The relationship between teacher care and Chinese college students' physical education class learning satisfaction: the chain mediation effect of exercise enjoyment and exercise self-efficacy.

Background: Teacher care is a key factor influencing college students' satisfaction with physical education (PE) courses. Insufficient teacher care may diminish students' learning motivation and exercise engagement, affecting their physical and mental well-being. Yet, the mechanisms linking teacher care to PE learning satisfaction remain unclear, particularly the roles of exercise enjoyment and exercise self-efficacy. Objective: To investigate the impact of teacher care on college students' physical education class learning satisfaction in Chinese universities and to validate the mediating role of exercise enjoyment and exercise self-efficacy between the two. Methods: A clustered convenience sample of 1,198 college students from Chinese universities completed the Teacher Care Scale, Physical Education Class Satisfaction Scale, Exercise Enjoyment Scale, and Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale. Results: Teacher care was significantly and positively associated with students' physical education (PE) class satisfaction ( Conclusion: This study enriches the theoretical understanding of motivational and affective mechanisms in physical education and offers practical implications for improving teaching quality and student well-being. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and self-report data, which restrict causal inference and generalizability. Future research could employ longitudinal or mixed-method approaches across more diverse educational contexts to validate and extend these findings.