Empowered students in a supportive physical education setting.

Unlock Your Potential: How Teacher Support Shapes Student Success in Physical Education

Lena Voss in Mind & Education August 2025 • 4 min read.

"Dive into the vital role of teacher autonomy support in physical education and how it dramatically influences student motivation and outcomes."

In the realm of education, the impact of a teacher's style extends far beyond the transfer of knowledge. A teacher's interpersonal approach significantly molds a student's psychological experience, particularly in physical education (PE). The way teachers interact with their students can influence everything from enjoyment to motivation, setting the stage for lifelong attitudes toward physical activity.

Autonomy-supportive behavior from teachers has proven to be beneficial in PE, fostering positive emotional and behavioral results. When students feel supported in their autonomy, they are more likely to be actively engaged and intrinsically motivated. Unfortunately, the primary methods for assessing this support have been limited, which calls for a broader toolkit to evaluate the many layers of teacher effects.

Recognizing this gap, a team of researchers, Henri Tilga, Vello Hein, and Andre Koka, set out to develop a multi-dimensional instrument to measure students' perceptions of teachers’ autonomy-supportive behavior in PE. Their work, published in Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, introduces a new scale designed to capture the multifaceted nature of autonomy support, paving the way for a deeper understanding of how teachers can best support their students.

Deconstructing Autonomy Support: The Three Dimensions

Empowered students in a supportive physical education setting.

Traditionally, scales like the Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ) and the Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Exercise Settings (PASSES) have been used to measure autonomy support in PE. However, these scales often treat autonomy support as a single, unified construct. That is, they provide a single metric rather than breaking that measurement into different areas.

Stefanou, Perencevich, DiCintio, and Turner (2004) proposed that autonomy-supportive behavior is actually composed of three distinct dimensions, which may explain why the traditional metrics can be limiting:

Organizational Autonomy Support: Encourages student ownership of the learning environment. This includes offering students choices over environmental procedures like where to exercise or which equipment to use.
Procedural Autonomy Support: Focuses on student ownership of form, allowing choices in how competencies are demonstrated, providing options for presenting ideas, and explaining the rationale behind lesson structures.
Cognitive Autonomy Support: Promotes student ownership of learning. This involves encouraging students to justify their viewpoints, generate their own solutions, evaluate ideas, and engage in open discussions.

The development of the Multi-Dimensional Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Physical Education (MD-PASS-PE) sought to capture these three dimensions, offering a more nuanced understanding of how students experience autonomy support. Rather than a single, unified approach, this recognizes the distinct aspects of support.

Empowering Educators: A Path Forward

The MD-PASS-PE represents a significant step forward in understanding and measuring autonomy support in PE. By recognizing the multi-dimensional nature of teacher support, educators and researchers can gain valuable insights into how best to foster student motivation and engagement. This new tool can help teachers better connect with their students, creating a more positive and effective learning environment that encourages lifelong physical activity. The future of PE lies in understanding and nurturing every student's intrinsic drive, supported by informed, empathetic teaching practices.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1080/1091367x.2017.1354296, Alternate LINK

Title: Measuring The Perception Of The Teachers’ Autonomy-Supportive Behavior In Physical Education: Development And Initial Validation Of A Multi-Dimensional Instrument

Subject: Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

Journal: Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Authors: Henri Tilga, Vello Hein, Andre Koka

Published: 2017-08-10

Everything You Need To Know

Why is teacher autonomy support important in physical education?

Teacher autonomy support in physical education is crucial because it directly influences a student's motivation, engagement, and overall attitude toward physical activity. When teachers support student autonomy, students are more likely to be actively involved and intrinsically motivated, which sets a foundation for lifelong habits.

What is the Multi-Dimensional Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Physical Education (MD-PASS-PE), and how does it differ from other scales?

The Multi-Dimensional Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Physical Education (MD-PASS-PE) is designed to measure how students perceive their teacher's autonomy-supportive behavior. It is innovative because it breaks down autonomy support into three distinct dimensions: Organizational Autonomy Support, Procedural Autonomy Support, and Cognitive Autonomy Support, providing a more nuanced understanding compared to traditional scales like the Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ) and the Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Exercise Settings (PASSES).

Can you explain the three dimensions of autonomy support as measured by the Multi-Dimensional Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Physical Education (MD-PASS-PE): Organizational, Procedural, and Cognitive?

Organizational Autonomy Support involves giving students choices related to the learning environment, such as where to exercise or which equipment to use. Procedural Autonomy Support focuses on allowing students' ownership of how they demonstrate their skills, like choosing how to present ideas. Cognitive Autonomy Support encourages students to take ownership of their learning by justifying viewpoints, generating solutions, and engaging in discussions.

How can educators use the Multi-Dimensional Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Physical Education (MD-PASS-PE) to improve their teaching methods?

By using the Multi-Dimensional Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Physical Education (MD-PASS-PE), educators can gain insights into the specific areas where they are effectively supporting student autonomy and where they can improve. This can lead to more targeted strategies for fostering student motivation and engagement, ultimately creating a more positive and effective physical education environment. Teachers can better connect with their students by understanding and nurturing their intrinsic drive.

What gap in existing measurement tools does the Multi-Dimensional Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Physical Education (MD-PASS-PE) aim to fill, and how does it improve upon tools like the Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ) and the Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Exercise Settings (PASSES)?

The development of the Multi-Dimensional Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Physical Education (MD-PASS-PE) by Henri Tilga, Vello Hein, and Andre Koka addresses the limitations of existing tools like the Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ) and the Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Exercise Settings (PASSES), which treat autonomy support as a single construct. By distinguishing Organizational Autonomy Support, Procedural Autonomy Support, and Cognitive Autonomy Support, the MD-PASS-PE offers a more detailed and actionable understanding of teacher-student interactions.