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Open research questions in Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports

799 gap statements mined from Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 5,433 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Second, the temporal stability of the four profiles remains unknown. Therefore, the findings of this paper should primarily be interpreted within similar cultural and demographic structures, and cross-cultural generalizability remains to be verified through replication studies in other cultural contexts.

    Heterogeneity among exercise participants: latent profile analysis and differential persistence pathways based on the pressure-support-motivation (PSM) framework · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should examine their differential effects on the three psychological needs and DCL dimensions. Finally, because this study focused on Chinese university students, the generalizability of the findings remains limited.

    Nurturing Digital Citizenship Literacy in the Absence of a Curriculum Framework: Insights from Self-Determination Theory · 2026 · DOI

  • While such nomothetic and quantitative research is crucial to supporting SDT’s universality hypothesis, future research should also employ idiographic and qualitative methods with understudied ethnic and cultural groups (Lynch, 2023).

    Do basic psychological needs know borders? A self-determination theory analysis of Canadian and international students · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should investigate whether variables such as body image, peer norms, and gender-role attitudes moderate or mediate the parental expectation– exercise behavior relationship among female adolescents.

    Parental expectations for physical activity and adolescents’ exercise behavior: a chain mediation of basic psychological needs and exercise motivation moderated by gender · 2026 · DOI

  • Within these limitations, the present study contributes an integrated account of SDT-based academic motivation, basic psychological needs, continuation and career indicators, and human-coded motivational content in an under-studied Physical Education and Mountain Sports university setting.

    Academic motivation and basic psychological needs among university students in physical education and mountain sports: a self-determination theory study · 2026 · DOI

  • Although beyond the scope of this study, future research may explore the impact of cultural or political influences on competency development related to DC athlete support and existing DC career support systems, government investment in high-performance sports, social expectations, and more.

    A Psycho-Educational Curriculum Package for Sports Career Transition Practitioners: A Pilot Intervention Case Study · 2025 · DOI

  • It should be noted that students vary widely in their athletic abilities, physical conditions, and emotional needs (Haegele & Hodge, 2016). Another potential explanation for coaches’ negative influence on physical activity is insufficient attention being paid to individual needs during physical activity sessions (Amorose & Anderson-Butcher, 2007).

    The Influence of Perceived Autonomy Support on Physical Activity Among High School Students: The Mediating Roles of Basic Psychological Needs · 2025 · DOI

  • This study addressed a significant gap in the literature by adapting the C‑TSES‑SF and examining its factor structure, validity, measurement invariance, and reliability in the contexts of Chinese EC‑PSTs.

    The Chinese Adaptation of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale in Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers: Validity, Measurement Invariance, and Reliability · 2025 · DOI

  • Future research should consider samples covering a wider range and different educational levels to improve the generalizability of the study findings. Future research should explore ways to increase senior participation as they are about to enter the teaching profession and possess more time and experience to develop their TSE.

    The Chinese Adaptation of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale in Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers: Validity, Measurement Invariance, and Reliability · 2025 · DOI

  • This suggests that while many graduates may hold high aspirations for their future careers, such expectations alone are insufficient to alter behavioral tendencies— particularly withdrawal in the face of career obstacles.

    How Do Career Expectations Affect the Social Withdrawal Behavior of Graduates Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEETs)? The Chain Mediating Role of Human Capital and Problem-Solving Ability · 2025 · DOI

  • First, it only explored the relationship between physical exercise input and exercise adherence and the mediating mechanisms of sports emotional intelligence and exercise self-efficacy; future studies should consider other dimensions of physical exercise input or include more mediating and moderating variables.

    Effects of Physical Exercise Input on the Exercise Adherence of College Students: The Chain Mediating Role of Sports Emotional Intelligence and Exercise Self-Efficacy · 2024 · DOI

  • Additionally, reference suggested that external challenges, like a lack of guidelines, may have a more significant impact than teachers’ competence alone, underscoring the complexity of the educational landscape and the importance of comprehensive support mechanisms for educators.

    STEM Teachers’ Motivation and Engagement in Teacher Professional Development and Career Advancement: A Case Study of Lithuania · 2024 · DOI

  • Future studies should consider using longitudinal tracking and experiments to further explore the impact of distributed school leadership on teachers’ job satisfaction. Additionally, the research results may not be representative of the effects of distributed leadership in promoting teachers’ job satisfaction in other regions, limiting the extensibility of our research conclusions.

    The Chain Mediating Role of Teachers’ Job Stress in the Influence of Distributed School Leadership on Job Satisfaction: Evidence from China, the United States, England, and Australia · 2024 · DOI

  • The limitations of this study include the sample size and its composition, which were limited to female Italian athletes in specific DS categories, potentially affecting generalizability to broader or more diverse athlete populations.

