Effects of differently oriented physical education programs on physical education enjoyment in Italian high-school students

Introduction Enjoyment of physical education (PE) is important to develop a positive attitude towards physical activity and sports practice. A variety of physical, psychological, and educational factors have been reported to affect PE class enjoyment, including body mass index (BMI), self-efficacy, perceived competence, and curriculum content (Fairclough, 2003; Barr-Anderson et al., 2008). This study aimed to analyse, in Italian adolescents, the effect of two different physical education programmes on PE enjoyment while considering the moderating effect of BMI, physical performance and selected self-perception variables. Methods 37 Italian high-school students (M:18, F:19), aged 15 to 17 years, participated to two-month PE interventions. A group (M:8, F:10) attended a non-traditional team sports program oriented towards fun and motivation, while another group (M:10, F:9) attended a program focused on individual fitness activities. Before intervention, the BMI, self-efficacy, perceived competence, explosive strength, and aerobic fitness were assessed. A physical activity enjoyment scale (PACES) (Kendzierski and De Carlo, 1991) was administered pre- and post-intervention. Results The mean preintervention PACES score was not significantly different between the team sports (61.6, SD:8.1), and the fitness (63.4, SD:7.8) groups. A significant effect PE programs was observed, with a mean score increase of 2.4 (5.9) in the team sports program, and a mean decrease of 2.9 (4.4) in the fitness group. This outcome was similar in boys and girls, and no moderating effect was noticed for physical performance, self-efficacy, and perceived competence. BMI only showed an effect, though limited, with a 1-unit higher BMI associated to a 0.5 lower difference in the PACES score change, for each given group. Discussion The present results show that a highly motivating PE program may increase PE enjoyment in adolescents independently from their perceived competence, self-efficacy and performance level. This emphasizes the usefulness to include, in high-school PE curricula, activities focusing on fun and entertainment rather than on performance enhancement. References Barr-Anderson DJ, Neumark-Sztainer D, Schmitz KH, Ward DS, Conway TL, Pratt C, Baggett CD, Lytle L, Pate RR (2008). Res Q Exerc Sport, 79(1), 18-27. Fairclough S (2003). Eur J Phys Educ, 8(1), 5-18. Kendzierski D, De Carlo KJ (1991). J Sport Exerc Psychol,13(1), 50-64.