Physical education teacher motivation: A conceptual review and reconceptualisation

Abstract Accomplishing the goal of physical education requires a motivated teaching force. The goals of this article are to (a) provide a theoretical perspective that physical education teacher motivation is contextually constructed in close relation with their job demands and recourses, and (b) articulate a reconceptualised theoretical platform for future research based on the theoretical perspectives of extrinsic motivation and the job demand–job resource model. A literature search was conducted and followed by a conceptual review of theory‐driven, data‐based studies on physical education teacher motivation. The review has established a need to reconceptualise and consolidate the theoretical perspectives to enhance future research. The review outcome also suggests that examining the psychological and behavioural processes that influence physical education teacher motivation needs to incorporate an ecological perspective that assists in identifying and clarifying the sources of motivation and the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Based on the review and critique, I further articulate the implications, argue for the need of reconceptualising physical education teacher motivation research, and propose an alternative theoretical framework integrating the external‐regulation motivation and the job demand–job resource model for the future research. The proposed framework provides a conceptual lens that enables researchers to connect physical education teacher motivation to their job environment in future research. Context and implication Rationale for this study By delineating current motivation theoretical perspectives, the study argues that physical education teacher motivation can (and should) be considered extrinsic and the external‐regulation framework (Deci & Ryan, 1985) should be adopted as an effective framework to study teacher motivation. Why the new findings matter The study proposes and discusses an alternative conceptual framework that combines external‐regulation and job‐demands/resources perspectives for future research on teacher motivation. Implications for educational researchers and policy makers The proposed framework provides a conceptual lens that enables researchers to connect physical education teacher motivation to their job environment in future research.