Secondary school students' interest in various forms of physical activity

Abstract

Purpose. Students' interest in various forms of physical activity (individual and team sports) is known to differ depending on sex, place of residence, age, the time of year, and many other factors. The aim of the present study was to further analyze this issue on a group of secondary school students and to search for relationships between interest in different sports and sex, age and the school they attend. Methods. A standardized diagnostic questionnaire was administered to 475 first-, second-, and thirdyear students attending two randomly chosen secondary schools in Wrocław, Poland. Results. Significant differences in the interests of the analyzed group were found in regards to sex, age, and school. Girls were more interested in dancing, swimming, downhill skiing and hiking. Boys preferred team sports, swimming, downhill skiing, and martial arts. Conclusions. It seems advisable to identify and implement which physical activities secondary school students find most interesting in existing physical education curriculum so as to help develop positive attitude towards physical culture in later life.