Effects of self-disclosure experience on life skill acquisition in university physical education courses

Abstract

For promotion of life skill acquisition in university physical education courses taken as distribution requirements for liberal arts programs, the experience of “self-disclosure” has been receiving some attention (Shimamoto and Ishii, 2007). However, there has been limited information on the design of physical education classes focusing on self-disclosure, and the results thus obtained. The present study examined whether university physical education courses focusing on self-disclosure experiences (Nara and Kiuchi, 2020) lead to life skill acquisition among first-year university students. The study subjects included students taking softball classes as a first-year compulsory physical education course (n=137: 87 men and 50 women) at a national university in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The course was revised to focus on self-disclosure, and the effects were measured by comparing 3 groups before and after the course: a revised group (n=77: 57 men and 20 women), an unchanged group (n=23: 12 men and 11 women), and a control group (n=37: 18 men and 19 women). The revised and unchanged groups comprised students taking revised and unchanged versions of the course taught by the same instructor, while the control group comprised students taking standard softball courses without a focus on selfdisclosure, taught by different instructors. In-class self-disclosure scores were significantly higher (F(2, 134) = 5.46, p <0.01) for the revised group (13.13±2.20) than for the unchanged group (11.83±2.29) or the control group (11.92±2.11). Analysis of variance showed no group–time interaction for the life skills score. However, when the revised group was divided into 3 subgroups ranked by self-disclosure score and the subgroups compared, only in the subgroup ranking highest in self-disclosure showed significant improvement in life skills (F(2, 74) = 3.92, p <0.05). Analysis of variance performed after dividing the revised group into 3 subgroups based on initial life skill levels before taking the course revealed no group–time interaction. It was therefore concluded that (1) the revised course program significantly increased experiences of self-disclosure for the students enrolled, (2) students who experienced self-disclosure in the physical education course significantly increased their life skills regardless of their life skill level before taking the course, and (3) the revised course showed educational results in terms of not only psychosocial effect but also motor skill, physical strength, and health.