Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jan 7;20(1):e0314338.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314338. eCollection 2025.

The relationship between physical education teachers' competence support and middle school students' participation in sports: A chain mediation model of perceived competence and exercise persistence

Yubo Liu  1 , Jianhua Yan  1 , Jing Li  1
Affiliations

The relationship between physical education teachers' competence support and middle school students' participation in sports: A chain mediation model of perceived competence and exercise persistence

Yubo Liu et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between physical education teachers' support and middle school students' participation in sports. It also clarifies this relationship's mediating roles of perceived competence and exercise persistence. A questionnaire survey involved 879 Chinese middle school students, consisting of 434 males and 445 females. The results indicate a significant positive correlation between teachers' competence support and students' participation in sports (p < 0.01). Perceived competence and exercise persistence as important mediators between teachers' competence support and students' involvement in sports, with the mediation effect comprising independent mediation by perceived competence and exercise persistence and a chain mediation effect involving both. The effect value was 0.156, with contributions of 60.4%, 43.6%, and 73.1% to the total mediating effect, respectively. In physical education courses, teachers should enhance their competence to support students, increase students' interest in learning, and promote the development of sports participation. By understanding the predictive roles of teacher support, perceived competence, and exercise persistence on sports participation, strategies can be developed to better enhance students' levels of participation in physical activities, thereby improving their beliefs about physical health and their confidence in exercising.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Chain mediating model of teacher competence support and student exercise participation.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Path analysis of SEM.
*** p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global status report on physical activity 2022: country profiles: World Health Organization; 2022.
    1. Frederick C, Morrison C, Manning T. Motivation to Participate, Exercise Affect, and Outcome Behaviors toward Physical Activity. Perceptual and motor skills. 1996;82:691–701. doi: 10.2466/pms.1996.82.2.691 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Eberline A, Judge L, Walsh A, Hensley L. Relationship of Enjoyment, Perceived Competence, and Cardiorespiratory Fitness to Physical Activity Levels of Elementary School Children. The Physical Educator. 2018;75:394–413. doi: 10.18666/TPE-2018-V75-I3-8161 - DOI
    1. Ghorbani S, Noohpisheh S, Shakki M. Gender Differences in the Relationship between Perceived Competence and Physical Activity in Middle School Students: Mediating Role of Enjoyment. International Journal of School Health. 2020:14–20. doi: 10.30476/intjsh.2020.85668.1056 - DOI
    1. Khan A, Ahmed K, Hidajat T, Edwards E. Examining the Association between Sports Participation and Mental Health of Adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022;19:17078. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192417078 - DOI - PMC - PubMed