an investigation into secondary school students ...

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Vol. 5. No. 3. May, 2013

I. Ozmutlu, A.H. Sivrikaya, A.C. Gurkan, M. Dalkilic. An investigation into secondary school students’ attitudes towards physical education and sports lessons (the example of Kars province). International Journal of Academic Research Part B; 2013; 5(3), 52-57. DOI: 10.7813/2075-4124.2013/5-3/B.9

AN INVESTIGATION INTO SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS LESSONS (THE EXAMPLE OF KARS PROVINCE) 1

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Ilker Ozmutlu *, A.Haktan Sivrikaya , Alper Cenk Gurkan , Mehmet Dalkilic 1

Kafkas University, School of Physical Education and Sports Balıkesir University, School of Physical Education and Sports 3 Gaziantep University, School of Physical Education and Sports 4 Kilis University, School of Physical Education and Sports (TURKEY) *Corresponding author: [email protected] 2

DOI: 10.7813/2075-4124.2013/5-3/B.9 ABSTRACT th

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The purpose of the present study is to investigate the attitudes of secondary school students (6 , 7 and 8 graders) towards physical education and sports lessons in terms of several variables. The sample of the study is composed of randomly selected 412 students (192 females and 22 males) studying in secondary schools affiliated with the Provincial Directorate of National Education in Sarikamis, Kars. Physical Education Lesson Attitude Scale for Children (PEASC), developed by Sherrill and Toulmin (1977) and later adapted into Turkish by Ozer and Aktop (29), and personal information form were used as the data collection instruments in this study. To to test whether the data were normally distributed one-way Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was carried out. Based on the results of this test, the data were not normally distributed, so Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyze the data. The internal reliability coefficient of the scale was calculated to be Alpha=0.667. The results of the study indicated that there was a significant difference between the learner’s attitude scores in terms of age and gender variables, while no significant differences between the learners’ attitude scores were found in terms of educational background of parents and whether the participants did sports or not. Key words: Learners, Physical Education and Sports, Attitudes 1. INTRODUCTION The notion of attitude often refers to an individual’s perception of or response to a phenomenon or an object in his/her environment. An attitude can be defined as positive or negative responses to individuals, places, events or ideas (Simpson et al., 1994). In other words, it refers to possible behavioral responses that an individual is expected to exhibit towards a situation, event or phenomenon (Incelioglu, 2010). Attitudes are one of the most significant factors that shape human behavior. Individuals’ attitudes have significant impacts on their behaviors and emotions such as love and hatred (Morgan 1991). There are quite a few scientific definitions of attitudes. According to Allport (1935), an attitude is an emotional or intellectual state of readiness that is formed as a result of shared knowledge and experience and that has a leading and dynamic impact upon the individual’s behaviors towards related objects or situations (Guven and Uzman, 2006). An attitude with its cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions is a psychological structure that is considered as a critical predictor of an individual’s behaviors (Anderson 1988, cited in Kan and Akbas, 2005). It is a cognitive, affective and behavioral predisposition that an individual possesses based on his/her experience, motivation and knowledge towards an object in the environment, a social issue or event (Inceoglu, 2005:5). According to the definition accepted by social psychologist, an attitude belongs to an individual and makes his/her emotions, ideas and behaviors concerning an object more unified and consistent (Tavsancil, 2005). Though the definition of attitudes change from one field of study to another, it is often considered as a person’s negative or positive posture on an object, situation or event in question. Attitudes towards an event might be at different degrees from the most negative to the most positive. Negative attitudes might make themselves clear in the form of having negative beliefs about objects or notions, rejecting, insulting or hating them. Positive attitudes, on the other hand, might be seen in having a positive belief about objects or emotions, embracing and loving them (Demirhan and Altay, 2001). Attitudes are related to coping with the emotions that emerge during learning and taking them under control; they have critical role in directing human behavior. Positive or negative attitudes that develop based on a value or belief system have a direct impact on learning processes, and they shape the prospective lives of individuals (Seferoglu, 2004; Sunbul et al., 2004).

