Quality Physical Education Perceptions Among PE Professionals: an Exploratory Factor Analysis

Abstract

Physical Education (PE) as a school subject provides numerous health benefits. Thus, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization has made PE a mandatory subject in schools globally. However, PE has not yet been advocated adequately, leading to international concern among stakeholders. In particular, a decline in the advocation of PE programs has been reported in Iran. Therefore, this study identified the potential statements that could best describe the quality aspects of PE among professionals in Iran. Furthermore, the perceptions of gender and professionals working in various jobs were measured regarding the quality dimensions of PE. Except for two items, professionals identified all the items to be potential for signifying QPE. Items in each subfactor were separately measured via exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The perceptions of gender and professionals who worked at different job positions were gauged using t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Furthermore, a 2 (gender: male XXABSTRACT female) × 3 (job positions: primary school vs. high school vs. university) Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was employed, which identified a significant interaction effect (Wilks' l = .92) among the professionals; however, η2 (= .038) had provided a medium effect. Significant differences between male and female professionals were identified in all the subfactors. However, professionals at different job positions did not show any significant differences. The study thus provided a sound foundation for determining items for gauging the dimensions of QPE among professionals in Iran. Nevertheless, significant sex differences for all QPE subfactors warrant future research to understand the underlying issues.