The relationship between physical education teachers' competence support and middle school students' participation in sports: a chain mediation model of perceived competence and exercise persistence

This study explores the relationship between physical education teachers' support and middle school students' participation in sports. It also clarifies this relationship's mediating roles of perceived competence and exercise persistence. A questionnaire survey involved 879 Chinese middle school students, consisting of 434 males and 445 females. The results indicate a significant positive correlation between teachers' competence support and students' participation in sports (p < 0.01).Perceived competence and exercise persistence as important mediators between teachers' competence support and students' involvement in sports, with the mediation effect comprising independent mediation by perceived competence and exercise persistence and a chain mediation effect involving both. The effect value was 0.156, with contributions of 60.4%, 43.6%, and 73.1% to the total mediating effect, respectively. In physical education courses, teachers should enhance their competence to support students, increase students' interest in learning, and promote the development of sports participation. By understanding the predictive roles of teacher support, perceived competence, and exercise persistence on sports participation, strategies can be developed to better enhance students' levels of participation in physical activities, thereby improving their beliefs about physical health and their confidence in exercising.

Methods
This study utilized a stratified cluster sampling method to conduct a survey of 1,400 students from ten middle schools in Kaifeng City, from March 10 to April 10, 2024. The survey questionnaires were distributed and collected on-site, resulting in 1,400 issued questionnaires and 1,120 returned.

本研究探讨体育教师支持与中学生体育参与之间的关系，并阐明感知能力（Perceived Competence）与运动坚持性（Exercise Persistence）在该关系中的中介作用。研究以879名中国中学生为调查对象，其中男生434名，女生445名。结果显示，教师的能力支持与学生体育参与之间存在显著正相关（p < 0.01）。感知能力与运动坚持性是教师能力支持与学生体育参与之间的重要中介变量，其中介效应包括感知能力的单独中介、运动坚持性的单独中介，以及二者共同构成的链式中介效应。中介效应总效应值为0.156，三者对总中介效应的贡献占比分别为60.4%、43.6%与73.1%。在体育课程中，教师应强化对学生的能力支持，提升学生的学习兴趣，促进学生体育参与行为的发展。通过明晰教师支持、感知能力与运动坚持性对体育参与的预测作用，可制定相关策略以更好地提升学生的体育活动参与水平，进而改善其对身体健康的认知与运动自信心。

研究方法
本研究于2024年3月10日至4月10日期间，采用分层整群抽样（Stratified Cluster Sampling）法，对开封市10所中学的1400名学生开展调查。本次调查采用现场发放并回收问卷的方式，共发放问卷1400份，回收问卷1120份。