The relationships between gender, physical self-perception, sport experience, motivation orientations and academic success

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the academic success differences of physical education and sport (PES) college students according to the gender, physical self perception, and sport experience and motivation orientations. For this purpose, 156 second grade students (female=72, male=84) from 3 different physical education and sport colleges, were applied Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP) and Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). Besides the students were asked to answer questions about their cumulative academic average (GPA) and sport experience level. The findings of the tests were evaluated in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 19.0 programme through descriptive statistics, independent samples t test, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. According to the findings of AMS, although significant differences were found between females and males in extrinsic motivation-external regulation and amotivation levels of the students, no significant difference was observed in GPAs. According to the findings of PSPP, male students recorded to have significantly higher averages in sport competence and physical strength sub-scales. When the correlation between gender, physical self-perception, sport experience and academic motivation orientations were tested, only positive correlation was found between intrinsic motivation sub-scales and academic success, and negative correlation was found between amotivation, sport experience level and academic success.