Abstract
Understanding why kids continue to engage or not to engage in physical activity is important to all practitioners. Student engagement becomes central to how teachers plan and deliver various types of learning experiences in school gyms and athletic fields. Understanding the complexity of this issue has been addressed through various forms of research as well as trial and error attempts by those who work with kids on a daily basis. This article attempts to help clarify our understanding of the factors that impact the motivational levels of children and youth when they are exposed to various physical activity learning experiences. We first describe the historical roots of research that have looked at life in the gym. Next, we provide three aspects of examining factors that influence physical activity engagement in school programs. One aspect is how skill level and perceived competence influence engagement in students. Following is a discussion of the personal and psychological factors that impact engagement. Specifically, we examine the values that students have toward physical activity programs and their engagement motive. We also describe the how kids' sense of hope for doing well in physical activity mediate their levels of engagement in various achievement situations. We conclude with some important considerations for doing research on children's and youth's thoughts and perceptions during physical activity engagement.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 88-101 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | RICYDE. Revista internacional de ciencias del deporte |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 55 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2019 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Hope
- Motivation
- Physical education
- Skill level
- Values
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation