Why feeling competent matters

Physical education is an important setting for the promotion of personal resources of children and adolescents. One of the main personal resources in education in general and physical education in particular is self-efficacy. The current study investigated the association between physical education-related self-efficacy and basic psychological need satisfaction according to Self-Determination Theory in adolescent students. A total of 708 students from grades nine to eleven were surveyed using questionnaires. The results of a linear regression analysis indicated that there is a relationship between the need for competence satisfaction and physical education-related self-efficacy (R2corr = 0.29, p < 0.001, f2 = 0.40), while the need for autonomy and the need for relatedness were not related to self-efficacy. One possible interpretation is that the feeling of being competent in physical education enables the development of positive self-efficacy. As practical implications, the implementation of assessment systems in physical education is recommended, focusing on students’ individual performance to positively influence competence satisfaction and, subsequently, self-efficacy.

There are a plethora of findings relating to school-related strains of children and adolescents, such as high parental expectations, the pressure to achieve good grades (Walburg, 2014), anxiety related to schoolwork (Pascoe, Hetrick, & Parker, 2020), family strains, or financial concerns (Yusufov, Nicoloro-SantaBarbara, Grey, Moyer, & Lobel, 2019). Low academic performance and inadequate study skills are also associated with stress and burnout among students (Bilge, Tuzgöl Dost, & Çetin, 2014;May, Bauer, & Fincham, 2015). Both institutional and personal resources are essential to counteract these stress factors and, thus, contribute to maintaining physical and mental health and preventing stress-related diseases. Institutional resources may include school programs on mental health promotion or other material and structural possibilities to support students' needs at school and beyond. Relevant personal resources include, for example, social support, internal locus of control, optimism, and self-efficacy (Britner & Pajares, 2006;Civitci, 2015;Heinen, Bullinger, & Kocalevent, 2017;Sandler & Lakey, 1982). Concerning the longterm preservation of health and positive personality development, the personal resource of self-efficacy plays a crucial role in one's ability to deal with novelties, challenges, or barriers in the educational context and school in particular (Taylor & Stanton, 2007). Physical education-related self-efficacy influences motivation in the school context, selfesteem, well-being, and everyday phys-ical activity (Dishman et al., 2004) and can be considered an important resource for students. Consequently, the support of self-efficacy should be a specific goal within physical education. The physical education context is especially suitable for the investigation of self-efficacy because, unlike in any other school subject, students usually receive direct feedback about their abilities and limits through physical experience. Both good and poor physical education performance is often perceived very directly just because of the nature of physical activities. Furthermore, there is the perceived evaluation by classmates, which helps to assess one's own performance. Performance in other school subjects is mostly not perceived so openly because it is less visible. Especially low-performing students often feel vulnerable when, for example, they have to perform an exercise for an assessment situation.
Withinthe frameworkofSocial Learning Theory, self-efficacy is defined as "beliefs in one's capabilities to organize and execute the course of action required to produce given attainments" (Bandura, 1997, p. 3). Self-efficacy, according to Bandura (1977), rather relates to the phase of action planning than to the expectation of results. It is more a question of whether an individual believes to be able to handle a task rather than whether an individual expects to reach a certain outcome of an action. Bandura (1977) names four sources of self-efficacy: performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states, with performance accomplishments being the strongest source. "Physiological states" mean that physiological reactions in a challenging situation indicate the expectation of the task (for example, if a student is very excited before a basketball shot, which is associated with increased heart rate and sweating, he/she is likely to perceive these physical signals negatively and may conclude that he/she will fail). "Verbal persuasion" refers to a person persuading another person that he/she will be able to successfully complete the task beforehand (for example, the teacher says "You can do it" before the basketball shot so the student can conclude that he/she can master this task). "Vicarious expectations" mean to assess one's own ability by observing another person (for example, a student observes his/her classmate in throwing a basket and infers for him/herself "if he/she can do it, I can handle this, too"). "Performance accomplishment" as the strongest source refers to the own direct experience with a task (for example, the positive feeling after a successful basket shot will positively influence the evaluation of the own abilities in playing basketball). As an interim conclusion, it can be summed up that self-efficacy is a relevant construct in physical education determined by four specific sources.
