Teacher Behavior and Student Attitude Towards Physical Education: An Instructional Management Guide

This study examined the relationship between teachers’ interpersonal behavior and students’ attitudes toward Physical Education among first- and second-year students at Biliran Province State University during the Academic Year 2025–2026. Specifically, the study investigated teachers’ autonomy support, competence support, and relatedness support and their association with students’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral attitudes toward Physical Education. A quantitative descriptive–correlational research design was employed using adapted versions of the Teaching Interpersonal Style Questionnaire in Physical Education (TISQ-PE) and the Physical Education Attitude Scale (PEAS). A total of 176 students participated in the study through stratified random sampling. Descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank-order correlation were utilized to analyze the data. Findings revealed that teachers’ interpersonal behavior was perceived at a very high level, with an overall mean of 4.27 (SD = 0.73). Among the dimensions, competence support obtained the highest mean (M = 4.33, SD = 0.76), followed by relatedness support (M = 4.31, SD = 0.77), while autonomy support recorded a high mean (M = 4.16, SD = 0.76). Students’ attitudes toward Physical Education were generally high, with an overall mean of 3.95 (SD = 0.58). The behavioral aspect obtained the highest mean (M = 3.99, SD = 0.58), followed by the cognitive aspect (M = 3.97, SD = 0.65) and the affective aspect (M = 3.92, SD = 0.65). Correlation analysis demonstrated significant positive relationships between teachers’ interpersonal behavior and students’ attitudes toward Physical Education. Overall teacher interpersonal behavior significantly correlated with cognitive attitudes (rₛ = .569, p < .001), affective attitudes (rₛ = .481, p < .001), behavioral attitudes (rₛ = .530, p < .001), and overall student attitudes toward PE (rₛ = .543, p < .001). The findings indicate that supportive teaching behaviors contribute significantly to the development of positive student attitudes toward Physical Education. Based on the results, an instructional management guide was developed to enhance supportive teaching practices and improve student engagement in Physical Education classes.