The influence of differentiated instruction on students’ motivation in physical education

Background Physical education (PE) classes are intrinsically heterogeneous, yet students differing in competence, readiness, and motivation are often exposed to uniform instructional demands. Differentiated instruction has been widely advocated as a response to learner diversity, but rigorous evidence regarding its motivational consequences and underlying psychological processes remains limited. Methods We conducted a two-arm cluster-randomized longitudinal trial across 12 secondary schools in Zhengzhou, China. Forty-eight teacher–class clusters comprising 1,152 students aged 12–15 years were randomized to a 12-week differentiated-instruction intervention or usual PE. The intervention systematically adapted task challenge, instructional support, grouping, pacing, progression, and bounded choice to students’ readiness and learning needs. Assessments were completed at baseline (T0), during intervention (T1), post-intervention (T2), and follow-up (T3). The primary outcome was autonomous motivation at T2; secondary outcomes were psychological need satisfaction and frustration, controlled motivation, amotivation, and PE engagement. Three-level longitudinal mixed-effects models and multilevel longitudinal mediation models were used. Results At T2, differentiated instruction produced higher autonomous motivation than usual PE (adjusted difference = 0.49, 95% CI [0.39, 0.59]; standardized effect = 0.72). It also increased psychological need satisfaction (0.53, 95% CI [0.41, 0.65]) and PE engagement (0.46, 95% CI [0.37, 0.55]), while reducing psychological need frustration (−0.46, 95% CI [−0.57, −0.35]) and amotivation (−0.38, 95% CI [−0.47, −0.29]); effects on controlled motivation were small. Longitudinal mediation was consistent with two complementary pathways: greater T1 need satisfaction was associated with higher T2 autonomous motivation (indirect effect β = 0.13, 95% CI [0.09, 0.18]), whereas lower T1 need frustration was associated with lower T2 amotivation (indirect effect β = −0.11, 95% CI [−0.15, −0.07]). Several effects remained evident at T3, although attenuated. Conclusion Differentiated instruction improved motivational functioning in PE by reshaping the instructional conditions through which students experienced challenge, support, progression, and participation. The findings extend differentiated-instruction research beyond pedagogical adaptation by identifying instructional design as a motivationally relevant component of the PE environment and by supporting complementary need-satisfaction and need-frustration pathways linking differentiated instruction with autonomous motivation and amotivation.