Study of Sports Motivation of Students from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The purpose of this article is to analyze the motivation to practice sports and physical activities among university students. Objectives: To identify the perceived reasons, as well as the existing differences between the students from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, regarding the motivation to practice sports and physical activities, depending on the gender and the area of residence. Methods: To find out what motivates university students to take part in various physical sports activities, we conducted a study in the academic year 2019-2020, with 257 participants. The method of quantitative research and the technique of administering questionnaires by sociological survey was used. The research tool was the Sports Motivation Scale-6 (SMS-6; Mallett et al., 2007), which is an evaluation of contextual motivation meant to ascertain the perceived reasons for practicing sports activities. Results: Regarding the behavior of practicing sports among students at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, male students are more motivated compared to female students and intrinsic motivation is predominant compared to other types of motivation. The area of residence does not seem to influence differently the motivation of students to practice sports, the scores obtained on each type of motivation being very close between the respondents from rural and urban areas. Conclusions: Physical education and sports are perceived by some students as a school obligation (external motivation), by others as a recreational, compensatory or recovery activity, while for most of them it means fun, a way to meet new people and to enjoy their company (intrinsic motivation).