Attitudes of Latino Students Toward High School Physical Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT The attitudes physical education students have about the subject influences their level of engagement in and out of class as well as their overall physical activity, which impacts their health and well-being. This study examined the attitudes of Latino high school students toward physical education, specifically to understand how their attitudes were associated with their English comprehension, gender, age, ethnic heritage, and place of birth. The Student Attitude toward Physical Education instrument was administered to participants to measure their attitudes. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), stepwise discriminant function analysis (DFA), and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Latino high school students (n = 1003) from public schools in a large city participated. Enjoyment curriculum and total enjoyment were the main predictors of attitude, and they varied significantly by ESL class enrollment, place of birth, and primary home language. The results indicate that these variables may interact with attitude.