From a theoretical point of view, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs could be a key condition for self-efficacy. According to the Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), there are three basic psychological needs. The need for (1) autonomy refers to the desire to be the creator of one's own actions, including making own decisions and feeling and acting self-determined. The need for (2) competence represents the longing for mastering one's own environment and for dealing with challenges successfully. The need for (3) relatedness characterizes the desire to positively feel connected with other people; it is caused by the fundamental human striving for close and intimate relationships. People enjoy being part of an important group (e.g., a team or workgroup; Deci & Ryan, 2000;Van den Broeck, Vansteenkiste, de Witte, & Lens, 2008). In the SDT, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs is assumed to be an essential condition for physical and mental health, psychological growth, integrity, and well-being (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Empirical evidence for the importance of the needs as mentioned above was provided for many life domains (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Reis, Sheldon, Gable, Roscoe, and Ryan (2000), for example, show that need satisfaction in daily activity is associated with well-being. Deci & Ryan (2000) provided support for the assumption that occupational psychological need satisfaction leads to higher professional commitment, lower anxiety, and higher general self-esteem. For the educational context, Carmona-Halty, Schaufeli, Llorens, and Salanova (2019) show in a longitudinal study that teenaged students whose school-related basic psychological needs are satisfied are more hopeful, optimistic, and resilient, and they also have a better academic performance.
According to Sweet, Fortier, Strachan, and Blanchard (2012), the construct of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977)andtheSelf-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) is based on the same underlying theoretical assumptions: Human action is grounded on complex cognitive structures that allow us to make free decisions. Sweet et al. (2012) tested the integration of both theories in the context of psychical activity. They assumed that selfefficacy is very similar to the need for competence. Using path analysis, they showed that autonomy and relationship satisfaction can predict self-efficacy as well as competence satisfaction (both were summarized as "confidence" in this study). Similarly, Krapp and Ryan (2002) suggested an association between the need for competence and self-efficacy, as both refer to the feeling of being able to make an impact with one's own behavior and being able to meet imposed or self-chosen expectations. For example, students who feel competent during their activities will probably be convinced of being able to handle upcoming requirements.
Despite the content-related similarity of self-efficacy and the need for competence, a significant difference between both constructs needs to be emphasized: The satisfaction of the need for competence relates to the current behavior, while self-efficacy focuses on future behavior ( Van den Broeck et al., 2008). Rodgers, Markland, Selzler, Murray, and Wilson (2014) were able to point out, in their study of adults' motivation for physical activity, that perceived competence satisfaction and perceived self-efficacy are both conceptually and statistically (via factor analysis) distinguishable. According to the authors, the central conceptual difference is that the satisfaction of the need for competence is not primarily accompanied by direct influences on behavior in the respective context but rather by overarching psychological consequences. In contrast, perceived selfefficacy directly affects behavioral persistence (Rodgers et al., 2014).
Research in a school context shows a positive relationship between self-efficacy and basic psychological need satisfaction. Still, few studies investigate the need for competence satisfaction and self-efficacy in a physical education context. A study with students from classes ten to twelve in the context of physical education was also able to show positive correlations between the satisfaction of the need for competence and selfefficacy (Raven & Kleinert, 2016). In this study with a small sample size, the physical education (PE) grade showed significant associations with self-efficacy. The PE grade could be seen as direct, more objective feedback about the performance in PE. A study with teachers using a path-analytic model revealed basic psychological need satisfaction as a strong predictor for occupational selfefficacy. However, this study did not consider the individual basic needs, but only need satisfaction as an overall construct (Klaeijsen, Vermeulen, & Martens, 2018). A cross-sectional study with junior middle school students with an average age of 13 years in China investigated relationships between need satisfaction, self-efficacy, positive and negative school-related emotions, and learning engagement. It concluded that academic self-efficacy mediates the relations between competence and relatedness satisfaction and learning engagement (Zhen et al., 2017).
