Ego-Involving Climate In Physical Education

The goals of physical education in general is the optimum development of all human aspects, its physical, mental, social and emotion dimension. In particular, for this fast changing civilization, most of the educational institutions are focused their PE curriculum toward the promotion of physically active lifestyle across the lifespan of the students. (Duda, J.L. et al;

2003)

Motivating students to actively participate in regular physical education classes from their elementary school thru higher learning will ensure this objective. Motivational climates

(Ames, 1992) and goal orientations (Nicholls, 1989) are essential in understanding students’ experiences with physical education classes. This study is a literature review on the topic of

motivational

Ames (1992) identified two types of motivational climates: ego-involving climate and task-involving climate. The ego-involving climate fosters social comparison and emphasizes normative ability. While task-involving climate encourages effort and rewards task mastery and individual improvement. Of the two, a task-involving climate consistently has been associated with more positive outcomes for students, including greater perceptions of physical competence

(Newton & Duda, 1999; Treasure, 1997), enjoyment in participation (Ntounamis & Biddle,

1999), higher self-esteem (Slutzky & Simpkins, 2009), desire to stay involve in the activity

(Duda & Ntounamis, 2009) and persisting in activity (Le Bars, Gernigo & Ninot, 2009).

Discussion

Achievement Goal Theory asserts that a task-oriented climate associated with adaptive behavior patterns such as persisting in practice. Individuals in an ego-oriented climate are deemed at risk for maladaptive behavior when they expect failure or encounter difficulty

And this is almost true with the context of physical education class.

Summary

Based on the studies given, it shows that the task-involve motivational climate proved to associated more positive outcome to students in their involvement in physical education. Study on motivational climate in the Philippine context need to be taken. Task involving climate is one of the focus of the new K+12 educational curriculums of the DepEd and CHED. Physical educators in the country must do the same study in regards to the outcomes of these two motivational climate. Variables to consider are: (1) the teacher-students ratio, (2) the available resources in PE classes (i.e. books, venue, equipments, gears),(3) time allotment in PE class, (4) climate factor, (5) school-student demography and (6) culture and protocols.

We can say, based on reviewed literatures, the task-involving motivational climates is favorable in achieving the students life-long healthy lifestyle thru physical education. If this is the vision of the present Philippine K+12 education, Filipino physical educators must initiate the mentioned studies to support the results of the