Background/Purpose: To investigate the physical activity participation and goal orientations of Hong Kong students.
Method: The participants were 1,912 students (males = 773, females = 1,139), between 11 and 20 years old (M=14.3, SD=1.75). They were divided into three age groups (11-13 years old = 714, 14-15 years old = 710, 16-20 years old = 428). The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) (Duda & Nicholls, 1992) and the Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ) (Crocker et al., 1997) were the testing instruments.
Analysis/Results: ANOVA (2 gender x 3 age group) revealed that males had higher physical activity level than females (p <.05). Post hoc test revealed that the youngest group was the most physically active, while the oldest group was the least physically active. ANOVA (2 gender x 3 age group) revealed that the ego orientation score for males and females was similar, while the ego orientation score for the oldest age group was significantly higher than the youngest group (F = 4.03, p <.05). One way ANOVA revealed that students with high task high ego goal orientation had significantly higher physical activity level than the other groups (p <.05). The physical activity level for the low task low ego orientation group was the lowest.
Conclusions: Physical educators need to incorporate goals orientation to promote active lifestyle and physical activity.
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