Although no further studies are known that specifically investigated this relationship between the need for competence satisfaction and self-efficacy in the context of physical education, some findings show similar connections: A recent longitudinal study over four months confirmed that high school students who experienced better school-related satisfaction of needs also performed better at school. These correlations are mediated by personal resources such as selfefficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience (Carmona-Halty et al., 2019). In the context of science learning, a survey study with students from scientifically orientated schools in Taiwan confirmed that higher psychological need satisfaction coincides with higher self-efficacy, and higher need frustration is related to lower self-efficacy (Wang & Tsai, 2020). Similarly, Diseth, Danielsen, and Samdal (2012) found that teachers' support of basic psychological needs predicted selfefficacy in their path analysis. The authors emphasize the importance of need support in educational settings (Diseth et al., 2012).
In addition to need satisfaction, aspects of the relationship between students and teachers were found to impact students' self-efficacy (Assor, Kaplan, & Roth, 2002;Cox, Ullrich-French, & Sabiston, 2013). Autonomy-supportive teacher behavior is associated with increased enjoyment of students as well as more effort in physical education (Cox et al., 2013). Consequently, a positive relationship between teachers and students can be considered a further influencing factor for self-efficacy.
Based on the current findings (Carmona-Halty et al., 2019;Diseth et al., 2012;Wang & Tsai, 2020) and theoretical considerations (Krapp & Ryan, 2002), we assume a relation between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and self-efficacy. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate whether satisfaction of the need for competence acts as a possible predictor for self-efficacy among students in the physical education setting. If students feel competent in physical education class, it is assumed that this can promote physical education-related self-efficacy. The need to be competent in one's action is similar in content to positive self-efficacy (Krapp and Ryan, 2002). Nevertheless, these two constructs describe theoretically different things: competence as one of the three basic psychological needs describes a requirement for motivated action, long-term positive personality development, and well-being (Deci & Ryan, 2000), while self-efficacy refers to a phase of action planning and initiation and influences selection, effort, and perseverance during the course of action (Bandura, 1977). We assume that the feeling of competence satisfaction experienced during a task in physical education may act as a source of self-efficacy. Furthermore, the possible additional influences of need for autonomy and need for competence satisfaction as well as the relationship between students and teachers and the physical education (PE) grade as an objective measure of competence satisfaction in physical education on selfefficacy are considered. For this reason, the association between need satisfaction and self-efficacy among students in the physical education context will be investigated while controlling for perceived teachers' caring and PE grade. The research hypothesis is as follows: The satisfaction of the need for competence is positively linked to self-efficacy.

Procedure
After gaining consent from the Ethics Committee of the local university, secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia were randomly contacted via email or telephone. Prior informed consent of school management and parents were obtained, resulting in an ad hoc sample. Taking part in the survey was entirely voluntary for students. Schools that agreed on participation were visited, and the students filled out the questionnaires during regular physical education classes via paper and pencil.

Participants
After analyses for multivariate outliers and missing data, the final sample consisted of 708 students (originally 718) from the ninth to eleventh grades of 36 classes from five secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the German school system, secondary schools range from fifth to twelfth or 13th academic year; the exit exam qualifies for university. Participants were between 13 and 19 years of age (M = 15.49 years, SD = 1.24), and 58.1% of those who took part in the survey were boys, 47.7% were girls, and two students did not declare their gender.

Measurements
Physical education-related self-efficacy was measured using the German scale for school-related self-efficacy (Jerusalem & Satow, 1999in Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1999. This scale is a unidimensional scale consisting of seven items (α = 0.84) to be answered on a four-point Likert-scale ranging from 1 (= "does not apply") to 4 (= "completely applies"). Four items were slightly modified to fit the context of physical education. Care was taken to ensure that the meaning of the items remained unchanged (e.g., "I can solve difficult tasks in physical education" instead of "in class").
