Effects of Teacher’s Teaching Style in Physical Education on Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity of High-School Students: an Accelerometer-based Study

Background: Doing physical activity (PA) regularly is connected with better physically and psychologically state among adolescents. The objective of this survey was to enquire the effects of teaching style in physical education (PE) in schools on motivation and objective PA of adolescent-students. Methods: This survey employed a cross-sectionally descriptive-correlational manner and was done in Tehran, Iran in 2020. 384 adolescent boys and girls (mean age of 15.76 years-old) participated in the study. Modern accelerometers (ActiGraph GT3X-BT) were used to objectively assess PA, and conventional questionnaires were used to evaluate other factors (autonomy support, needs fulfillment, and intrinsic motivation). We used the Pearson correlation test and structural equation modeling to evaluate the data. Results: Boys (39.68 minutes per day) had significantly higher amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) than girls (31.73 minutes per day). Autonomy support was significantly correlated with needs satisfaction (r=0.483, P 0.001) and motivation (r=0.583, P 0.001). Motivation was also significantly associated with PA. Moreover, autonomy support significantly influenced needs satisfaction (T=6.394) and intrinsic motivation (T=5.749) in PE class and subsequently the intrinsic motivation created in PE was significantly conveyed to the intrinsic motivation to PA in leisure time (T=5.209). Finally, intrinsic motivation in leisure-time has significantly influenced MVPA (T=9.587). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate importance of teaching style in physical education class to motivate students for engaging in physical activity in leisure time. These outcomes are very crucial for physical educators.