Stand-Out Sport Athletes’ Attitudes Toward Physical Education Timothy M. Church Department of Physical Education and Health Education INTRODUCTION Assumptions about the success of physical education programs are frequently based on one visible factor: student behavior (Lee, 1997). Increased knowledge of the variables that contribute to attitude formation, and awareness of how attitude and behavior connect, allows teachers and researchers to achieve a more complete understanding of student experiences and program influence (Carlson, 1995). Student attitude has been investigated as a dependent variable within the physical education and physical activity setting (Carlson, 1995; Ennis, 1996; Portman, 1995; Robinson, 1990). Attitudes provide valuable information relative to what students think and feel about physical education (Cothran & Ennis, 1998). Students demonstrating unfavorable feelings toward physical education may also refrain from participating in physical activity outside of school (Carlson, 1995; Ennis, 1996; Portman, 1995; Robinson, 1990). Low-skilled students experience negativity in physical education (Ennis, 1996; Portman, 1995). Low-skilled students often do not receive adequate practice trials and feedback, and blame themselves for being unsuccessful (Silverman, 1993; Silverman et al, 1993). Successful experiences change the overall attitude toward physical activity and students begin to enjoy physical education class (Ennis, 1996; Portman, 1995). Low-skilled students and high-skilled students have different experiences in physical education (Silverman, 1993). PURPOSE To determine stand-out sport athletes’ attitudes toward physical education as compared to students not participating in interscholastic athletics. The study was additionally guided by the questions: If standout sport athletes always experience success, are their attitudes toward physical education any different from low-skilled students? Do students who excel in physical activity and always experience success have positive attitudes toward physical education? Are students who always experience success bored with lower level physical activities required for physical education class? METHODS PARTICIPANTS 104 stand-out athletes and 104 non-athletes (N = 208) Physical education students (9-12 th graders) from three suburban New England high schools Male and female students representing the general population TESTING INSTRUMENT 20-item questionnaire developed by Subramaniam and Silverman (2000) Questionnaire factors: 10 Enjoyment and 10 Usefulness 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) Single factor range: 50 as the high score and 10 as the low score Instrument scores exhibited favorable psychometric properties of reliability and validity (Subramaniam & Silverman, 2000) Instrument scores indicated high internal consistency of statistics (>.84) for both primary factors (Subramaniam & Silverman, 2000) DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES Initial contact and permission/approval from Principals and Directors of Athletics Personal contact and questionnaire delivery to physical education teachers Survey and informed consent cover letters provided for each student Minor’s informed consent form provided for students under 18 years of age Students over 18 years of age were asked to voluntarily sign the adult informed consent form Physical education teachers administered the questionnaire during classes Return visit one week from initiation of the study to collect completed questionnaires Collected 766 completed questionnaires; random selection of 208 questionnaires DATA ANALYSIS Two independent groups t-ratios to compare mean scores on enjoyment and usefulness across two categories of students (stand-out athletes and non-athletes) SPSS version 14.0 (alpha level of.05) RESULTS Significant (p>.57) differences were found among the variance of Enjoyment scores across the status of students. No significant (p>.28) differences were found among the variance of Usefulness scores across the status of students. Assumption of homogeneity was met for the dependent variable Enjoyment. Assumption of homogeneity was met for the dependent variable Usefulness. Independent groups T-ratio – Significantly higher mean difference (p<.04) was found in the enjoyment scores reported for stand-out sport athletes as compared to non-athletes. Independent groups T-ratio - No significant mean difference (p>.09) was found in the usefulness scores of stand-out sport athletes compared to non-athletes. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Stand-out sport athletes experienced and produced higher Enjoyment scores than non-athletes ( versus ). Data indicated stand-out athletes enjoyed physical education more than their non-competitive counterparts. Stand-out sport athletes are reluctant to put more value in physical education than non-athletes ( compared to ). Both groups had Enjoyment mean scores above Usefulness mean scores, suggesting individuals place more value in the pleasure rather than the perceived usefulness of physical education. Student perception of physical education as being “just a break” from traditional classroom subjects may explain lower Usefulness mean scores. A need exists for physical education teachers to examine curricula (Siedentop, 1987; Subramaniam & Silverman, 2000). Student attitudes provide valuable information about what students think and feel about physical education (Cothran & Ennis, 1998). Possible influence of student attitude as a mediating variable has not been fully explored in physical education pedagogy research, and when it has there have been questionable instruments employed (Brustad, 1991; Schutz, Smoll, Carre, & Mosher, 1985). Attitudinal information could be used to make curricular changes and present subject matter in a more appreciated manner to students (Cothran & Ennis, 1998). Students’ perceptions of subject matter and perceived Usefulness may change with an improved understanding of health issues surrounding a sedentary lifestyle (Carlson, 1995; Ennis, 1996; Portman, 1995; Robinson, 1990). RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH Student attitude has the potential of influencing student achievement (McConnell, 1986). Inclusion of student attitude as a mediating variable in achievement could provide a more complete understanding of student learning. If physical educators make efforts to keep curricula and lessons new, exciting, and educational, the perception and value of physical education as a subject matter may cease to be in question. Student attitudes in physical education may possibly influence participation in physical activity outside the curriculum (Carlson, 1995; Ennis, 1996; Portman, 1995). Further research investigating student attitude may provide physical educators with information that could promote an active lifestyle among youth. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dr. Jeanne Raudensky Dr. Mary Ann Coughlin Dr. Betty Mann Dr. Stephen Coulon Dr. Prithwi Raj Subramaniam Dr. Stephen Silverman Independent Groups t-ratio Comparing Mean Usefulness Scores for Stand-out Sport Athletes and Non-Athletes GroupMeansnMean Diff.S.E. Diff.tp Stand-out Sport Athlete Non-Athlete Independent Groups t-ratio Comparing Mean Enjoyment Scores for Stand-out Sport Athletes and Non-Athletes GroupMeansnMean Diff.S.E. Diff.tp Stand-out Sport Athlete Non-Athlete