The perceived satisfaction of basic psychological needs in the context of phys-

H. Raven · F. Pels
Why feeling competent matters. Associations between satisfaction of basic psychological needs of students and self-efficacy in secondary school physical education Abstract Physical education is an important setting for the promotion of personal resources of children and adolescents. One of the main personal resources in education in general and physical education in particular is self-efficacy. The current study investigated the association between physical education-related self-efficacy and basic psychological need satisfaction according to Self-Determination Theory in adolescent students. A total of 708 students from grades nine to eleven were surveyed using questionnaires. The results of a linear regression analysis indicated that there is a relationship between the need for competence satisfaction and physical education-related self-efficacy (R 2 corr = 0.29, p < 0.001, f 2 = 0.40), while the need for autonomy and the need for relatedness were not related to self-efficacy. One possible interpretation is that the feeling of being competent in physical education enables the development of positive self-efficacy. As practical implications, the implementation of assessment systems in physical education is recommended, focusing on students' individual performance to positively influence competence satisfaction and, subsequently, self-efficacy.
Teachers' caring was measured with the teachers' caring subscale from the manual Scales for Recording Teacher and Student Characteristics by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1999). Seven items (α = 0.80) such as "The teacher helps us like a friend" were answered on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (= "does not apply") to 4 (= "applies exactly"). The term "class" was replaced by "physical education class". Cronbach's alpha (α) was calculated with the current data to check the internal consistency of the scales. The values are in an acceptable to good range.
The PE grade was operationalized as a self-report by participants of the "PE grade in the last school report" and was indicated on the German school grade scale of one (= "very good") to six (= "inadequate").

Data analysis
After completing data screening in accordance with Tabachnick and Fidell (2013), the dataset was reduced from 718 to 708 students (i.e., cases). Cases with more than 10% missing values were excluded from the analysis. After a check for outlier values after z-transformation, multivariate outliers were identified and eliminated using Mahalanobis distance (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013).
Data analysis comprised (1) descriptive statistics and (2) analyses of the relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction, PE teacher's caring, and PE grade and self-efficacy. For (2), analyses of the relationship, correlation analyses, and regression analyses were run. As students were nested in classes, multilevel analyses at the class level were executed to test whether multilevel regression was necessary. The examination of the Unconditional Means Model showed that the intergroup variance was very low (0.003). More specifically, the amount of intergroup variance in the total variance was not significant (Interclass coefficient [ICC] = 1%). An ICC smaller than 5% suggests that a Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) is unnecessary (Bliese, 2000). Therefore, a conventional linear regression analysis was calculated to test the hypothesis. This regression analysis was hierarchical in nature. In the first block, the three basic psychological needs were entered as independent variables, with self-efficacy entered as the dependent variable. The need for autonomy and relatedness were included for completeness and acted as control variables. In the second block, perceived caring of the teacher and PE grade were included as control variables.

Results
Descriptive characteristics and correlation coefficients are displayed in . Table 1. The self-efficacy of students in physical education significantly and positively correlated with the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, with the correlation with competence being the highest (r = 0.37**). According to Cohen (1988), this is considered a correlation of medium strength. The correlation with physical education grade was also quite high (r = -0.46**). The correlation is negative because a low school grade in the German school system represents excellent performance, whereas a high school grade represents inadequate performance. Furthermore, there were high intercorrelations among the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs.
