Methods for Developing the Motivations to Engage in Physical and Sports Educational Activities among Adolescents

https://doi-001.org/1025/17653613286876

1. Toumiat Abderrazak – University of M’sila, Algeria
   Email: abderrazak.toumiat@univ-msila.dz
2. Balboul Farid – University of M’sila, Algeria
   Email: farid.balboul@univ-msila.dz
3. Benhamidouche Fayza – University of M’sila, Algeria
   Email: fayza.benhamidouche@univ-msila.dz

Submitted: 04.05.2025.  Accepted: 02.09.2025. Published: 09.12.2025

Abstract

Adolescence represents a critical stage of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development, during which engagement in physical and sports educational activities can significantly contribute to holistic growth. This study aims to examine effective methods for developing adolescents’ motivation to participate in such activities. Drawing on psychological, pedagogical, and social perspectives, the research highlights the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, the influence of family, peers, and educators, and the importance of aligning activities with adolescents’ interests and developmental needs. Using a descriptive methodology, data were collected from physical education teachers through structured questionnaires to identify the strategies most effective in fostering sustained engagement. The findings indicate that motivational development is multifaceted, involving cognitive, emotional, social, and physical dimensions. Key methods include personalized guidance, social support, positive reinforcement, and the creation of enjoyable and challenging physical activities. The study underscores the importance of understanding adolescents’ motivational dynamics to enhance their participation, improve performance, and promote lifelong healthy habits.

Keywords : Adolescents, Motivation, Physical Education, Sports Activities, Educational Activities, Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation, Behavioral Development, Physical Activity Engagement.

Introduction

Adolescence is characterized by a set of traits, the most important of which is that movement during this stage becomes more coordinated and harmonious, and the individual’s activity and strength increase. Adolescents also strive to achieve victory and excellence in performance during sports competitions. They tend to engage in physical activities that are highly exciting and require significant physical exertion, which increases the likelihood of sports injuries.

Undoubtedly, engaging in physical and sports activities is essential for the individual’s comprehensive growth—physically, mentally, psychologically, and socially. Therefore, parents, during this period, strive in various ways to encourage their children to participate in such activities and persevere in developing their motivations for sports practice.

Through this study, we aim to shed light on the methods and techniques for developing motivations toward engaging in physical and sports activities.

Preliminary Aspect of the Study:

Problem Statement:

What are the methods for developing adolescents’ motivations toward engaging in educational physical and sports activities?

Significance of the Research:

The importance of this research can be summarized as follows:

• Highlighting the role of the psychological foundations of physical and sports activity.
• Emphasizing the importance of motivations as drivers and guides of behavior.
• Maintaining the psychological well-being of adolescents.

Research Objectives:

The objectives of the study are as follows:

• Identifying methods to develop adolescents’ motivations toward sports practice.
• Raising awareness of the importance of engaging in physical and sports activities during adolescence.

Theoretical Aspect of the Study:

Motivation:
The term “Motivation” has its roots in the Latin word mover, meaning “to drive” or “to move” in psychology.

Some researchers have attempted to differentiate between the concept of a motive and the concept of motivation, yet no justification exists for strictly separating them. Most researchers use the term “motive” synonymously with “motivation,” and thus, when using either concept, the meaning is intended to be the same.

Several definitions of motivation have been proposed, reflecting different theoretical orientations. Some of the main definitions include:

• P.T. Young: “Motivation is a state of internal arousal and tension that stimulates behavior and drives it toward achieving a specific goal.”
• A.H. Maslow: “Motivation is a stable, continuous, variable, complex, and general characteristic that exerts influence in all conditions of the living being.”
• Staats: “Motivation is an emotional conditioning of specific and complex stimuli, guided by the source of reinforcement.”
• J. Kagan: “A motive is a cognitive representation of desirable or preferred goals, organized hierarchically and resembling general conceptual representation.”
• Hebb: “Motivation is the effect of two sensory events: the cognitive function and the arousal function, which provide the individual with the energy to act.”
• D. McClelland et al.: “A motive is the reintegration and renewal of activity resulting from changes in the affective situation.”
• N.T. Feather: “A motive is a relatively stable personal readiness, which may have an innate basis but is the result or product of early learning processes to approach or avoid stimuli.”

