The role of prosocial climate in the associations between transformational leadership and perceived motor self-efficacy among physical education students

Previous research has suggested the existence of relationships between teachers’ transformational leadership style and adolescents’ perceived motor self-efficacy. However, few studies have examined the influence of prosocial climate on these relationships, particularly within Physical Education classes. In addition, prior research using the Transformational Teaching Questionnaire (TTQ) to assess teachers’ transformational leadership has indicated that this instrument may be unidimensional, rather than composed of four distinct dimensions. Accordingly, the aims of the present study were: (1) to examine the dimensionality of the Transformational Teaching Questionnaire (TTQ), and (2) to analyse the role of prosocial climate in the relationships between transformational leadership and perceived motor self-efficacy. The sample consisted of 392 adolescents (52.81% male, n = 207; 47.19% female, n = 185), aged between 14 and 16 years (M = 15.07; SD = 0.78), enrolled in various schools across the city of Málaga (Spain). Data were collected using the Transformational Teaching Questionnaire, the School Prosocial Climate Questionnaire, and the Motor Self-Efficacy Scale. The results revealed significant mediation and moderation effects of prosocial climate on the association between teachers’ transformational leadership and students’ motor self-efficacy. Furthermore, the moderation model provided a more parsimonious representation of the observed data. These findings underscore the importance of prosocial climate within Physical Education contexts and its interactive role in the association between teachers’ leadership and students’ perceived motor self-efficacy.