CONSCIOUS PARTICIPATION OF PUPILS AGED 12-15 YEARS FROM THE URBAN AND RURAL REGION OF GREECE

IN THE ACTIVITIES OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT

Dr. SAVVAS ZAGELIDIS, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki,

Department of Sports Science, Hellas

Lecturer K. MARTINIDIS, Democritus University of Thrace,

Department of Sports Science, Hellas

Dr. GIORGIOS ZAGELIDIS, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki,

Department of Sports Science, Hellas

Key words: physical education and sport, pupils, Greece

Introduction

People always like to think they have good reasons on supporting or being engaged in several activities. What makes something valuable or worthwhile to have its place in education is an activity or practice that involves not only knowledge and understanding but also a willingness by the learner to enter into it so that it is engaged in for its own sake (Arnold, 1996).

Motivation that leads pupils to conscious participation possesses a separate importance in the whole system of education. The importance of motives for learning has been inquired a lot (Dweck & Legget, 1988).

A major factor of motivation is connected with the need for physical exercise as it results to health and physical benefits. In general, an individual is happy when he likes what he does and is improving in it (Papaioanou and Theodorakis, 1992). Competence and success in physical skills is a basic motivating factor for participation in those activities (Papaioanou and Goudas, 1994). In support, participation is enhanced by the methodical planning of instructive hour from physiologic and psychological aspect (Zaggelidis G. and S., 1992). The result is better when the process of learning, beyond the element of its orthological structure, leads to a visible objective, (Martens, 1987; Duda, 1992; 1993), provided the configuration of positive attitudes and intentions towards those objectives (Theodorakis, 1991). Furthermore, motivation, given the positive attitudes toward a sport, is decisive for the participation in it (Martinidis et al., 2003). The athletes' interest in training is directly connected with how useful they deem for themselves what they practice in, but also the positive attitudes by which they are possessed toward their coach (Papaioanou and Theodorakis, 1992). 

High interest for the Physical Education courses is apparent especially among high school pupils (Kioumourtzoglou et al., 1990). Besides the development of a shaped body, in pupils' perception, the interest for exercise generally is focused in action, brake out, entertainment, sociability, and friendships e.t.c. (Longhurst & Spink, 1987). The cultivation from pupils side of such kind interests and its realization through participation, certainly also passes through the improvement of general fitness so that satisfaction exists while practicing. The utilization of individual performance diary boosted competition between the pupils, especially among boys (Pritchard, 1988), in their continuous effort to exceed their records (Dragomir, 1986). The building up of general physical condition and the growth of a feeling of happiness in connection with amusement and participation-collaboration constitute the prime aims and objectives of Physical Education in America, England and Japan, as is shown in the study of (Martens& Xearta, 1987; Kioumourtzoglou et al., 1990).

The role of P.E. in the process of the general Education and in the framework of School Education has been found in the foresight of contests moreover due to the insufficient regularization of its structure. The modern orientations of P.E. are characterized for their viability as they are conditioned by well defined objectives and directions (Firea, 1986). Those are reflected in the application of Greek Ministry of Education analytic programs (1995), with the monitoring of school advisers.

The appearance of motives relative with P.E. comes on the assumption of the application of systematic exterior effects (P.E. professors, school environment, family, athletic models, analytic P.E. programs), that will subject the conscious relation of students with P.E. (Dragomir, 1986). In parallel, the configuration of positive attitudes opposite sports (consolidation of interests – throughout life exercise) via effect of Physical Education with stabilized objectives to that direction, impose, amongst others, the investigation of the following parameters: 

1) Knowledge in the part of the pupils of the importance of Physical Education in the framework of education, as it provides a strong motivating factor for participation in it. 

2) Knowledge of certain restrictive factors in relation with participation and the interest in attending the P.E. courses and/or the activation in the free time. 

In a relative inquire, Dragomir (1986) was directed to the following axes: 

• a. Knowledge of the degree of awareness of the importance of P.E. in the framework of general education. 
• b. Diagnosis of school interest and motives. 
• c. Existence of restrictive factors related to the interest in attending the P.E. courses – exercise programs for all.
• The present inquire is centered out to the previous axes with application on the Greek region. More concretely, it deals with family influence, participation in P. E. and sports, as well as pupils' conception about them, and the reasons that obstruct activation in sports. 

