Acquired characteristics of physical education teachers and students’ motor development: a multilevel analysis

Introduction Despite extensive research on teachers’ acquired characteristics, their effects on student outcomes remain inconsistent, and evidence in physical education (PE) is particularly limited. Existing studies have focused predominantly on mathematics, science, or language subjects, have often relied on cross-sectional designs, and have rarely accounted for the hierarchical structure of educational data. Consequently, the role of teachers’ acquired characteristics in students’ motor development remains insufficiently understood. Methods This longitudinal multilevel study examines whether teachers’ general acquired characteristics, including teaching qualification, PE professional development, general teaching experience, and PE teaching experience, as well as teachers’ level of physical activity as an additional PE-specific movement-related characteristic, are associated with students’ development of basic motor competencies (BMCs). Data from the EMOKK project were used, including 720 students nested within 91 classes. BMCs were assessed at two time points over two school years using standardized MOBAK instruments and analyzed with multilevel regression models. Results Results revealed strong temporal stability in students’ BMCs, with prior motor competence emerging as the strongest predictor of later performance. General teaching experience was positively associated with BMC development when examined separately; however, in the full model including teaching qualification, PE professional development, general teaching experience, PE teaching experience, and teachers’ level of physical activity, only teachers’ level of physical activity remained significant. Discussion The findings suggest that teachers’ acquired characteristics show limited and partly inconsistent longitudinal associations with students’ motor development in PE. The significant association with teachers’ physical activity may indicate the relevance of PE-specific movement-related teacher characteristics, but this interpretation remains tentative because instructional processes, motivational orientations, and embodied competence were not directly assessed.