Re-examining the application of the theory of planned behavior model in physical education: supplementing the motivational modification model

Abstract The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is widely used to explain students’ physical activity participation in physical education. To examine whether motivation adds explanatory value to TPB, this meta-analysis synthesized 60 independent studies ( N = 38,596; 496 effect sizes) and tested a motivation-extended TPB model using two-stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM). The model retained the core TPB pathways (ATT, SN, and PBC → BI → PB), added internal TPB paths (SN → ATT, SN → PBC, and PBC → ATT), and included broad physical activity motivation (PAM) as an antecedent of TPB constructs and PB. All hypothesized paths were statistically significant. The motivation-extended model showed better overall fit than the base and internally extended TPB models. PAM was positively associated with ATT, SN, PBC, BI, and PB, and the conventional TPB paths also remained significant. However, heterogeneity across primary studies was high for many pooled relationships, indicating that the observed associations should be interpreted as average tendencies rather than fixed effects. Because the included studies were observational and largely cross-sectional, the findings support theoretically specified pathways but do not establish causal effects or intervention effectiveness. Overall, the results suggest that incorporating motivation may broaden the explanatory scope of TPB in physical education and can inform future longitudinal and experimental research.