The Physical Education Predisposition Scale: preliminary development and validation | JoVE Visualize

Area of Science:

Educational Psychology
Sport Pedagogy
Measurement in Education

Background:

Assessing students' attitudes and self-perceptions in physical education (PE) is crucial for understanding participation.
Existing measurement tools may not fully capture the multifaceted nature of students' PE disposition.
Developing a psychometrically sound scale is needed to evaluate cost-benefit assessments and self-perceptions in PE.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and psychometrically test the Physical Education Predisposition Scale (PEPS).
To assess secondary school students' cost-benefit assessment (affective and cognitive attitudes) and self-perceptions (perceived competence and self-efficacy) regarding PE participation.
To explore the relationship between these variables and investigate age and gender differences.

Main Methods:

The Physical Education Predisposition Scale (PEPS) was administered to 315 Year 8 and 9 students (aged 12-14) in North West England.
Principal components analysis was employed to determine the scale's factor structure.
Reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and correlational analyses were conducted to examine scale properties and relationships between factors.

Main Results:

Principal components analysis yielded a two-factor solution: Perceived PE Worth (affective and cognitive attitudes) and Perceived PE Ability (perceived competence and self-efficacy).
Both factors demonstrated high internal consistency (alpha = 0.91 and 0.89, respectively).
Significant positive correlations were found between Perceived PE Worth and Perceived PE Ability (r = 0.67–0.71).
Boys and Year 8 students reported significantly higher scores on both Perceived PE Worth and Perceived PE Ability compared to girls and Year 9 students, respectively.

Conclusions:

The Physical Education Predisposition Scale (PEPS) is a psychometrically sound and concise tool for measuring secondary students' PE disposition.
The scale can be utilized by teachers and researchers to assess students' attitudes and self-perceptions in PE settings.
Understanding age and gender differences in PE disposition can inform targeted interventions to enhance student engagement in physical education.