Development of the Physical Competence Scale for Elementary School Students in Japan

This study aims to developed a physical competence scale for elementary school students, and thereby clarify what kind of physical competences Japanese elementary school students learn in physical education as well as what characterizes physical competence for students according to grade and sex. We administered a questionnaire survey to 871 fifth- and sixth-grade el ementary school students in Japan. We found that the physical competence of elementary school students could be assessed in terms of five factors comprising a total of 19 items: a feeling of control, a feeling of approval, a feeling of omnipotence, a feeling of superiority, and a feeling of progress. Furthermore, we found that Fifth graders had significantly higher scores for a feeling of control than sixth graders did, and boys generally scored better in physical competence than girls did, except feeling of superiority. The physical competence scale developed in this study can be used to better understand elementary school students’ perceptions of their own competences and experiences in physical education classes. The results of this study also indicate that improving physical competence is not always positive. For instance, the ‘‘feeling of superiority’’ should not be encouraged. In other words, high levels of the ‘‘feeling of superiority’’ could cause serious discord in classmate interaction, including the exclusion or isolation from teams of children who are unskilled at exercise. This must be examined more closely in future teaching research.