Initial Validation of the Teacher-Created Empowering and Disempowering Motivational Climate Questionnaire in Physical Education

Abstract

Purpose: Guided by Duda’s hierarchical conceptualization of the motivational climate that draws from self-determination and achievement goal theories, this study provides initial evidence of the psychometric properties of the Empowering and Disempowering Motivational Climate Questionnaire in physical education (EDMCQ-PE). Method: Questionnaire based with two samples of Welsh secondary school pupils. Results: Exploratory structural equation modeling provided a better fit of the data to the hypothesized model than confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, a two-factor composite (i.e., empowering and disempowering) lower-order model provided an acceptable fit and clear parameter estimates. This two-factor model also demonstrated scalar gender measurement invariance. Discussion: The evidence from this study suggests the EDMCQ-PE is a promising scale for the assessment of secondary school pupils’ perceptions of the empowering and disempowering features of the motivational climate created by their physical education teachers. Conclusion: Moving forward, the statistical approach employed in this paper can inform future studies that develop questionnaire methodology in physical education and from an applied perspective; the EDMCQ-PE can be used by researchers and teachers to assess the motivational climate in PE and help inform the pedagogy underpinning teachers’ classes.