The results of the regression analysis (. Table 2) in two blocks show that the variables of basic psychological need satisfaction in the first block can explain R 2 corr = 0.15ofthevarianceinself-efficacy (F = 35.55, p < 0.001, f 2 = 0.18). According to Cohen (1992), this is a medium effect size. In line with the hypothesis, competence satisfaction had a significant positive relationship with selfefficacy (β = 0.43, p < 0.001). However, the relationships of autonomy and relatedness satisfaction with self-efficacy were not significant. The additional variables of the second block (PE teacher's caring, PE grade) provide additional variance information resulting in R 2 corr = 0.29 (F = 48.73, p < 0.001; f 2 = 0.40)witha large effect size (Cohen, 1992). In addition to the significant positive relationship with competence satisfaction (β = 0.33, p < 0.001), the PE grade had a significant negative relationship with self-efficacy (β = -0.39, p < 0.001). The relationship with PE teacher's caring was not significant.

Discussion
Based on the assumption that positive self-efficacy is an important resource for handling requirements and successful learning, the present study investigated whether satisfaction of the need for competence in the PE context can serve as a condition for physical educationrelated self-efficacy. Results show a relationship between perceived competence satisfaction in the PE context and physical education-related self-efficacy. Additionally, PE grade and perceived PE teacher's caring were negatively and positively related to physical educationrelated self-efficacy. The need for autonomy and the need for relatedness, however, were not related to PE-related self-efficacy.
The finding that students experience themselves as self-efficacious if their basic need for competence is satisfied is in line with theory and previous empirical research. In terms of theory, this finding fits with Bandura's (1977) view that performance accomplishments are the strongest source of self-efficacy. From a theoretical perspective, it can be assumed that the satisfaction of the need for competence is an essential condition for self-efficacy. Although Sweet et al. (2012) assume that both constructs are very similar and can be summarized as "confidence", we propose thatthere are some subtle differences between them: Satisfaction of the need for competence refers to the basic desire to be "good" in one's actions, whereas selfefficacy is always directed more toward actions that lie in the future. For example, a satisfied need for competence in the context of physical education would mean "in this task I can show what I can do". On the other hand, a high sportrelated self-efficacy could be expressed in sentences such as "this task is difficult, but I will manage it". In this study, we could show the association between both constructs: we interpret that self-efficacy can develop if competence satisfaction is present. The feeling of being competent in a task makes it possible to have confidence in upcoming difficult tasks.
In terms of previous empirical research, the systematic literature review of Van Dinther, Dochy, and Segers, (2011) concludes that mastery experiences serve as the strongest source of self-efficacy within a higher education context. Britner and Pajares (2006) demonstrate this association in a sample of a range of pupils from fifth to ninth grades. The previous results can, thus, be confirmed. In addition, Saeki and Quirk (2015) and Wang, Tian, and Huebner (2019) showed positive correlations between affective, cognitive, and behavioral engagement in school regarding academic achievement and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. This correlation can possibly be explained by self-efficacy: students who feel more autonomous, competent, and related to their classmates may also be more confident in dealing with everyday challenges, which aligns with the concept of self-efficacy. These students might also be more engaged in class.
No significant relationships between autonomy and relatedness satisfaction with self-efficacy emerged in this study. This result is contrary to the findings of Sweet et al. (2012), who presented an influence of the needs for autonomy and relatedness on confidence (which combines self-efficacy and need for competence) in students in the context of physical activity. The authors interpret this relationship to mean that autonomy and relatedness satisfaction can enhance feelings of confidence (Sweet et al., 2012). Since this correlation could not be shown in the present study, the particular context of physical education may provide an explanation: Possibly, students' notion of efficiency in physical education may not be of importance if they are allowed to act in a self-determined manner, which means with high autonomy satisfaction.
If, for example, students are allowed to create the majority of the content of their own physical education lesson, which would be a great way to satisfy their need for autonomy, the main aim would be to have fun and possibly try something new. To achieve good performance, which would go hand in hand with selfefficacy, would not be the priority in this case. Regarding relatedness satisfaction, the positive feeling of being together with classmates in physical education does not necessarily go hand in hand with sports performance or with the sense of fulfilling requirements, but social action is the main focus. When students play with each other in physical education, and the focus is on forming meaningful relations with one another, the importance of their own sports performance possibly seems to fade.
