Attitudes towards physical education teachers from a cross-cultural perspective: German and Chilean students’ viewpoints

Abstract

The physical education teacher’s role in the generation of favourable attitudes towards physical education is essential, because his behaviour directly influences how students rate the subject. The purpose of this study is to analyse the attitudes towards physical education teachers from the German and Chilean adolescents' perspective. 2030 students participated (1001 girls and 1029 boys, Mage = 14.44 ± 1.8). The “Questionnaire on Students’ Attitudes towards Physical Education” was used. A dual component model (affective and cognitive) was adopted. German students gave higher scores to the affective component than Chilean students, while Chilean students gave higher scores to the cognitive component, indicating significant differences between the two groups for the two components (p < .001). No significant gender differences were found in any of the components. The differences in their nationality seemingly influence the students’ attitudes towards physical education. By identifying these differences, it may be possible to plan methodologies that generate favourable attitudes towards physical activity, using strategies that transcend countries.