1,163 middle school students (586 girls, 577 boys; Grades 6–8) were selected through a stratified random sampling method to examine their attitudes toward physical education (PE) by grade, student's sex, sports participation characteristics, and teacher's sex. They were administered the Attitude Toward Physical Education Scale for Children. Factorial analysis of variance indicated that Grade 8 students' mean attitude scores were less positive than those of Grade 6 students, but the attitudes of boys and of sports participants were more positive than of girls and nonsports participants. Findings were similar regardless of the teacher's sex.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AnderssenN. (1993) Perception of physical education classes among young adolescents: Do physical education classes provide equal opportunities to all students?Health Education Research, 8, 167–179.
2.
CarlsonT. B. (1995) We hate gym: Student alienation from physical education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 14, 467–477.
3.
CarringtonB.FrancisB.HutchingsM.SkeltonC.ReadB.HallI. (2008) Does the gender of the teacher really matter? Seven- to eight-year-olds' accounts of their interactions with their teachers. Educational Studies, 33, 397–413.
4.
CarrolB.LoumidisJ. (2001) Children's perceived competence and enjoyment in physical education and physical activity outside school. European Physical Education Review, 7, 24–43.
5.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2003) Guidelines for school and community programs to promote lifelong physical activity among young people. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 46(No. RR-6), 1–36.
6.
ChungM.PhilipsD. (2002) The relationship between attitude toward physical education and leisure-time exercise in high school students. The Physical Educator, 59, 126–138.
7.
CreswellJ. W. (2008) Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill.
8.
DuffyJ.WarrenK.WalshM. (2001) Classroom interactions: Gender of teacher, gender of student, and classroom subject. Sex Roles, 45, 579–593.
Folsom-MeekS. L. (1992) A comparison of upper elementary school children's attitudes toward physical activity. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Alliance for Health, Recreation, and Dance, Indianapolis, IN.
11.
GreenwoodM.StillwellJ.ByarsA. (2001) Activity preferences of middle school physical education students. Physical Educator, 58, 26–29.
12.
GüvençM. (2001) Ankara: Spatial differentiation with respect to employment status and province of origin. In YavuzL. A. (Ed.), Ankara in history II. Ankara, Turkey: METU Faculty of Architecture. Pp. 17–34.
13.
HicksM. K.WigginsM. S.CristR. W.MoodeF. M. (2001) Sex differences in grade three students' attitudes toward physical activity. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 93, 97–102.
14.
HopfD.HatzichristouC. (1999) Teacher gender-related influences in Greek school. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 69, 1–18.
15.
İnceM. L.OkA. (2005) Moving prospective physical education teachers to learner-centered teaching: Can it be stimulated in a traditional context?Journal of the International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport, and Dance, 151, 6–12.
16.
KangalgilM.HünükD.DemirhanG. (2004) An investigation of sport participants' and nonsport participants' attitudes toward physical education. Paper presented at the 10th International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport, and Dance (ICHPER.SD) and 8th International Sport Science Congress, Antalya, Turkey.
17.
KocaC. (2009) Gender interaction in coed physical education: A study in Turkey. Adolescence, 44, 165–185.
18.
KocaC.AşçiF. H.DemirhanG. (2005) Attitudes toward physical education and class preferences of Turkish adolescents in terms of school gender composition. Adolescence, 40, 365–375.
19.
KocaC.DemirhanG. (2004) An examination of high school students' attitudes toward physical education with regard to sex and sport participation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 98, 754–758.
20.
LingardB.MartinoW.MillsM.BarrM. (2002) Addressing the educational needs of boys: Strategies for schools and teachers. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training.
21.
MartinA. J.MarshH. W. (2005) Motivating boys and motivating girls: Does teacher gender really make a difference?Australian Journal of Education, 49, 320–334.
22.
MeeceJ. L. (1987) The influence of school experiences on the development of gender schemata. In LibenL. S.SignorellaM. L. (Eds.), Children's gender schemata. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Pp. 57–73.
23.
MontalvoR. (2007) Urban secondary school students' attitudes toward physical education. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia Univer., New York.
24.
ÖzerD.AktopA. (2003) Adaptation of an attitude inventory toward physical education prepared for primary school students. Hacettepe Journal of Sport Sciences, 14, 67–82.
25.
SallisJ. F.ProchaskaJ. J.TaylorW. C. (2000) A review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 32, 963–975.
SilvermanS.SubramaniamP. R. (1999) Student attitude toward physical education and physical activity: A review of measurement issues and outcomes. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 19, 97–125.
28.
SmollF. L.SchutzR. W. (1980) Children's attitudes toward physical activity: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Sport Psychology, 2, 137–147.
29.
SolmonM. A. (2003) Student issues in physical education classes: Attitudes, cognition, and motivation. In SilvermanS. J.EnnisC. D. (Eds.), Student learning in physical education: Applying research to enhance instruction. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Pp. 147–163.
SubramaniamP. R.SilvermanS. (2007) Middle school students' attitudes toward physical education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 602–611.
32.
TabachnickB. G.FidellL. S. (2007) Experimental design using ANOVA. North Scituate, MA: Duxbury.
33.
TannehillD.RomarJ.O'SullivanM.EnglandK.RosenbergD. (1994) Attitudes toward physical education: Their impact on how physical education teachers make sense of their work. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 13, 406–420.
34.
TannehillD.ZakrajsekD. (1993) Students' attitudes towards physical education: A multicultural study. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 13, 78–84.
35.
TelemaR.YangX.LaaksoL.ViikariJ. (1997) Physical activity in childhood adolescence as predictor of physical activity in young adulthood. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 13, 317–323.
36.
WerschA. V.TrewK.TurnerI. (1992) Post-primary school pupils' interests in physical education: Age and gender differences. British Journal of Education Psychology, 62, 56–72.
37.
YildirimA.İnceM. L.KirazciS.ÇiçekŞ. (2007) Analysis of academic learning time in physical education classes of inservice and prospective teachers. Hacettepe Journal of Sport Sciences, 18, 31–41.
