The level of participation in and attitude towards school physical education and the relationship with physical self-concept of high school students

Abstract

This study was conducted in order to identify the level of participation in and attitude toward school physical education, as well as the relationship with physical self-concept, by targeting 708 high school students. The following results were obtained. First, positive correlations were found among participation and attitude toward school physical education, sports competence, appearance, physical activity, self-esteem, flexibility, endurance, strength and overall body; however, negative correlations were found with body fat (obesity) and health. Second, sports competence, appearance, physical activity, endurance, strength and overall body displayed significant differences according to clusters, with cluster 3 having a high level of participation and positive attitude toward school physical education. Third, there were significant differences in flexibility according to the clusters, with higher scores in cluster 3 and 2 than in cluster 1. Fourth, there were no differences in body fat, health and self-esteem according to the clusters.