Physical Education Attitude of Adolescent Students in the Philippines: Importance of Curriculum and Teacher Sex and Behaviors

Abstract

The present study examined the attitudes of Filipino middle school students toward physical education (PE) and the associations between PE attitude and various personal and external correlates of PE. In total, 659 middle school students, aged between 12 and 19 years (M = 14.55; SD = 1.14), participated in the study. The Physical Education Attitude Scale (PEAS) was used to measure affective, cognitive, and motivational/behavioral attitudes of adolescent students toward PE. Results showed that middle school students had moderate general attitudes toward PE. Female students had more favorable attitudes toward PE when their teacher was male than female. When the teacher was female, male students were more satisfied with the PE curriculum than female students. When the teacher was male, female students were more comfortable with the PE curriculum than male students. Finally, students' PE attitude did not decrease as they got older, regardless of student sex. The findings provide a different perspective for the field and underscore the importance of not only the PE curriculum but also the student–teacher relationship. To prevent the decline in students' positive attitude and encourage positive behaviors toward PE and activities, teachers should be very considerate about their interactions with students of the same sex; school administrators (e.g., principal and PE department head), meanwhile, should focus at providing PE teachers with special training courses to enhance both their teaching and communication capabilities.

Comparative Analysis of Students` Attitudes Towards Physical Education and Their Engagement in Extracurricular Physical Activities

“…Mean values from 4.13 to 4.51 obtained in our study are strongly positive and somewhat higher than results in previous studies (Cruz, Kim, & Kim, 2021;Orlić et al, 2017;Orlić, Mijatović, & Lazarević, 2018). Possible explanation could be that high school students are less involved in PE, than their primary school counterparts.…”

The Current Health Belief of Exercise Conditions of Chinese College Students and Ways of Improvements: An Analysis Based on the Health Belief Model

“…Female physical education (PE) teachers are more prevalent among male middle school students, and male PE teachers are more prevalent among female middle school students. This study has provided a critical perspective that the school administrator must pay equal attention to the student-teacher relationship and the PE course curriculum setting (Cruz et al, 2021).…”

Exercise health belief model mediates the relationship between physical activity and peer support among Chinese college students: A cross-sectional survey

“…In our study, we found that male university students’ PA was higher than that of females, consistent with the overall gender differences in PA in adolescence. A previous study showed that in exercise practice at the middle school stage, female physical education (PE) teachers were more popular with male students in middle school, and male PE teachers were more popular with female students ( Cruz et al, 2021 ). This investigation affirmed that we should pay attention to the course content, and create a good relationship between teachers and students in the PE curriculum.…”