ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Psychology in Education
This article is part of the Research TopicInclusive and Entrepreneurial Education: Understanding the Factors that Shape Equity in Formal Learning EnvironmentsView all articles
Empowering or Disempowering? How Demographics Shape Motivational Climates and Gender Equity in Portuguese Physical Education
Provisionally accepted
- 1Research Centre in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, University Institute of Maia, Maia, Portugal
- 2Universidade da Maia, Maia, Portugal
- 3FPF Academy, Portuguese Football Federation, Oeiras, Portugal
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Physical education (PE) environments profoundly influence adolescents' engagement and well-being, yet understanding of how demographic factors shape students' perceptions of motivational climates remains limited. This cross-sectional study examined 1,166 Portuguese adolescents (M age = 15.2 years) across 12 schools to investigate how gender, extracurricular sports engagement, academic retention, and nationality moderate students' perceptions of empowering (mastery-focused) versus disempowering (performance-focused) climates in PE. Using the validated Learning and Performance Orientation in Physical Education Classes Questionnaire (LAPOPECQ) and Bayesian analysis, we identified three key findings: (1) Gender Equity Gaps: Female students perceived performance-oriented climates (both from teachers and peers) as discernably less motivating than male students, suggesting that competitive PE environments may disproportionately alienate female participants. (2) Extracurricular Buffering Effect: Students engaged in extracurricular sports showed greater tolerance for peer-driven performance climates, possibly through habituation to competitive norms and/or genuine skill develepment. (3) Contextual Uniformity: Nationality and academic retention showed negligible influence on climate perceptions, highlighting that climate perceptions are relatively stable across diverse demographic contexts within Portuguese PE settings. By integrating Achievement Goal Theory with demographic heterogeneity, this study advances understanding of how to design equitable PE environments. Practical implications include: (a) prioritising mastery-oriented climates specifically for female students through targeted pedagogical adjustments; and (b) leveraging quality extracurricular engagement to reframe performance norms constructively rather than as threats. These findings bridge demographic diversity with inclusive pedagogy, offering actionable pathways for educators to foster empowering PE experiences across student populations.
Keywords: Achievement Goal Theory (AGT), Bayesian Analysis, Demographic moderators, Empowering climates, Inclusive pedagogy, Physical education equity
Received: 07 Nov 2025; Accepted: 19 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Marcelino. 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: Rui Marcelino
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