Sports club participation impact on motor competences, dispositional goal orientations, and perceptions of school-based physical education among Finnish third-grade children

Abstract

Across the world, youth sports clubs are prominent and the main opportunity for engaging children and youth in physical activities. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of sports club participation on actual and perceived motor competences, achievement goal perspectives, and perceptions of school physical education among Finnish third-grade children. Participants were 114 girls and 100 boys (N = 214). All children were 10-years-old, or they would turn 10-years-old during the year of data collection. The participants, based on their involvement or non-involvement in their local sports clubs, fit into four subgroups. The subgroupings were ‘never’ participated in a sports club (N = 40), ‘quit’ sports club (N = 24), active in a ‘recreational’ sports club (N = 53), and active in a ‘competitive’ sports club (N = 97). Children completed the Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder and questionnaires, assessing their perceived motor competences, achievement goal orientations, and expectancy-related beliefs and objective task values. The main finding of the study was that participation in competitive sports clubs related positively to actual and perceived motor competences, the ego goal orientation, and expectancy-related beliefs toward school physical education. Importantly, all children regardless of gender benefited equally from competitive sports participation.