METHODS article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1629158
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Motivational Climate in Sports and Physical EducationView all 3 articles
TRI-PE PROJECT: RCT PROTOCOL 1 Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol on Enhancing Students' Togetherness, Relatedness, 1 and Interactions for Learning in Physical Education: The TRI-PE Project 2 TRI-PE PROJECT: RCT PROTOCOL 2
Provisionally accepted
- University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
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Grounded in Self-Determination Theory and the Conceptual Model of Cohesion, relatedness satisfaction and class cohesion have been positively linked to learning-related outcomes. However, the benefits for both teachers and students of a training program focused on improving Physical Education (PE) teachers' relatedness-supportive behaviors and class cohesion have not yet been explored. This study presents the protocol for a training program designed to provide PE teachers with relatedness-supportive and class cohesion strategies, as well as to avoid relatedness-thwarting strategies. Consequently, this program aims to enhance teachers' interpersonal style and students' motivational and (mal)adaptive outcomes in PE lessons. A randomized controlled trial with a mixed-methods approach will be conducted as part of a three-wave longitudinal study. Between 8-10 secondary PE teachers and their students will be assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The face-toface training program implemented with experimental group's teachers will consist of two group sessions, one group booster session, and two individual follow-up sessions. After completing the training, teachers will implement the strategies over approximately six months during their PE classes. Beliefs, feasibility, and intention to apply the strategies, relatednesssupportive behaviors, relationship satisfaction with students, class cohesion, motivational variables, and (mal)adaptive outcomes will be assessed in PE teachers and their students at three distinct time points: before the training program (Time 1), at the end of the implementation (Time 2), and two months later (Time 3). Additionally, a focus group involving all experimental PE teachers will be held at the end of the implementation (T2).The results of this study will help determine whether this type of training program can benefit both students and teachers.
Keywords: Group dynamics, intervention, Need-support, peer interactions, Psychological Needs, relatedness support
Received: 15 May 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Llanos-Muñoz, Sevil-Serrano, Lobo-Triviño, López-Gajardo and Leo. 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: Francisco M. Leo, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
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