Technology-based sports training informed workshops and physical education teachers’ job satisfaction, commitment, and self-determined motivation

Technology integration in education is widespread, but its impact on physical education (PE) teachers’ self-determined motivation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment remains insufficiently understood, especially in short-term, practice-oriented professional development (PD) formats tailored to PE. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examined whether a technology-enhanced, sports-training-informed PD workshop (delivered through structured, video-guided sessions) influences PE teachers’ job satisfaction, self-determined motivation, and organizational commitment. Data were collected in 2014 using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control-group design. A total of 300 full-time physical education (PE) teachers from primary and secondary schools across multiple regions of China completed baseline questionnaires; following eligibility screening, 60 teachers (n = 30 intervention; n = 30 control) were selected for the intervention phase and completed pretest–posttest measures of job satisfaction, self-determined motivation, and organizational commitment. The intervention group showed clear gains in self-determined motivation and job satisfaction relative to the control group. Changes in organizational commitment were mixed and did not exhibit the same strength or consistency as those of motivation and job satisfaction. Technology-enhanced, sports training-informed PD may meaningfully strengthen PE teachers’ motivational functioning and work-related satisfaction, likely by supporting autonomy, competence, and relatedness. However, organizational commitment may require longer or more system-level interventions to be reliably shifted. Given the brief duration and reliance on self-report measures, claims about long-term impact should be treated with caution.