Attitudes of high school students in the Kingdom of Bahrain towards physical education program

ABSTRACT

The Kingdom of Bahrain considers education one of the most important sectors of human development. The government secondary schools' physical education program provides students with regular physical activities in order to develop positive attitudes towards physical activity as part of day-to-day living. There are few data related to physical education and activity in Bahrain. This study was conducted to provide information on the attitudes of high school students towards the physical education program. In order to increase the role of schools in improving adolescent health, and prevent chronic diseases as early as possible. This study was conducted in Bahrain governmental secondary schools, and 475 students [Bahraini And non-Bahraini] of both genders were selected randomly from a total of 26 government high schools having a total population of 22,321 students. They were selected from the three main tracks for the academic year 2004-2005.Their ages ranged between 14-21 years. The study revealed that 68.5% of the students [both gender] had positive attitudes toward physical education, with a significant difference in attitude between male and female students. The main factors contributing to the students' positive attitudes included; curriculum 76.0%, self-perception 70.9%, teacher 59.1%, class atmosphere 54.0%, and facilities 36.0%. Negative attitudes towards physical education were more among female students than males due to lack of physical education facilities and inadequate classroom's atmosphere. Physical education hours needed to be extended, and physical education facilities to be enhanced by increasing the financial resources