), which might even jeopardise the intrinsic motivation.
In reality, however, physical education teachers are subjected to many job demands that
may not relate to teaching or may not be consistent with their expertise. These demands
prevent them from enjoying the teaching process and, consequently, weaken their intrinsic
motivation in teaching. In fact, a fundamental assumption in self-determination theory is the
recognition that most workers are not intrinsically motivated, they are extrinsically motivated.
Self-determination theory acknowledges the complexity of extrinsic motivation by framing
it within a sequence of external regulations (Ryan & Deci, 2000). As research on job de-
mand/resource and worker motivation has shown that without sufficient external rewards as
necessary resources, worker intrinsic motivation cannot be sustained for long. Most phys-
ical education teachers in Turkey explicitly expressed that working for financial compensa-
tion motivates them (Var & Yildiz, 2019) and most of the best teachers in the United States
cited the same reason as the motivation to acquire the National Board Certification (Woods
& Rhoades, 2010). Therefore, solely relying on strategies promoting intrinsic motivation may
be unrealistic. Because most individuals engage in working for various forms of rewards,
understanding extrinsic motivation from the external regulation and job-demand/resource
perspectives can be crucial to studying physical education teacher motivation.
An integrated framework
As previously discussed, achievement motivation theories may be limited in that teacher

motivation is rarely based on achieving daily tangible goals. Physical education teacher
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motivation is controlled in large part by the working environment and is regulated by external
forces in the forms of job demands and resources. They work in an environment where they
are required to comply with curricular and instructional regulations and policies. Sometimes
getting ‘through the day with little effort’ (Butler, 2007, p. 248) is taken as a goal of success.
Therefore, the physical education environment dictates that physical education teacher mo-
tivation is likely to be extrinsic and regulated externally.
Although the four types of extrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985) cannot be conceptu-
alised as a definitive stage-to-stage continuum in that environment, research evidence does
show that individuals can move along from the external regulated (low autonomous) motiva-
tion to integrated regulated (high autonomous) motivation (Chirkov & Ryan, 2001; Deci et al.,
1994; Grolnick et al., 1991). By integrating externally imposed values into one’s own value
system, an individual can become increasingly autonomous in complying with external de-
mands and become motivated to meet the demands. In other words, the individual achieves
self-regulation by shifting the locus of regulation from the external to the internal.
During the regulation processes, job demands and job resources are critical elements for
developing, sustaining and, eventually, internalising the motivation. The job demand–job re-
source model provides specific pathways for researchers to identify and target factors, such
as job demand as challenges or as hindrances, in a working environment. In physical educa-
tion, resources have been an issue for successful teaching (Ennis, 2006). Conceptualising
resources at the organisational and personal levels can facilitate researchers to clarify im-
portant functions of different resources on teacher motivation. According to the model, the
lack of job resources, particularly those that facilitate the achievement of personal growth
and development, may lead to low motivation, job disengagement and burnout (Fejgin et al.,
1995). It is particularly evident for workers who see their job as challenges rather than hin-
drances when they need resources to meet the challenges they perceive to be motivating.
Utilising demands and resources as the regulation mechanisms in each of the extrinsic mo-
tivation regulations is consistent with the self-determination theory that emphasises creating
a motivating environment through promoting individual growth (Bakker et al., 2007).
Integrating the job demand–job resource model with the external regulations of the self-
determination theory enables us to connect job demands and resources with teachers’ mo-
tivation regulatory processes and the organisational goals. Figure 1 shows a preliminary
conceptualisation of the integration framework. The framework has four major components:
Regulating Factors Regulating Processes Motivation Outcomes
External Performance
Regulation towards
Organization Goals
Job Resources
Introjected
Regulation
Teacher
Motivation
Identified
Regulation Teacher Needs
Job Demands Satisfaction
Integrated
Regulation
F I G U R E 1 Conceptual integration of SDT and the Job Demands–Resources Model

