Effects of a motivational climate intervention on state anxiety, self‐efficacy, and skill development in physical education

The objective of the present study was to test the effects of TARGET premises on state anxiety, self‐efficacy, and sport skill development. A total of 317 high school students with a mean age of 13.9 years ( s =0.76) were assigned either to an intervention group or a control group. The triple jump and the Baryshnikov shot put techniques were taught to both groups in 10 teaching units. In the intervention group the teachers employed the TARGET structures, while in the control group the command style was used. Students completed pre‐ and post‐intervention measures of state anxiety and self‐efficacy just before execution of the two techniques. Motor skill development was evaluated by both absolute performance (in centimetres) and technical execution of the tasks. The results of repeated‐measures analyses of variance indicated that the intervention group reported higher triple jump self‐efficacy and better technical execution of the shot put than the control group. No intervention effects were observed for the anxiety responses. Our findings provide partial evidence for positive effects of a task‐involving motivational climate on sport skill development and performance‐related states.