The inquire was conveyed with the method of questionnaire that was administered to secondary school pupils of all three classes from the urban area of Salonika (four schools) and the rural island of Kos (two schools). Subjects were aged 12 – 15 years. Initially, 1500 questionnaires (1000 & 500) were handed in at the end of the period. The subjects were not compelled to write their names. 

Finally, the sample was consisted of 1281 high school pupils from Urban (870) and Rural (411) areas of Greece.

Our one-page survey form of seven clearly stated questions was constructed to reflect three basic axes: 

• 1. Disposition towards P. E. and sport. Influence of family and P. E. participation - reasons. 
• 2. View of Physical Education and exercise during free time.
• 3. Sports involvement – will to be engaged in. Restraining factors.

The Statistical Package used for the treatment of 22 variables included frequencies and cross tab tables, as well as correlation, chi square, t-test and variance analysis.

Results

The family boost to pupils for participation in P. E. is considerable, like participation is too. The cross section of those two variables with respect to sex and area is expressed by the table 1.

Table 1

Family influence on children towards P. E. participation and participation in P. E.

Area	Sex	Family influence	P. E. Participation %			% cases
Cases	%   Boys (50,9%)		None	Little	Much	Total
Urban      870 pupils		None	0	0,46	1,03	1,49%
		Little	0,69	2,76	14,25	17,70%
		Much	1,38	4,71	25,40	31,49%
	Girls (49,1%)	None	0,11	0,92	1,03	2,06%
		Little	0,69	7,47	12,87	21,03%
		Much	1,03	8,51	16,44	25,98%
		Total	3,90%	24,83%	71,02%	99,75 (868)
Rural      411 pupils	Boys (47,2%)	None	0	0	0,24	0,24%
		Little	0	0,97	14,36	15,33%
		Much	0	1,22	29,20	30,42%
	Girls (52,8%)	None	0	0,49	1,95	2,44%
		Little	0,73	7,79	15,57	24,09%
		Much	0	2,19	22,87	25,06%
		Total	0,73%	12,66%	84,19%	97,58 (401)

P. E. participation is conceived by pupils as pleasure (enjoyment, brake out, sociability) and beneficial (nice body, exercise -motion, health) though in many cases the teacher either inspires or, especially when non-participation is declared, obstructs participation.

Subjects think the aim of P. E. is as shown in the diagram 1.

Diagram 1. Pupils' conception of the aims of P. E. regarding participation

Pupils deem useful the activation during free time (leisure) as it is demonstrated at the table 2.

Table 2

Pupils' view as to how useful they consider sport practice (leisure) to be

Using T-test analysis, there were found statistically significant differences between groups, with respect to sex and area, for the variables of participation in P. E. (t=6,401 & t=-6,072, p<.001) and in sports during free time (leisure) (t=-6,750 & t=-5,970, p<.001). About the same parameters of sex and area and with regard to family influence toward P. E. and Sport, the analysis showed significant difference only between the groups in sex (t=4,431, p<.001).

The previous results were affirmed by the use of two-way analysis of variance. Further, regarding the interaction between the factors of sex and area, it was found significant only upon leisure (F=28,495, p<.001). The same analysis (ANOVA) showed significant differences for the factor of family influence upon the dependent variable of participation in P. E. (F=4,404, p<.05). Post hoc Scheffe test indicated that the difference is centered out between the groups of much and little family influence (regarding participation). Chi square test showed different itinerary between family influence and participation particularly for rural girls (X²: 21,840, sig.: .000). Same, non significant difference was marked for the factor of family influence upon the dependent variable of leisure (F=.440, sig.: .644).

Generally, not within urban though, family influence is related to P. E. participation (R: .083, p< .01), whilst leisure is not correlated with them both. It is only correlated to P. E. participation controlling for sex (R: .080, p< .05), with sex within rural R: .277 (p< .01).

Participation and will to participate in sports is presented at the following table 3.

Table 3

Pupils' participation (P) and willingness (W) to participate in Sports - Natural activities

Sport (% of sex/area)
Area	Sex	Participate			Will to participate
		Yes	No	Total	Yes	No	Total
Urban	Boy	90.29	9.71	50.92	86.46	13.54	50.92
	Girl	77.75	22.25	49.08	91.80	8.20	49.08
	Total	84.14	15.86	100	89.08	10.92	100
Rural	Boy	96.91	3.09	47.20	90.75	9.25	47.20
	Girl	97.24	2.76	52.80	91.27	8.73	52.80
	Total	97.08	2.92	100	90.98	9.02	100

The activities that pupils do regularly or want to participate in appear in the following table 4.

