Changes in the Academic Motivation and Satisfaction with Studies of Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers during the Study Period

The study describes and explores how the academic motivation and satisfaction of pre-service physical education (PE) teachers change during the study period and how autonomous and controlled academic motivation is related to student satisfaction with academic studies. For data collection, questionnaire surveys were used. The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) and The Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) were applied. Repeated cross-sectional studies design at regular intervals was also used in this research. Data were collected four times during PE students’ study period in four Lithuanian universities. The samples were distributed according to the study year: first-year n = 84, second-year n = 72, third-year n = 59, fourth-year n = 44 students. The analysis of the data showed that students’ academic motivation and satisfaction with studies changed during the study period. Both autonomous and controlled academic motivation indicators have relationships of similar strength with the same subscales of satisfaction with studies. The research results obtained provide a better understanding of the change in students’ academic motivation regarding students’ perceptions of the academic environment revealed through student study satisfaction.