Predicting Intrinsic Motivation After an Adventure Education Program in Primary Schools: Enjoyment, Self-Confidence
Andrés Calmaestra-Sánchez1, Antonio Baena-Extremera1, Josué González-Ruiz1
1Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Bodily Expression, University of Granada, 18015 Granada, Spain.
Abstract:
This study aimed to describe the pre-post changes in intrinsic motivation observed following the implementation of a parkour-based Adventure Education (AE) program in primary school students, and to examine the role of enjoyment, self-confidence, and resilience as variables statistically associated with intrinsic motivation, considering differences according to time (pre-test-post-test) and gender. The sample consisted of 492 fifth- and sixth-grade primary education students (249 boys and 243 girls) with a mean age of 10.67 years, enrolled in 12 Spanish schools. A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measures was used following the implementation of a seven-session program based on the Pedagogical Model of Adventure Education. Data were collected using instruments validated in the Spanish population: the intrinsic motivation subscale of the Perceived Locus of Causality Scale, the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale to measure enjoyment, the self-confidence subscale of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale to assess resilience. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 28.0 software, conducting descriptive analyses, correlations, and hierarchical multiple linear regressions to examine the statistical associations among the variables at each measurement point, along with a 2 × 2 repeated-measures ANOVA (time × gender). Post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores for intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, self-confidence and resilience. Enjoyment was the variable most strongly statistically associated with intrinsic motivation, followed by self-confidence and resilience. The ANOVA showed a significant main effect of time, while no significant time × gender interaction was detected, meaning that the study found no evidence that the pre-post change differed between boys and girls. Given the single-arm pre-post design and the absence of a control group, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary descriptive evidence of pre-post change and associations, and not as a causal test of the program's effectiveness.
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