Chinese Children's Self-Perceptions of Ability in Physical Education

Abstract

This study examined grade-related changes in Chinese children's selfperceptions of ability in physical education. Students (n = 131) in 4th, 8th, and 11th grades from three public schools in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China, were interviewed about their beliefs regarding their own abilities in physical education. Results revealed no grade-related decline in perceived ability. The criteria all students used for judging their own ability included effort, ability, and comparison. Students at all grade levels perceived task mastery as the major indicator of ability and tended to assess ability in social comparative terms. The older children were more likely than the younger ones to see natural ability or effort as evidence of ability. Results were explained and discussed in terms of sociocultural and contextual factors.