Loving and loathing physical education: An exploration of students' beliefs

Abstract

This article describes a recent study that investigated the physical education (PE) beliefs of a particular population of students (i.e., female and male students in Grades 4 through 10 from a single school stream). Through their completion of an adapted survey, students (N = 506) were able to share their PE beliefs in relation to five separate subscales: PE Interest, PE Status, PE Connotations, PE Teachers, and PE Curriculum. Results suggest that grade and gender differences exist with respect to these subscales. Consequently, it is herein suggested that the discovery of such differences within this case study merits considerations for educational change, as well as continued and deeper inquiries into understanding the nature of PE beliefs for female and male students in various grade levels. © 2012 The Governors of the University of Alberta.