Importance of Studying Motivation:

Motivation is one of the most important topics in psychology, significant both theoretically and practically. Addressing many psychological issues is difficult without considering an individual’s motives, which play a key role in determining behavior. Studying motivation is particularly relevant in educational, social, and industrial psychology.

The importance of studying motivation includes:

• It enhances understanding of oneself and others, as knowledge of the different motives that stimulate and guide behavior increases self-awareness and allows for accurate interpretation of others’ behavior.
• It helps predict future human behavior; knowing an individual’s motives at a certain time allows prediction of future behavior.
• Understanding others’ motives enables us to help guide their behavior toward desired outcomes.

Dimensions and Sources of Human Motivational Needs:

A need refers to an individual’s feeling of lacking something, whose satisfaction reduces tension and restores balance. Needs can originate biologically, cognitively, emotionally, or socially and represent starting points for motivating behavior.

1. Dimensions of Human Motivational Needs:

Four main dimensions exist: biological, cognitive, emotional, and social.

• Biological Dimension:

Motivation has a biological aspect, historically debated, especially in physiological psychology. Instincts, as described by MacDougall, are linked to the release of neural energy, considered natural innate tendencies. Motivation contributes to internal balance, as the body seeks to maintain biological and psychological equilibrium (e.g., temperature, blood sugar), and satisfying physiological needs leads to internal and external balance. Motivation results from a certain level of arousal, leading the organism to act to fulfill a need.

• Cognitive Dimension:

From mid-20th century onwards, motivation studies expanded beyond classical theories of instinct, pleasure, and pain, emphasizing cognitive dimensions. Humans are active beings who evaluate their behavior outcomes using mental processes rather than being solely driven by internal or external stimuli.

• Emotional Dimension:

Emotion plays a key role in behavior, guiding individuals to engage in satisfying activities and avoid distressing ones. Emotion is a fundamental determinant of motivated behavior.

• Social Dimension:

Social factors significantly influence motivation. The presence of others can trigger motives or incentives, as individuals seek approval and strive to present a desirable image to others, with social anxiety arising from fear of negative judgment.

• Sources of Human Motivational Needs:

According to Hutt, sources of motivation correspond to needs classified by their dimensions:

• External Behavioral Sources: Stimuli (innate triggers), desires (pleasurable sequences or rewards, avoidance of undesirable outcomes).
• Social Sources: Positive role models, being a valued group member.
• Biological Sources: Increased or decreased arousal, sensory activity (smell, touch, taste, hearing, sight), alleviation of hunger, thirst, discomfort, achieving homeostasis.
• Cognitive Sources: Attention to important, enjoyable, or challenging matters, understanding or finding meaning, problem-solving, decision-making, reducing ambiguity.
• Emotional Sources: Increasing positive affect, decreasing negative feelings, achieving security and optimism.
• Instinctual Sources: Pursuit of personal or collective goals, achieving dreams, self-efficacy, controlling life aspects, avoiding threats.
• Spiritual Sources: Understanding life’s meaning, attachment to metaphysical beliefs.

Classification of Motives:

Classifying motives by behavior is complex due to the intricate link between motives and behavior:

• A single motive can produce different behaviors in different individuals.
• A single motive can lead to varying behaviors in the same individual depending on context.
• A single behavior can arise from multiple motives.
• Motives vary across cultures and may appear symbolically.
• Human behavior rarely stems from a single motive; usually, multiple motives interact.

Common classifications include:

• Instrumental vs. consummatory motives.
• Motives by source: bodily, self-perception, social.
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
• Motives by origin: physiological (primary) vs. psychological (secondary/social). Primary motives (e.g., hunger, thirst, sex) are prioritized for satisfaction but are not inherently more important than secondary motives (e.g., achievement, belonging, control).

