Effect of a TARGET-Based Intervention on Students’ Motivational Change: A Study Throughout an Academic Year in Physical Education

Abstract

The objective of the study was to analyze changes in motivation in physical education students during a school year, as well as changes in their intentions to be physically active. The participants were 830 Spanish physical education students (Mage = 13.86, range = 11–17 years) attending 10 secondary schools in northern Spain. The sample was divided into two groups: TARGET condition (n = 417), in which Epstein’s TARGET strategies were applied, and non-TARGET condition (n = 413). Questionnaires were administered at three different times during the school year: T1 (September), T2 (February), and T3 (June). Mixed-model linear procedures with maximum likelihood estimates were carried out. In the TARGET condition group, the results showed an increase in students’ intrinsic motivation, identified regulation and introjected regulation, whereas external regulation and amotivation gradually decreased. In the non-TARGET condition group, a decrease in students’ intrinsic motivation and identified regulation emerged, as well as an increase in external regulation and amotivation.