 Table 4

Sports - Natural activities in which pupils participate (P) or will (W) to participate in:

Area	Urban Greece			Rural Greece
Sport	Boys P    W	Girls P    W	Total - % P:1199 (100)	Boys P    W	Girls P    W	Total - % P: 600 (100)
Basketball	307  160	56    94	363 (30,27)	103   64	62   60	165 (27,50)
Volleyball	52    58	66   134	118  (9,84)	10    13	67   51	77  (12,83)
Football	69    97	0	69   (5,75)	87    40	3     1	90  (15,00)
Swimming	23    39	45    57	68   (5,67)	12     8	24   18	36   (6,00)
Athletics	24    15	21    22	45   (3,75)	25     9	34   19	59   (9,83)
Gymnastics	0      1	20    20	20   (1,67)	1      2	3     9	4    (0,66)
Defense sports	16    10	14    10	30   (2,50)	6      2	3     1	9    (1,50)
Sea sports	24     7	11     2	35   (2,92)	0      1	0	0
Cycling	34     4	29     5	63   (5,25)	15     1	23    4	38   (6,33)
Tennis	16    15	23    33	39   (3,25)	7      2	9     4	16   (2,66)
Dance- ballet	2      2	31    27	33   (2,75)	1	10	11   (1,83)
Gym/Aerobics	58     9	18    18	76   (6,34)	0      9	9    28	9    (1,50)
Walking	80	108	188 (15,68)	19	64    6	83  (13,80)
Mountaineering	6	8	14   (1,17)	0	0     2	0
Handball	9      2	0	9    (0,75)	0	0	0
Ping pong	2	2	4    (0,33)	0      1	0	0
Skiing	2	2	4    (0,33)	0	0     1	0
Riding	2      3	2     23	4    (0,33)	0      2	1     1	1    (0,16)
Weight lifting	0     25	0	0	1	0     1	1    (0,16)
Box- Wrestling	4      2	0	4    (0,33)	0      1	1	1   (0.33)
Shooting	1	1	2    (0,16)	0	0	0
Golf	1	0	1    (0,08)	0	0	0
Skate rolls	0      7	0     12	0	0	0	0
Polo	0	0	0	0	0     1	0

The preference of the place pupils want to exercise appears to be more or less similar between two sexes, except in the case of neighborhood for subjects from urban area (X²: 18,010, sig.: ,000). Otherwise, the relevant picture is depicted below in the diagram 2.

Diagram 2. The place that pupils prefer to exercise during leisure

As inhibitor factors serve, in line: Lack of free time (62,6%), Organizing of free time (10,4%), Prefer other activities (10%), Other (7,2%), Not in the mentality (6,5%), Money (3,3%).

Discussion

Regarding the two first questions, findings in table 1, though expected, are impressive. Family influence and P. E. participation appear to be highly graded. Family influence is addressed more to the boys who participate properly ('much') more than girls do, in an analogy 3:2. Participation is massive, especially in the case of pupils from the rural area. Old prejudices, even from Coubertin era, yet seem to keep some place in our society. Hopefully, participation exceeds family influence, the latter not determining the former. It is worth noticing that only one case with family influence 'none' corresponded to 'none' participation, whereas the majority (~60%) of those who did not like P. E. at all (<2% of total) had positive ('much') family influence.

Back in 1981 Barrow contemplated P. E. as useful in the framework of Education only in the narrow perspective of health and fitness. The place of P. E. in school education has changed ever since, even in pupils' perception. According to the Council of Europe (1995), the role of school is to ensure a balance between physical and mental abilities. The systematic methodology in teaching (Zaggelidis G. and S., 1992), orientated to the need for exercise and the entailing enjoyment, besides the reward of a well shaped body, is the material in strengthening the previous premise. The findings in diagram 1 are in congruency with this contemporary view. The change in mentality is reflected as well at the positive family influence upon their children towards P. E. and sports.