Physical and Sports Education:

Concept of Education:

Several definitions include:

• Education is the process of transferring knowledge, skills, and values from the educator to the learner.
• Education is efforts by others to provide the individual the opportunity to achieve and develop the self.
• Education is a multifaceted process with integrated systems and methods, rooted in spiritual understanding, preparing humans to fulfill their purpose and achieve their potential.
• Education is the process of nurturing a child or youth, involving habits, skills, and moral traits.
• Education is the continuous process of growth, adaptation, and development throughout life, shaped by experiences and practice.

Objectives of Education:

General objectives include:

• Raising the individual in harmony with self and society. Educational goals are integrated, and focusing on one goal does not neglect others, as individuals grow within a social context that influences and is influenced by them.

• Preserving the survival of the individual to maintain the human species.
• Developing the individual’s readiness.
• Assisting the child in achieving self-realization and satisfying their motives within the framework of society’s general objectives.
• Preparing the child to master and develop their skills.
• Preserving the survival of society and maintaining its heritage.
• Preserving the values and higher ideals of society.

Physical Education:

• Concept of Physical Education:

Like the concept of education, physical education has multiple definitions, including the following:

• Robert Bobin: Physical education is those selected physical activities that fulfill the individual’s needs from physical, mental, and psychomotor aspects to achieve the comprehensive growth of the individual.

• Nash: Physical education is an integral part of general education that utilizes natural activity motives present in every person to develop them organically, coordinatively, and affectively.

• Lumpkin: Physical education is the process through which the individual acquires the best physical, mental, social skills, and fitness through physical activity.

• Wuest & Bucher: Physical education is the process aimed at improving human performance through selected physical activities to achieve this goal.

The definition by John Lubove is considered the most precise and comprehensive, describing physical education as an educational and developmental process of bodily functions to place the individual in a state of good adaptation.

From these definitions, it is clear that:

• Physical education is an important part of general education.
• Physical education is an educational process.
• Physical education is a developmental process of body functions.
• A specific concept of physical education can be determined to align with the goals and objectives of the general educational system and the political and ideological orientations of society.

Importance of Physical and Sports Education:

Physical and sports education plays significant roles in an individual’s life due to its benefits in physical, psychological, mental, moral, social, and educational aspects:

• Physical Aspect:

Physical and sports education develops and strengthens the body and plays a major role in maintaining homeostasis. It enables the body to achieve good physical health.

• Mental Aspect:

Practicing physical and sports education helps the individual maintain good mental health, increasing intelligence and higher mental abilities such as attention, focus, perception, and anticipation.

• Psychological Aspect:

Physical education helps the individual modify behavior, promoting good psychological health. It alleviates anxiety and depression and reduces psychological stress.

• Moral Aspect:

Through team games, physical and sports education helps the individual learn moral behavior standards such as honesty, integrity, and self-control.

• Social Aspect:

Through playing with a group, the individual understands the concepts of belonging, teamwork, collective interest, and social responsibility.

Scientific Foundations of Physical and Sports Education:

When an athlete performs a movement, it is carried out as an integrated unit in which all body parts participate to varying degrees. Competing and overcoming others requires mobilizing significant psychological energy. Any behavior exhibited by the athlete has a scientific explanation, and any program designed in physical and sports education must have a scientific basis to achieve its objectives.

• Biological Foundations:

The human body has a very complex mechanism, which must be thoroughly understood by any trainer. Physical education students study the human body in detail to explain muscle function during exercises, the supporting systems such as circulatory, respiratory, and skeletal systems, and to answer why a movement is performed in a certain way or why a specific number of repetitions is prescribed.

• Psychological Foundations:

Physical and sports education occupies a major place in modern societies. It influences not only physical development but also moral and volitional traits. Sports require participation in competitions and regular training. Effective training programs require studying the characteristics of the activity and the personality traits of the athlete. Understanding psychological foundations provides analysis of the mental aspects related to physical activity and assists in designing teaching and training methods for all activities.