23 of 26
job demand and resource as regulating factors, regulatory processes, motivation, and out-
comes. Based on the above elaborations, the hypothetical relations among the factors are
causal or directional. They indicate that research on physical education teacher motivation
needs to focus on factors that influence teachers’ extrinsic motivation and their regulatory
processes. These factors include job demands and resources working together as regulat-
ing forces to determine which of the four regulatory processes that teachers might adopt.
Depending on the chosen regulatory process, the combined impact also governs the level
of motivation towards the organisational goals. As shown in the right part of the framework,
teachers in this process will determine if their basic needs are satisfied; the degree of satis-
faction, in turn, will impact the realisation of organisational goals directly or through adjust-
ment of motivation levels.
Adopting the integrated framework will enable researchers to design studies to target ex-
ternal regulatory factors (job demands and resources) and teachers’ regulatory processes
as determined by their teaching environment. Adopting the framework will also allow re-
searchers to identify contributing relationships among the overall regulation, external regula-
tory factors, regulatory processes and level of motivation to teach. A theoretical significance
that may derive from these future studies is the acknowledgement of the power of extrinsic
motivation in teaching physical education. The potential outcome of future research can
be used to justify the need to improve school job demand and job resource structure to
maximise physical education teacher motivation. Guided by the integrated framework, re-
searchers will be able to eventually answer important questions such as, are teachers who
adopt external or introjected regulatory processes equally motivated as are their peers who
adopt integrated and identified regulation? Can teachers who adopt the external regulation,
due to the job demands and resources they are subjected to, demonstrate a higher level of
motivation than others who adopt other regulatory processes?
CONCLUSION
Examining the psychological and behavioural processes that influence physical education
teacher motivation needs to incorporate an ecological perspective that assists in identi-
fying and clarifying the sources of motivation and the regulatory mechanisms. Research
on physical education teacher motivation has provided us with limited yet clear findings in
terms of the guiding theoretical perspectives. The review has clearly established a need to
reconceptualise and consolidate the theoretical perspectives to enhance future research.
The proposed integrated framework provides a conceptual lens for researchers to connect
teacher motivation to their job environment. It is expected that the framework can strengthen
the research on teacher motivation by connecting teacher motivation, environmental factors/
conditions and student learning.
CO N FL I C T O F I NT E R EST
I have no conflict of interest to declare.
E T H I CA L A PPROVA L
I acknowledge ethical responsibility for the content of the manuscript and will accept the
consequences of any ethical violation.
DATA AVA I L A B I L I T Y STAT E M E NT

Data sharing is not applicable to this manuscript as no datasets were generated or analysed
during the study.
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O RC I D
Tan Zhang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6359-3796
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How to cite this article: Zhang, T. (2021). Physical education teacher motivation:
A conceptual review and reconceptualisation. Review of Education, 9, e3301. https://
doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3301
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Physical education teacher motivation:

Department of Health, Physical Education

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Review of Education. 2021;9:e3301. ﻿ |

conceptual lens that enables researchers to connect

Context and implication

Rationale for this study

Why the new findings matter

Implications for educational researchers and policy makers

LITERATURE SEARCH AND INCLUSION

I conducted a comprehensive literature search to gather relevant empirical evidence to sup-

Boolean Secondary Boolean

BEING A PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER AND MOTIVATION

Unlike language arts, mathematics or science education, physical education is a non-­tested

RESEARCH BASED ON MOTIVATION THEORIES

Findings from self-­efficacy theory

Authora and year Theory/Perspective Methods/Data Journal/Publisher Key finding(s)

• Their motivation or lack thereof were influenced by their

influence and working environment.

Authora and year Theory/Perspective Methods/Data Journal/Publisher Key finding(s)

Authora and year Theory/Perspective Methods/Data Journal/Publisher Key finding(s)

(2003) Physical Education physical educators’ self-­efficacy generated a construct

in Education physical educators’ pedometer and computer efficacy.

Authora and year Theory/Perspective Methods/Data Journal/Publisher Key finding(s)

sensitive and less pejorative toward overweight and obesity.

Authora and year Theory/Perspective Methods/Data Journal/Publisher Key finding(s)

reasons was positively related to extrinsic motivation.

• Choosing the career because teaching the subject seemed

Authora and year Theory/Perspective Methods/Data Journal/Publisher Key finding(s)

students should be recognised, physical education connects

Authora and year Theory/Perspective Methods/Data Journal/Publisher Key finding(s)

coaching, and enjoying physical activity.

In a subsequent study, Martin and Kulinna (2003) developed a sophisticated four-­

Findings from self-­determination theory

Self-­determination theory was proposed to be a comprehensive framework of motivation for

Findings from achievement goal theory

Motivation as a function of job demands and resources

Studies based on self-­determination theory provide similar motivation and job-­factors

MOTIVATION BASED ON THE JOB DEMAND AND

The concepts of job demand and resource

Demand–­resource relation and motivation

RECONCEPTUALISING TEACHER MOTIVATION RESEARCH

Theoretical pitfalls of the achievement motivation frameworks

Theoretical pitfalls of the sole intrinsic motivation perspective

Self-­determination theory acknowledges that human motivation is construed as the results

As previously discussed, achievement motivation theories may be limited in that teacher

Regulating Factors Regulating Processes Motivation Outcomes

F I G U R E 1 Conceptual integration of SDT and the Job Demands–­Resources Model

DATA AVA I L A B I L I T Y STAT E M E NT

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Review of Education. 2021;9:e3301. |

Unlike language arts, mathematics or science education, physical education is a non-tested

Findings from self-efficacy theory

(2003) Physical Education physical educators’ self-efficacy generated a construct

In a subsequent study, Martin and Kulinna (2003) developed a sophisticated four-

Findings from self-determination theory

Self-determination theory was proposed to be a comprehensive framework of motivation for

Studies based on self-determination theory provide similar motivation and job-factors

Demand–resource relation and motivation

Self-determination theory acknowledges that human motivation is construed as the results

F I G U R E 1 Conceptual integration of SDT and the Job Demands–Resources Model