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ERIC Number: ED534829
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 130
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: ISBN-978-1-2670-0827-5
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Secondary School Students' Attitudes toward Fitness Testing
Mercier, Kevin John
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University
The purpose of this investigation was to develop an instrument that has scores that are valid and reliable for measuring students' attitudes toward fitness testing. A second purpose of the study was to determine the attitudes of secondary students toward fitness testing. A review of literature, an elicitation study, and a pilot study were conducted. The pilot study included 427 student completed instruments from three schools. Pilot study data analyses were conducted resulting in a proposed model for the final study. Participants for the final study were 1199 students from 13 schools which consisted of 524 boys and 675 girls. The data fit a four factor model for measuring secondary school students' attitudes toward fitness testing with the following four factors: cognitive, affective-enjoyment, affective-feelings, and affective-teacher. The fit statistics from the CFA indicated an overall good fit of the data to this model. GFI, AGFI, RMSEA, Bentler's CFI, and Bentler & Bonett's NFI scores were 0.892, 0.862, 0.080, 0.920, and 0.910, respectively. The G-C alpha reliability coefficient for the entire model was 0.902. The four factors and their reliability scores were: cognitive ([alpha] = 0.919), affective-enjoyment ([alpha] = 0.887), affective-feelings ([alpha] = 0.865), and affective-teacher ([alpha] = 0.801). Secondary school students had an overall neutral to slightly positive attitude toward fitness testing (M = 3.11, s.d. = 0.71). Highest attitudes toward fitness testing were reported in the cognitive factor (M = 3.36, s.d. = 0.983) while the lowest attitudes occurred in the affective-enjoyment factor (M = 2.52, s.d. = 1.074). A MANOVA indicated significant differences for grade (Wilks' Lambda=0.950, F(12, 3143)=2.611, p less than 0.001) and gender (Wilks' Lambda=0.902, F(4, 1188)=2.611, p less than 0.01) with an interaction effect between grade and gender (Wilks' Lambda=0.974, F(12, 3143)=2.611, p=0.002). A stepwise DFA completed on the interaction means showed that the affect-feelings factor (Wilks' Lambda=0.927, F(7, 1191)=18.035, p less than 0.001) followed by the affect-enjoyment factor (Wilks' Lambda=0.904, F(7, 1191)=13.345, p less than 0.001) were the best predictors of these differences. Boys reported higher attitudes toward fitness testing (M = 3.28, s.d. = 0.74) than girls (M = 2.97, s.d. = 0.66). Boys overall attitude mean scores fell from 3.52 (s.d. = 0.70) in 9th grade to 3.15 (s.d. = 0.72) in 12th grade. Girls overall attitude scores dropped from 3.01 (s.d. = 0.58) in 9th grade to 2.86 (s.d. = 0.77) in 12th grade. A MANOVA indicated significant differences between FitnessGram and the President's Challenge fitness tests (Wilks' Lambda=0.985, F(4, 1194)=4.431, p=0.001). DFA indicated that the cognitive factor was the predictor of these differences (Wilks' Lambda=0.989, F(1, 1197)=13.597, p=0.001). Students' whose school administered the FitnessGram reported higher overall attitudes toward fitness testing (M = 3.14, s.d. 0.69) than students whose schools administered the President's Challenge fitness test (M = 3.04, s.d. = 0.74). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A