Student misbehavior in physical education: the role of 2 × 2 achievement goals and moral disengagement

This study aimed to determine whether goal orientations were related to students’ self-reported misbehaviors in physical education and to examine whether the effects were mediated by moral disengagement. a two-study project employing structural equation modeling was conducted with high school students (study 1,n = 287; study 2,n = 296). in study 1,the results showed that mastery-avoidance goals were unable to predict five misbehaviors (i.e.,aggressive behavior,low engagement,failure to follow directions,poor self-management,and distracting behavior). mastery-approach goals negatively predicted low engagement,failure to follow directions,and poor self-management. performance-approach goals positively predicted aggressive and distracting behaviors,while performance-avoidance goals positively predicted all five misbehaviors. in study 2,the results indicated that the positive relationships between performance-approach goals and misbehaviors and between performance-avoidance goals and misbehaviors were mediated by moral disengagement. these results are discussed in terms of the model of achievement goals,and implications for physical education are also highlighted. © journal of sports science and medicine.