    The Influence of Pre-Competitive Anxiety and Self-Confidence on Dancesport Performance · 2024 · DOI

  • By focusing on this underexplored yet crucial group, the findings not only address research gaps in existing literature, such as presenting new pathways in the integrated model, but also expand theoretical knowledge in the field of teacher wellbeing.

    Pre-service teachers’ wellbeing and occupational commitment: The role of motivation and coping · 2026 · DOI

  • In particular, the current research did not address the influence of individual student characteristics, such as gender or level of physical fitness, which should be explored in future studies.

    Effectiveness of Innovative Pedagogical Approaches to Increasing Learners’ Motivation for Physical Education Lessons · 2026 · DOI

  • Future investigations should explore whether personalized or autonomy-supportive variations in VE yield differential effects.

    The Relationship Between Situational Motivation and the Effect of Verbal Encouragement on Long Jump Performance: Autonomous vs. Controlled Motivation · 2026 · DOI

  • It is expedient to incorporate the autonomy-supportive pedagogical strategies in physical education practice, including differentiated tasks, cooperative learning formats and reflective feedback. Further promising directions include adapting the program to learners’ age-specific characteristics and integrating innovative pedagogical approaches into the long-term practice of physical education teaching.

    Effectiveness of Innovative Pedagogical Approaches to Increasing Learners’ Motivation for Physical Education Lessons · 2026 · DOI

  • Finally, although PALMS captures key motivational dimensions, it does not account for contextual factors such as facility culture, instructor behavior, or digital engagement, which could further influence adherence.

    Motivational Determinants of Exercise Behavior in Fitness Centers: Insights from PALMS and Public Health Perspectives · 2026 · DOI

  • The study notes that the effects of mobile and wearable interventions on physical activity are heterogeneous and often modest.

    Running-app engagement and perceived training gains: sequential indirect associations through motivational affordances and runner motivation · 2026 · DOI

  • In this regard, this study enriches the limited literature on training and development support programs for practitioners assisting high-performance athletes, including DC athletes (Hong & Coffee, 2018).

    A Psycho-Educational Curriculum Package for Sports Career Transition Practitioners: A Pilot Intervention Case Study · 2025 · DOI

  • This study focuses on secondary education, specifically in the first year; few studies have focused on this age group, as most are dedicated to higher-level courses with students of greater maturity.

    Effects of Sport Education Model and Physical Fitness on Motivation and Prosociality for a Healthy Approach in Secondary Students Using an Experimental Design · 2025 · DOI

  • To address mixed evidence regarding the relationship between wellbeing and engagement, we also compared an alternative theoretical model reflecting the opposite directional ordering between these two constructs.

    From need satisfaction to academic achievement: pathways through wellbeing and engagement among university students across different Italian institutions · 2026 · DOI

  • Experimental comparison of individual app functions, - Investigation of the effects of specific app features on runner motivation and perceived training gains, - Longitudinal studies to examine the temporal relationships between engagement, motivation, and perceived training…

    Running-app engagement and perceived training gains: sequential indirect associations through motivational affordances and runner motivation · 2026 · DOI

  • Although this study employed a two-phase cross-lagged design and preliminarily revealed the longitudinal relationship between university students’ subjective exercise experience and physical exercise behavior, as well as the moderating role of motivational beliefs, the following limitations remain: (1) This study employed convenience sampling, selecting only first-year undergraduate students…

    The longitudinal relationship between subjective exercise experience and physical exercise among university students: the moderating role of motivational beliefs · 2026 · DOI

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The temporal stability of the four profiles remains unknown (“Heterogeneity among exercise participants: latent profile analysis and…”, 2026); (2) Future research should examine their differential effects on the three psychological needs and DCL dimensions (“Nurturing Digital Citizenship Literacy in the Absence of a Curriculum…”, 2026); (3) Future research should investigate whether variables such as body image, peer norms, and gender-role attitudes moderate or mediate the parental expectation– exercise behavior relationship among female adolescents (“Parental expectations for physical activity and adolescents’ exercise behavior:…”, 2026); (4) Future investigations should explore whether personalized or autonomy-supportive variations in VE yield differential effects (“The Relationship Between Situational Motivation and the Effect of Verbal…”, 2026); (5) Future research should consider samples covering a wider range and different educational levels to improve the generalizability of the study findings (“The Chinese Adaptation of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale in Early…”, 2025). 799 gap statements have been mined from Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 5,433 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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