Date

5-2012

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Rick Bragg

Primary Subject Area

Education, General; Education, Physical; Education, Tests and Measurements; Education, Educational Psychology; Education, Secondary; Education, Health; Health Sciences, General

Keywords

FitnessGram, Gender, Physical Fitness, Single Gender

Disciplines

Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Psychology | Medicine and Health Sciences | Other Education

Abstract

The purpose of this pretest-posttest control group study was to test the Social Cognitive Theory by comparing the effects of class type, coeducational or single-gender, on physical fitness test performance and attitudes, controlling for previous fitness levels, among sixth-grade male and female physical education students at a Northwest Georgia Middle School. A total of 277 students participated in the newly state-mandated FitnessGram physical fitness test as part of their regular physical education class. The groups then participated in standard physical education lessons for four weeks. Then, in each of the two sixth-grade physical education periods, students were divided among the teachers according to gender, resulting in a female-only group, a male-only group, and a typical coeducational group. Students again participated in the FitnessGram with their newly formed groups. Afterwards, students were given the Physical Fitness Attitudinal Scale to determine their attitudes about physical education and fitness. The data collected were then analyzed by ANCOVA and MANOVA to determine the effect of gender-grouped classes on physical fitness test performance and student attitudes. The data revealed statistically significant differences between participant groups' performances on some but not all parts of the FitnessGram physical fitness assessment. The data did not show a statistically significant difference between student attitudes toward physical fitness with and without single-gender grouping on the Physical Fitness Attitudinal Scale.

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