Abstract

A physical education (PE) teacher’s interpersonal style may influence students’ affective, cognitive and behavioural patterns. Thus, on the basis of self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of autonomy support in physical education lessons. For this purpose, 17 scientific articles taken from the Web of Science, Scopus and Science Direct databases measuring the effects of the PE teacher’s interpersonal style on students were reviewed. These studies show that a PE teacher’s autonomy support generates higher levels of satisfaction of basic psychological needs in students, especially in perceived autonomy, as well as intrinsic motivation, positive emotions and thoughts about themselves, their intention to do physical activity in their free time and future behaviour in terms of doing sport.