How are pre-service physical education teachers’ perceptions of educator-created (dis)empowering climates associated with their motivational processes and teaching intention?

Building upon the bright and dark pathways outlined in Self-Determination Theory and Duda and Appleton's (2016) hierarchical conceptualisation of motivational climate, the purpose of this research was to examine how perceived educator-created (dis-)empowering climates can be combined and related to need-based experiences, quality of motivation, and teaching intention in initial physical education (PE) teacher education. A convenience sample of 369 pre-service PE teachers (197 men and 171 women, M_age = 27.28, SD_age = 6.71) participated in this cross-sectional research. The results from the structural equation modelling found a positive relationship from a perceived empowering climate to teaching intention via need satisfaction and autonomous (indirect effect: β = .053, 95 %CI = .015–.091, p-value = .022), as well as a negative association from a perceived disempowering climate to teaching intention via need frustration and amotivation (indirect effect: β = -.046, 95 %CI = -.091 to − .002, p-value = .047).The results from the latent profile analysis identified four profiles with varying levels of (dis-)empowering climates. The high empowering–low disempowering profile was the most adaptive in motivational outcomes and teaching intention whereas the moderate empowering–very high disempowering and low empowering–high disempowering profiles were the most maladaptive, with the former having more controlled motivation and the latter being more amotivated. The moderate empowering–moderate disempowering profile was less adaptive than the high empowering-low disempowering profile, and less maladaptive than the moderate empowering–very high disempowering and low empowering–high disempowering profiles. This study highlights that the teacher educator combines (dis-)empowering climates to varying degrees with different contributions to specific motivational outcomes and teaching intention among pre-service PE teachers.