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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1391716
This article is part of the Research Topic Students' Social and Emotional Skills in Educational Settings View all 5 articles

Enhancing Institutional Integration and Enjoyment among Saudi Female Physical Education Students: Exploring The Mediation of Motivation and Psychological Needs Satisfaction

Provisionally accepted
Mohamed Frikha Mohamed Frikha 1*Nesrine Chaâri Nesrine Chaâri 2Nourhen Mezghanni Nourhen Mezghanni 3Ahmad K. Hassan Ahmad K. Hassan 4
  • 1 Department of Physical Education, College of Education, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia, Al-Ahsaa, Saudi Arabia
  • 2 Research Laboratory Education, Motricity, Sport and Health (LR19JS01), High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, Sfax University, Sfax 3000, Tunisia, Sfax, Tunisia
  • 3 Department of Sport Sciences, College of Education, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia, Taif, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Faculty of Physical Education, Minia University, Minia, Egypt

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Institutional integration and enjoyment in physical education (PE) represent catalysts for greater students' social cohesion and academic performance. This cross-sectional study addressed the lack of data and examined the mediating effect of basic psychological needs satisfaction (PNS) and motivation on the association between physical activity enjoyment (PAE) and institutional integration (SII) in Saudi female PE students. Participants (N = 507) were invited to complete the PE autonomy relatedness competence scale, the PE motivation scale, the students' institutional integration scale, and the enjoyment questionnaire. The direct and indirect effects were explored using the SPSS Hayes process macro (Model 4). The results indicate that autonomy, relatedness and extrinsic motivation partially mediate the relationship between the PAE and SII in female Saudi PE students. Therefore, the PAE had a direct effect on SII of 16.2% and an indirect effect of 25.3% through the mediation of autonomy, relatedness, and extrinsic motivation. The psychological processes that promote the development of SII are PAE, autonomy, relatedness, and extrinsic motivation but not intrinsic motivation nor competence. The results are discussed within the self-determination theory and can be used by benefic for students, teachers, administrators or program makers to support institutional integration and enjoyment perception in Saudi female PE students.

    Keywords: adaptation, sense of belonging, Pleasure, Flow, Recovery, Motivation, autonomy, competence

    Received: 26 Feb 2024; Accepted: 05 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Frikha, Chaâri, Mezghanni and Hassan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mohamed Frikha, Department of Physical Education, College of Education, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia, Al-Ahsaa, Saudi Arabia

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