The importance of individual interest and school engagement to the advancement of physical culture promotion in schools of higher education

Abstract

Purpose. Promoting physical culture on campus is highly important as it provides an avenue for the students to develop and strengthen their bodies and circumvent fatal diseases and illnesses brought by the present living conditions. However, this can only be translated by taking into priority the individual interest of students toward Physical education and their school engagement. Published scholarly works have accentuated that situational interest that can trigger individual interest, which can result in students’ higher engagement reports. However, little is known about individual interest’s impact alone on students’ engagement. In this regard, this novel study is highly focused on assessing the relationship and direct influence of individual interest, along with its three factors, on school engagement.
 Materials and Methods. In order to gather all of the data that was required for this study, an online survey that was constructed with Google forms was utilized. This study has made use of two instruments. First, the newly developed and validated Individual Interest in Physical Education Questionnaire, which is a 14-item multidimensional questionnaire that measures students' individual interest based on three factors, namely: positive affect and willingness to reengage (PAWR), stored utility value (SUV), and stored attainment value and knowledge-seeking intentions (SAVKSI) was utilized. Lastly, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-9S), a 9-item questionnaire that measures the overall school engagement of students. The data was analyzed using the Spearman Rho's (rs) test and Multiple Regression to look for an association and causal effect of students' individual interest in school engagement. This study incorporates the directional significance of each individual interest's three dimensions (PAWR, SUV, and SAVKSI) in a multiple regression analysis of its impact on students' engagement in school.
 Conclusions. After obtaining data from 11,378 undergraduate students [(NMale = 6683(58.7%), NFemale = 4695(41.3%)] from various higher education institutions in the Philippines, it was discovered that individual interest along with its three factors has a significant association and direct impact on school engagement. Based on the aforementioned findings, proposals for physical education teachers and future research undertakings are a result of this investigation to effectively translate physical culture to campuses improving students’ overall wellbeing.