THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COLLEGE STUDENTS' MOTIVATION FOR SPORTS PARTICIPATION AND SATISFACTION WITH PHYSICAL EDUCATION MANAGEMENT IN JINAN'S UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

Driven by national policies for comprehensive school physical education and smart campus construction, Chinese universities are transforming traditional exam-oriented PE into student-oriented service systems. However, a notable supply-demand gap persists in Jinan’s university cluster, where most institutions still adopt rigid PE management models that fail to accommodate students’ diverse sports needs. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) and the SERVQUAL service quality model, this mixed-method independent study targets full-time undergraduates from 12 public universities in Jinan to analyze the structural characteristics of sports participation motivation, its correlation with five dimensions of PE management satisfaction, and targeted improvement paths for campus PE governance. A total of 30 questionnaires were distributed and 265 valid responses were retrieved for quantitative analysis via SPSS 26.0; meanwhile, 10 PE managers from three institutional categories were interviewed, with transcripts coded through Nvivo 12. Descriptive statistics show the overall average score of sports participation motivation is 3.691 at a high level. Intrinsic motivation (M=3.866) serves as the core stable driver, followed by identified regulation, amotivation, introjected regulation and external regulation (M=3.555). The unexpectedly high amotivation score reveals that inadequate curriculum, venues and assessment mechanisms frustrate students’ autonomy, competence and relatedness needs, triggering low voluntary participation. Interview results identify shared management pain points and differentiated development priorities among different types of universities. Correlation and regression analyses prove that intrinsic motivation and identified regulation positively correlate with curriculum, facility, instructor, administrative and assessment satisfaction, while introjected, external regulation and amotivation exert negative predictive effects. This study innovates a complete optimization system including three-tier PE curricula, refined off-peak venue operation, teacher performance appraisal reform, diversified process assessment and institutionalized student participation mechanisms. The findings verify the cross-cultural adaptability of SDT in Chinese higher education, fill regional research gaps of Jinan’s university cluster, and offer practical decision-making references for implementing Healthy China 2030 and advancing student-centered PE governance.