A case study of girls' attitudes to a school P.E. program and their subsequent participation in physicial activity

Penelope Joyce Morrison

    Research output: ThesisMaster's Thesis

    41 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    This study focussed on the major barriers and reasons to be
    physically active in a case study of 214 female former students who attended Cyril Jackson Senior High School between 1984 and 1993. The major purpose of the study was to determine if there was a relationship between physical education experiences in a known secondary school physical education (P.E.) program and physical activity at least twice a week after leaving school. The subjects were given a questionnaire on their own experiences, current level of physical activity, barriers to physical activity,
    motives to be physically active and influences on their physical activity since leaving school. Frequencies, correlations and T tests revealed that the former students were positive about their P.E. experiences, and that students who received a higher grade in P.E. and more recent students (born 1976-78) responded more positively than lower grade students and earlier students
    (born 1970-72). The major barriers to current physical activity were work, study and family commitments and times that were not convenient. The strongest motives to be active were getting in shape/staying in shape (97%), to relax (97%), for fun and enjoyment (99%), to feel better physically (98%) and mentally (93%), and to participate with friends (88%). Students
    with a higher P.E. grade felt there were fewer barriers to physical activity and more reasons to be active than lower grade students. Earlier students did not find the barriers to physical activity to be as much of a problem as the later students but were less motivated to be active. Students who felt encouraged by their physical education experiences to be active since leaving school were more positive about their experiences in physical education,
    found study to be more of a barrier to physical activity and were more highly motivated to be active than the students who did not feel encouraged by their physical education experiences to be active. Implications for secondary school P.E. programs are discussed, including the benefits of feedback to the P.E. teacher and suggestions to improve the current P.E. experiences. Future work is recommended that will strengthen the link between secondary school P.E. experiences and a lifetime of physical
    activity.
    Original languageEnglish
    QualificationMasters
    Awarding Institution
    • The University of Western Australia
    DOIs
    Publication statusUnpublished - 1995

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