Leisure is less in line with family influence towards P. E. and sports. Like with P. E., pupils are and want to be engaged in sports (even more) massively, and to a grater extent among rural (table 3). In support, activation of pupils during leisure time differs between sexes (the girls, though impressively bigger in will, being considerably less activated than boys in urban) and areas (more within pupils from rural places). As it appears in table 3, predisposition of pupils to leisure is better in rural, due to the boys being markedly inferior to girls in will to participate among urban. The picture is the same regarding the way pupils look at leisure as being useful (table 2).

Pupils, as it is extracted through their conception of P. E. aims and their causal basis for participation in it, feel the benefits that P. E. offers in the perspective of a well shaped body and health, as well as on an enjoyment level, in an agreement with how is the case in other countries with tradition in education (Dragomir, 1986; Longhurst and Spink, 1987; Kioumourtzoglou et al., 1990). The same view is granted to sports involvement in leisure. Furthermore, sport holds potential in contributing to a better quality of life (Council of Europe, 1995). As a consequence, and taking into account the help of mass media, the enhancement of participation in sports during free time is remarkable. Like Firea (1986) points, it is through P. E. that the habit of regular exercising is developed. Pupils believe leisure is useful (Alpas et al., 2001), since they benefit as above mentioned by participating in it (Papaioanou and Theodorakis, 1992; Martinidis, 2003). 

Basically, pupils do not conceive P. E. as compulsory before family and school. Results support the mainly stressed point in Dragomir's (1986) study, while, irrelevant of sex and area, family influence and their disposition towards them, pupils seem to conceive the aims and benefits of P. E., recognising in turn the usefulness of leisure.

As Laios and Kioumourtzoglou (1992) configured, mainly in secondary education in many countries including Greece, pupils with their instructors' instigation are introduced to different sports through P. E. lessons, school teams or athletic clubs.

Quite remarkable is the difference in choice or preference of sports marked between boys and girls, the latter's being more spread out. First in line come the popular sports like basketball and football (mostly among boys), volleyball, athletics and swimming, while other like gymnastics or dance are met quite high in choice with girls (table 4).

The choice of sport is also connected with the athletic installations availability, since the lack of them eliminates the possibilities of practicing in the related sports. Indeed, pupils in a percentage above 60% tend to do sports activities in organized gyms and fields (diagram 2). Thus, within rural higher in choice are found activities easily accessible, like football. 

Almost 80% of pupils that want to practice sports in an organized way (gym, stadium) are impeded by a series of causes, with first by far among them (generally at almost 63%) the lack of time. From their answer to question 7, the situation regarding available (free) time appears to be even harder within urban pupils.

Conclusions

Physical education is not perceived as compulsory by pupils, who participate in it willingly and to a great extent.

Family influence, though not directly determining participation in P. E., is strong, to boys especially.

As aims of P. E. serve to be conceived by pupils: posture, motion and pleasure.

Pupils relate to P. E. and sport stronger, so much in sense as in practice, within rural.

Girls show slightly lower degree of participation in P. E. and sports versus their higher will to in relation to boys.

Pupils deem as useful the activation in leisure and they are or even more want to be engaged in all different sports a great lot.

Pupils to their vast extent prefer exercise in organized places (gym, stadium) with first options: Basketball, Football (boys), Volleyball, Athletics, Swimming and gymnastics (girls).

Sports involvement is even greater than P. E. participation, in defiance of restrictive factors, mainly the availability of (lack of free) time, particularly apparent among urban pupils.

Abstract            

 This study reports research undertaken by the method of questionnaire to investigate the engagement of pupils, from two different land settings of the Greek region, in physical education and sports. A total of 1281 subjects, aged 12 – 15 years, included pupils of both sexes from the urban area of Salonika (four schools) and the rural island of Kos (two schools). Parameters of examination were the impact of family upon children attending P. E courses and practicing in sports, the latter opinion about the aim of P. E. and the usefulness of leisure activities, as well as their disposition and interest to participate in them versus the difficulties encountered. For the treatment of data descriptive statistics, t-tests, variance analyses were used. Results showed clearly the increased disposal of pupils opposite P. E., not being due to the highly observed positive influence of family. The pupils' appreciation of the beneficial effect and value of P. E. and exercise during free time appears to promote their interest to respectively participate in. Biased perceptions of physical exercise, mainly in the part of parents, still keeps a minor space in our social context with regard to girls' involvement, at most, though the latter being highly rated in participation and even higher in will to. Altogether, the situation is favouring P. E. and sport, especially in the rural area.

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