The Development and Validation of a Scale to Assess Perception of Physical Education Among University Students in China

• Main Authors: Qin, Ling, King Yan Ho, Walter, Xie, Yangyang, Wang, Jiudan, Cheng, Liangliang, Liu, Zhaoxia, Pan, Lei, Khoo, Selina
• Format: Article
• Published: SAGE Publications 2024
• Subjects: GV Recreation Leisure; LB Theory and practice of education
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/45887/; https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241228910
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

This study aimed to develop and test a University Students' Perceptions of Physical Education (PE) Scale. The study was conducted in three phases in a southwestern city in China from December 2021 to October 2022. In Phase 1, an item pool was constructed based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews. In Phase 2, expert evaluations and university student interviews were conducted to evaluate the content validity of the questionnaire. In Phase 3, a cross-sectional study was administered to university students. Composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) for internal consistency and test-retest reliability analyses were calculated for the stability reliability analysis. The validity evaluations included content, construct, and discriminant validity and an invariance test. The developed scale comprises 20 items covering six domains: habituated behavior in physical activity, self-efficacy in PE, attitude and experience in PE, skills and knowledge, classroom climate, and facilities, equipment and norms. Each domain's CR and AVE values exceeded 0.7 and 0.5, respectively. The statistical indices of the final model were chi-square (chi 2) = 458.227, degrees of freedom (df) = 155, Comparative Fit Index = 0.957, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.947, standardized root mean square residual = 0.061, and root mean square error of approximation = 0.066, supporting the reliability and viability of the scale. A scientific process was adopted in constructing the University Students' Perceptions of PE Scale. High validity and reliability scores indicate the suitability of using this scale for further research. Developing a questionnaire to assess perception of Physical Education among university students in ChinaThis study developed a questionnaire to understand how university students in China viewed PE. The process comprised three steps. First, we consructed questionnaire items based on existing literature and interviews with university students. Second, experts and university students evaluated the questionnaire items to to ensure they were clear and appropriate. Third, the questionnaire was given out to university students to conduct a cross-sectional study. The final version of the questionnaire consisted of 20 items in six domains (Habitual behavior in PA behavior factor], self-efficacy in PE personal factor], attitude and experience in PE personal factor], skills and knowledge environment factor], classroom climate environment factor], and facilities, equipment and norms environment factor]). We tested the reliability and validity of the questionnaire on 1,382 university students. We found that the questionnaire was reliable and valid.