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Today it’s crucial that physical education lessons be shaped in line with the expectations of individuals and the society (Ocalan and Erdogdu, 2009). Learners can adopt a positive or negative attitude towards physical education lessons as it is the case with other lessons. In this respect, if learners’ attitudes towards physical education lessons are positive, this might help teach the lesson productively and reach the private and overall objectives of the lesson or this might help learners participate in various physical activities willingly (Silverman and Scrabis, 2004). As a critical part of educational programs, physical education lessons help individuals develop as a whole. Developing learners’ skills and supporting their physical development through sports activities contribute to their cognitive, affective and social development (Harrison and Blakemore, 1992, Siedentop, 1998; cited in Cicek, Kirazci and Kocak, 2002). Such activities tap various skills such as creativity and leadership; they develop personal characteristics like being combative, zealous, agreeable, productive, consistent; being respectful and considerate to each other, obeying the rules, cooperation, acting independently, self-discipline and being hard-working and diligent (Yenal, Camliyer and Saracaloglu, 1999). Teachers are an indispensable part of educational systems. No matter how well the objectives in education and instruction are determined and no matter how functionally the content of the lesson is structured and organized, it is not possible to reach the expected objectives unless the lesson is taught by a teacher who is familiar with such objectives and insights (Sunbul, 2001). In the light of such information, the purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of secondary school students towards physical education and sports lessons in terms of several variables. 2. METHOD This study was carried out using survey methodology. According to Cohen and Manion (2007), survey studies are ideal research methods that can be used for studies in which a large sample is needed as it is the case with studies on attitudes. Attitudes have a structure with three dimensions; that is, cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions (Reid, 2006). 2.1. Study Sample The sample of the present study was composed of randomly selected 412 students (192 females and 22 th th th males) studying in 9 secondary schools (6 , 7 and 8 graders) in Sarikamis, Kars in 2011-12 academic year. 2.2. Data Collection Tools The data collection process consisted of two components. The first one was the “Personal Information Form,” developed by the researcher. This form was prepared to identify various personal characteristics of learners such as age, gender, whether the participants do sports or not and parents’ educational background. The second component, the 7-point Physical Education Lessons Attitude Scale for Children (PEASC) with 50 items, developed by Sherrill and Toulmin (1977) and later adapted into Turkish by Ozer and Aktop (2003, was used to investigate the attitudes of elementary school students towards physical education and sports lessons. During the adaptation process of the scale into Turkish, since one of the items in the scale was not compatible with the Turkish culture, it was excluded from the scale, so the final form of the scale included 49 items. In addition, the scale was converted into a six-point Likert scale. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was found to be 0.86; the correlation coefficient between the first and second administration of the scale was calculated to be 0.83. 2.3. Data Analysis During the data analysis process, before examining the attitudes of elementary school students towards physical education and sports lessons in terms of several variables, one sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was carried out to examine whether the data were normally distributed (See Table 1). As it is presented in Table 1, it was found that the data were not normally distributed. Therefore, Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test were used to analyze the non-parametric data. The internal reliability coefficient of the scale was found to be 0,667. 3. FINDINGS Table 1. One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test Showing the Attitude Scores of Elementary School Students towards Physical Education and Sports Lessons

n Mean Std. Deviation Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z p

Scores for the attitude towards physical education and sports lessons 412 199.1553 23.3314 2.422 0.000

Table 1 shows that p0.05]. Table 7. Kruskal-Wallis Test Results Showing the Attitudes of Elementary School Students towards Physical Education and Sports Lesson According to the Variable of Father’s Educational Background Literate Primary school Secondary school High school Undergraduate

N 14 171 83 101 43

Mean Ranks 159.71 193.92 224.55 221.80 201.00


Sd 4

2

X 7.741

p 0.102

Significant difference No


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As it is seen in Table 7, there isn’t a significant difference between attitudes towards physical education and 2 sports lesson according to the variable of father’s educational background [X value=7.741 P=0.102>0.05]. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS There was a significant difference between the learners’ attitude scores with respect to the gender variable [U value=18572.500 P=0.0350.05]. Based on such a finding, it is observed that whether learners do sports or not outside the physical education and sports lessons does not lead to a difference in their attitude scores. Though this finding is similar to that of the study by Akandere (2010), it differs from the findings of the study by Gullu (2007), Hunuk (2006), Alpaslan (2008), Kangalgil et al., (2004). The reason for the differences between the findings of the present study and those of others is that though registered students are able to find the opportunity to do sports in their clubs, they consider physical education and sports lessons as an opportunity and attach importance to these lessons as much as those learners who do not do sports. In addition, the learners who do not do sports also have positive attitudes towards physical education and sports lessons as much as registered students do. It was found that there was not a significant difference between the students’ attitude scores in physical 2 education and sports lessons with respect to the educational background of the mother [X value=6.926 P=0.140>0.05]. Similarly, the father’s educational level did not have a statistically significant impact on students’ 2 attitude scores in physical education and sports lessons [X value=7.741 P=0.102>0.05]. According to this finding, it is seen that the educational level of the parents does not lead to a significant difference between their attitudes towards physical education and sports lessons. This finding is different from that of the study by Hologlu (2006), who notes that as the educational level of the parent increases, so do the attitude scores of learners in physical education and sports lessons. Among the reasons for why the results of the present study differ from those of others are families’ having similar educational levels, their similar awareness levels of physical education and sports lessons and common perspectives of parents on physical education and sports lessons. REFERENCES 1. Guven B. and Uzman E. (2006). Ortaogretim Cografya Dersi Tutum Olcegi Gelistirme Calismasi. Kastamonu Egitim Dergisi, 14, 2, 527-536. 2. Tavsancil E. (2005). Tutumlarin Olculmesi and SPSS Ile Veri Analizi. Nobel Yayincilik, Ankara.

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