IMPACT OF PHYSICAL LITERACY ON EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORS & LEARNING OUTCOMES: MEDIATING ROLE OF MOTIVATIONAL CLIMATE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS

The present study aimed to examine the impact of physical literacy on emotional behaviors and learning outcomes with mediating role of motivational climate and psychological needs. The greater physical literacy has continued to play major role in overall development of students pursuing higher education. However, its relationships with students' emotional responses and their consequent learning outcomes remain studies inadequately, most particularly in the area of motivational constructs. The purpose of the current paper is to analyze the relationship that exists between students' physical literacy and emotional responses and learning outcomes, and the potential mediating role of psychological needs and motivational climate. The study used the quantitative cross-sectional design to collect data from 340 undergraduate students from higher learning institutions. The Assessment of physical literacy, emotional responses, learning outcomes, motivational climate, psychological needs used uniform and validated assessment tools. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypothesized relationships and the mediating effects. It was found from the results of present study through the different statistical procedures that emotional responses and learning outcomes positively and significantly influenced physical literacy. More particularly, relationships were partially mediated by motivational climate and psychological needs, indicating that the more positive the impact of physical literacy was, the more learning environment was supportive and promoted autonomy. The results underscore the importance of creating the positive motivation climate and satisfying the students’ basic psychological needs to ensure the best emotional and academic results of physical literacy. This research paper should contribute to literature by integrating physical literacy with motivation and psychological models in higher education and offer practical relevance to educators and policymakers in achieving the student emotional well-being and academic success through a learning environment rich in physical activity. Similarly, some recommendations and future research directions were extracted from the study findings for the policy makers, students and educational institutions.