Effect of a Special Conditioning Class upon Students' Attitudes toward Physical Education

Abstract

This study was designed to compare concepts of the course “Physical Education” as held by incidental samples of 119 major students, 46 area teachers, and 283 area high school students. Communication content analysis procedures indicated six basic purpose orientations: (a) physical fitness; (b) sports-games; (c) total development; (d) social adjustment; (e) recreation; and (f) enjoyment. Various chi-square comparisons identified the existence of only one significant difference. That real difference occurred between the college–teacher group and the high school group: the majority (58%) of the college-teacher group gave “total development” as the purpose of physical education, while the students (100%) identified physical fitness and sports-games as the main purpose. In fact, 80% of the high school group claimed that the only purposes of physical education were to develop physical fitness and to learn and play sports-games.