A Sport Education Intervention
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correlation coefficients can range from -1 to +1, with a positive ICC indicating
that group members are more similar than nongroup members, and therefore that
the group should be the unit of analysis. When there is a negative or nonsignificant
positive ICC, the unit of analysis should be kept at the individual level because
there is no evidence of a group level effect (Kenny & LaVoie, 1985). ICCs calcu-
lated on preintervention student motivational outcomes revealed negative ICCs
for enjoyment, effort, and perceived competence (r = -.07, -.18, and -.10, respec-
tively). Postintervention intraclass coefficient calculations also revealed negative
ICCs for enjoyment, effort, and perceived competence (r = -.24, -.12, and -.22,
respectively). Therefore, subsequent analyses utilized the individual as the unit of
analysis.
In order to test for differential teacher behavior across the two curricular
programs, we computed chi-square tests on the frequencies of each behavioral
category of the CBAS. As a result of the multiple χ2 tests being performed, we
made a Bonferroni adjustment to the alpha level (new p = .005). The results re-
vealed no significant differences between curricular lessons in all categories of the
teacher-reactive behavior or the teacher-initiated behavior. Thus the results of these
tests suggest there was little variation in teacher behavior between the two groups.
Table 2 shows the means and standard deviations in student enjoyment, per-
ceived effort, and perceived competence for the Sport Education and the tradition-
ally taught groups before and after the intervention. Repeated-measures ANOVA
revealed a significant Group 3 Time interaction for enjoyment, F(1, 26) = 9.23, p
< .01, η2 = .22; and perceived effort, F(1, 26) = 6.68, p < .01, η2 = .17; but not for
perceived competence, F(1, 26) = 3.30; p > .01; η2 = .09. Paired-sample t-tests
revealed that the Sport Education curriculum group improved significantly from
pre- to postintervention in enjoyment, t(25) = -3.11, p < .006; and perceived ef-
fort, t(25) = -2.94, p < .006. In contrast, the traditionally taught group did not
show any significant pre- to postintervention gains in enjoyment, t(24) = .61, p >
.006; perceived effort, t(24) = .79, p > .006; or perceived competence, t(24) = -.21,
p > .006. Independent sample t-tests revealed no significant differences between
groups on students’ enjoyment, perceived effort, and perceived competence prior
to the intervention. Significant pre/ postintervention differences were found be-
tween the two curricular groups on the dependent variables of student enjoyment,
t(49) = -3.58, p < .006; and perceived effort, t(49) = -3.32, p < .006.
The regression equations related to the prediction of postintervention values
of enjoyment, perceived effort, and perceived competence for students in the Sport
Education curriculum group are displayed in Table 3. After controlling for the
initial levels of the independent variables in each regression, backward-elimina-
tion hierarchical regression analyses revealed that postintervention task goal ori-
entation, perceptions of a task-involved climate, and perceived autonomy predicted
a significant amount of variance in students’ postintervention motivational re-
sponses. Specifically, students’ perception of a task-involved climate predicted a
significant amount of variance in student enjoyment (β = .48), perceived effort (β
= .44), and perceived competence (β = .40), all p < .05. Furthermore, postintervention
task goal orientation significantly predicted both postintervention student-perceived
effort (β = .51) and perceived competence (β = .55), both p < .05. Postintervention
perceived autonomy was also found to contribute significantly to the prediction of
student-perceived competence (β = .32), p < .05. Finally, ego goal orientation nega-
tively predicted student enjoyment (β = -.47), p < .05.