The correlation between PE grade and self-efficacy could be explained by the fact that students might use the apparently "more objective" measure of PE grade to determine whether they experience themselves as self-efficacious or not. This connection is also consistent with Bandura's first source of selfefficacy, performance accomplishments (Bandura, 1997). The strong correlation between PE grade and self-efficacy might imply that students often define their own ability through the teacher's feedback: A good grade also means that they feel competent.
Some methodological limitations should be pointed out here. For instance, the group of participants was exclusively grammar school students. Follow-up studies with more heterogeneous samples from other school types are needed to examine the transferability of the results. Another limitation is that the schools were contacted randomly, and response rates were not assessed. For future studies, a more systematic approach should improve the interpretation of the results. In addition, the present study did not account for the possible effects of leisure sport behavior on self-efficacy in physical education. It is conceivable that students who practice leisure sports generally have a higher self-efficacy than inactive students due to their experiences with different sports (Ziemainz, Wagner, & Rüttten, 2001). Furthermore, as this is a cross-sectional study in which self-efficacy and competence satisfaction were recorded at one point of measurement, the effect could also run in the opposite direction to the one assumed above: the feeling of mastering difficult situations and overcoming barriers could lead to competence-oriented satisfaction. Students with positive self-efficacy may work harder in physical education classes and show more perseverance, resulting in better performance and, in turn, higher competence satisfaction and better grades (Caraway, Tucker, Reinke, & Hall, 2003). Theoretically, both mechanisms are conceivable. Longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to provide information about the direction of action and fill this gap. Furthermore, it would be interesting to measure basic psychological need thwarting to examine the opposite of psychological need satisfaction and its effects on self-efficacy in future studies.
In terms of implications for practice, the association between the satisfaction of the need for competence and selfefficacy in physical education emphasizes the importance of promoting competence satisfaction as well as self-efficacy in everyday school life. A reciprocal function can be assumed here: students who feel self-effective may be more willing to perform or more motivated and are, therefore, likely to be more efficient (Locke, Frederick, Lee, & Bobko, 1984). Simultaneously, the satisfaction of the need for competence associated with self-efficacy can also positively influence the well-being and personal development of the students (Deci & Ryan, 2000). The teacher and his/her teaching style can be linked to a decisive role in supporting the satisfaction of students' needs in classes. The connection between the satisfaction of needs and teacher care shows that, for example, the extent to which the teacher is perceived as supportive and cooperative has an important role for students in terms of the satisfaction of their needs. Li et al. (2019) present a clear correlation between autonomy-supportive teaching and students' needs satisfaction. This correlation is moderated by the perceived attentiveness of the students. Teacher training should, therefore, focus on developing empathetic and caring behavior. Future investigations must show to what extent these findings regarding teacher behavior can also be applied to the relationships shown in this study.
A well-known demand for school practice is internal differentiation in physical education (Bromley, 2019;Raven & Kleinert, 2016). The present results supportthe importance ofindividual reference standards in performance assessment. In addition to the actual sport performance, students' individual performance should be assessed to be able to appreciate the performance of weaker students in particular. This could positively influence competence satisfaction and self-efficacy. The negative cycle of PE grade, low competence satisfaction, and low self-efficacy could be broken by targeted, internally differentiated teaching concepts and individual competence-oriented assessments. Efficient students can also benefit from individual reference standards in performance assessment. This may make them feel more challenged and allow them to assume an expert role in some areas, which may increase their self-efficacy in addition to their social skills.
The significance of the association between sport-related self-efficacy as an important personal resource and the satisfaction of the need for competence shown here could be important teaching content in the (sports-) pedagogical training of prospective teachers. If prospective teachers can learn how to support competence satisfaction or self-efficacy in their students, this could have positive effects on performance, well-being, and, in the longer term, mental health.