TEACHERS’ SELF-DETERMINED MOTIVATION IN RELATION TO NON-TEACHING WORK TASKS

The present article reports on two studies (pilot and main) aiming to examine the psychometric properties of two scales assessing (a) teachers’ work motivation and (b) their involvement in non-teaching work tasks, and to explore the associations between the two constructs under the theoretical framework of self-determination theory (SDT). A Greek version of Blais’ Work Motivation Inventory (BWMI-TGr) was adapted for teachers, and a new instrument measuring teacher behaviour relevant to non-teaching work tasks was developed. Rigorous analyses supported the construct validity and internal consistency of the scales used. The findings suggested that teachers’ intrinsic motivation presents the most optimal patterns of relationships with non-teaching work behaviours, such as preparation for teaching, professional training, education-related reading, collaboration with parents, and participation in the school’s cultural activities. Identified and introjected regulations exhibited positive relationships only with teacher involvement in cultural activities, whereas external regulation had no positive relationship with non-teaching work tasks. The findings are discussed through the lens of SDT and strategies are proposed for school climate improvements, which target the cultivation of teachers’ intrinsic motivation at work.  Article visualizations

CAPTURING TEACHER BASIC NEEDS SATISFACTION: VALIDATION EVIDENCE FOR THE GREEK SCALE MEASURING PE TEACHERS’ BNS

According to self-determination theory, teachers’ basic needs satisfaction is essential for the quality of their motivation, teaching, and work behavior. Considering the lack of valid and reliable instruments measuring teachers’ basic needs satisfaction (for autonomy, competence and relatedness) within the Greek context, we evaluated the factorial validity and internal consistency for the Greek version of the Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale for Teachers (BNSST; Longo et al., 2016). Standard back-translation procedures were followed. Focusing on Physical Education (PE) teachers, the validity of the measure was evaluated via two cross-sectional studies with samples of pre-service (n=109; study 1) and in-service (n=91; study 2) teachers. The psychometric properties of the instrument were established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach’s alphas, and latent variables’ associations with external criteria. In both studies, factor analyses results supported the construct validity of the 9-item, 3-correlated factors model, producing satisfactory goodness of fit indices, suggesting that the three needs are positively related with each other. Internal consistency analysis produced acceptable values for all the scales of the study. In line with theoretical assumptions and past research evidence, latent variables correlations with external criteria showed that basic needs satisfaction connects positively with their beneficence, cooperation willingness, intrinsic motivation and identified regulation. Furthermore, structural equation modeling revealed a positive connection between teachers’ general basic needs satisfaction and their autonomous motivation, work engagement, and work satisfaction, suggesting that the fulfillment of teacher basic needs can positively predict their well-being at work. The present findings suggest that the BNSST-GR has good psychometric properties and provide initial support for the instruments’ validity and reliability. Such measurements may prove useful in examining Greek teachers’ basic needs satisfaction in a variety of work-related contexts (e.g., teacher professional development).  Article visualizations

SELF-REPORTED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, ENJOYMENT AND WELL-BEING OF GREEK YOUTH BASKETBALL PLAYERS

Children and adolescents’ regular participation in sports can help them to increase their physical activity (PA) levels and fitness and to adopt healthy behaviors in adulthood. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of self-reported PA and enjoyment of youth basketball players with their well-being variables (self-rated health, self-esteem and subjective vitality). Participants were 208 male athletes (Mage: 13.88 ± 1.38 years), members of seven Greek basketball clubs, who voluntarily participated in this research. Data were collected prior to training with several valid and reliable questionnaires measuring PA, self-rated health, subjective vitality and self-esteem (Cronbach’s α = .66 to .82). The findings suggested that 71.5% of youth basketball players spend 6 to 7 days per week in moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and 73.1% of them reported spend 5 to 6 hours per week in MVPA. There was no significant effect of age on players’ MVPA. Correlation analysis revealed that MVPA and enjoyment were positively related to players’ self-reported health, subjective vitality and self-esteem. Findings also revealed a direct effect of sport-related enjoyment on players’ self-rated health, self-esteem and subjective vitality, but not on their PA levels. Based on the above, it can be assumed that regular participation of children and adolescents in basketball training may contribute to increase or maintain their PA levels, to meet World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for PA and to improve their quality of life.  Article visualizations