• Social Foundations:

As groups form and grow, their tasks increase, and social relationships become complex, conflicts may arise, threatening the group’s survival. Recreational activities, individually or collectively, including physical and sports activities, help alleviate life pressures, provide enjoyment, improve behavior, and foster positive social relationships.

Adolescence:
Adolescence is one of the most delicate, complex, and important stages in a human’s life, representing a transitional period from an immature child to a mature adult. Changes during this period are comprehensive, affecting all aspects of development and significantly contributing to personality formation.

These physical, mental, psychological, emotional, and social changes create needs and desires that adolescents strive to satisfy, which may sometimes conflict with societal values and traditions, causing psychological conflict.

Definition of Adolescence:

The term Adolescent is derived from the Latin Adolescerie, meaning approaching maturity. In Arabic, it derives from rahiq, which implies youth, nearness, or approach. Herlock defines adolescence physiologically and psychologically, marking its onset with physiological changes and its continuation by psychological development until reaching full maturity.

Stanley Hall, a founder of psychology, describes adolescence as a period of storm and stress. Bernard defines it as a period of emerging independence, extending until the individual assumes adult responsibilities. Ahmed Zaki Saleh defines it as a developmental stage where the individual progresses physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially toward maturity. Erikson describes adolescence as a period of seeking self-identity, a view shared by Fred Neuberg, emphasizing the social aspect of forming individuality. Ploss defines it as the total of efforts to adapt to sexual maturity and favorable internal and external conditions.

Holingshead, in Elmtown Youth, provides a sociological perspective, noting that society stops viewing the individual as a child during adolescence, while Schlesky emphasizes that the adolescent neither fully plays the role of a child nor yet a fully developed adult within social systems.

Stages of Adolescence:

Adolescence varies by society and individual. Some define it as the period preceding puberty, typically ages 13–19. Herlock divides it into three stages:

• Pre-adolescence (10–12 years):
  • Low self-confidence regarding appearance and changes
  • Desire for more freedom and independence
  • Increased irritability and tension
  • Sexual self-discovery and increased need for privacy
• Early Adolescence (13–16 years):
  • Sense of independence
  • Need to assert self
  • Increased conflict with family members
  • Rebellion against societal norms, interest in prohibited behaviors
  • Increased recklessness
  • Continued mental growth and enhanced ability for objective thinking and future planning
• Late Adolescence (17–21 years):
  • Focus on defining personal identity
  • Greater calmness and seeking advice, especially from parents
  • Stage of independence and decision-making
  • Increased self-confidence
  • Greater respect for behavioral norms
  • Preparation to become a responsible adult and avoidance of reckless behavior

Practical Aspect of the Study:

• Method: Descriptive method
• Study Variables:
  • Independent variable: Methods of developing adolescent motivation
  • Dependent variable: Engagement in educational physical and sports activities
• Study Population: Physical and sports education teachers
• Research Tool: Questionnaire

Study Results:

• Motivation is one of the most important and complex topics in psychology due to its link with behavior.
• Motivation is a state of internal imbalance that stimulates and directs behavior toward a specific goal.
• Classifying motives based on a single criterion is difficult due to the complexity of their relationship with behavior.
• Classification based on origin is the most common.
• Functions of motivation include stimulating and directing behavior, determining the intensity needed, and maintaining it until the goal is achieved.
• Several theoretical frameworks have attempted to explain motivation, including cognitive, humanistic, and psychoanalytic theories.
• Motives for engaging in educational physical and sports activity are diverse.
• Methods for developing adolescents’ motivation toward sports practice are varied.
• Social motives are among the most prominent in driving adolescent behavior.
• The accompaniment method is one of the most effective approaches to encourage adolescents to engage in physical and sports activities.
• Adolescents’ inclinations toward sports practice must be respected.
• Authoritative methods should be avoided when guiding adolescents, as they may produce adverse effects.
• Encouragement and provision of material resources help reinforce adolescents’ sports participation behavior.

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