PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Are Schools Providing What the Public Wants?
A Survey Conducted by Opinion Research Corporation
International of
Princeton, NJ,
for the National Association for Sport and Physical
Education
Introduction
Current research findings and recommendations,
including the U.S. Surgeon
General’s Report on Physical Activity, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention Guidelines for School and Community
Programs, and Healthy People
2010 Goals,
indicate consensus on the importance of regular, quality physical
education and daily physical activity programs for
all students, kindergarten
through 12th grade. However,
most school districts across the nation are not
living up to these recommendations. The numbers are
troubling: only about 25
percent of students attend physical education class
daily1 , partake in any daily
physical activity 2 , and the
percentage of children who are overweight or obese
has more than doubled in the last 30 years 3.
The National Association for Sport and Physical
Education (NASPE), a nonprofit
membership organization of over 25,000 professionals
in the fitness and physical
activity fields, is the only national association
dedicated to strengthening basic
knowledge about sport and physical education among
professionals and the
general public. Putting that knowledge into action in
schools and communities
across the nation is critical to improved academic
performance, social reform and
the health of individuals. NASPE is an association of
the American Alliance for
Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
(AAHPERD).
Purpose of the Survey
NASPE wanted to go directly to adults and teens to
better understand their
beliefs about physical education, physical activity
and nutrition. We also wanted
to find out if schools are providing what adults and
students want in physical
education programs.
Major Findings
Attitudes toward Physical Education
Adults and teens have similar attitudes toward
physical education.
¨ 81% of adults believe that “daily physical
education should be mandatory in
schools.” Nearly three-quarters (71%) of teens agree.
¨ The majority of adults and teens strongly agree
that “physical education
helps children prepare to become active, healthy
adults” (Adults-64% Teens-
54%) and “helps children build social skills as well
as physical strength and
coordination” (Adults-64% Teens-53%). In fact, almost
half (46%) of the
adults strongly agree that participating in physical
education as a child helped
them to become active, healthy adults.
Frequency of Physical Education Classes
¨ 56% of adults with children in the household (aged
6-17) say that their child
does not have physical education class daily. 47% of
teens say they do not
have daily physical education class.
¨ About half (48%) of teens believe that they have
the right amount of physical
education classes. Two out of five teens (42%) say
they would take physical
education classes more if available, and only 9%
would take them less often
than they currently do.
Physical Education Class and Child’s Academic Needs
¨ The vast majority (91%) of American adults who have
children in the
household (aged 6-17) believe that physical education
class does not
interfere with children’s academic needs.
¨ Less than one-quarter of adults and teens feel that
“children should
concentrate on academic subjects at school, and leave
the physical activities
for after school” (Adults-15% Teens-21%). Parents and
teens are not
concerned that “physical education classes in schools
are dangerous”
(Adults-90% Teens-94%).
¨ Most adults and teens strongly believe that
“participation in team sports
helps children learn lessons about discipline and
teamwork that are important
and will help them in the future” (Adults-67%
Teens-69%).
What Students Like/Dislike about Physical Education
¨ When asked to name what they like about physical
education class, teens’
top mentions are: the opportunity to have exercise
(20%), getting fit (18%), it’s
fun (16%) and the activities offered (16%). Only 5%
said they don’t like
anything about it.
¨ Teens’ top mentions for things they dislike are:
running (13%), boring
activities (no variety) (9%), and dressing/undressing
for class (7%).
Learning in Physical Education Class
¨ When asked to name what teens think they should be
learning in physical
education class, half (52%) responded that they
should be learning how to
stay fit. Other top mentions included learning skills
and rules for different
physical activities (20%) and learning how their body
works (10%).
Adult Physical Activity
Getting Enough Physical Activity to Maintain A
Healthy Lifestyle
The majority of adults (60%) feel that they are
getting enough physical activity to
maintain a healthy lifestyle. (The U.S. Surgeon
General’s Report on Physical
Activity and Health, 1996, the most prominent piece
of public information
concerning physical activity up to that time,
reported that 60% are not getting
enough physical activity.)
Things Which Prevent Adults From Getting Enough
Physical Activity
¨ Those who do believe they’re not getting enough
physical activity say it’s
because of their job (33%), lack of interest or
motivation (27%), not having
enough time (19%) or health problems (13%).
Adults with children in a household also indicate
that childcare is a barrier to
getting more physical activity.
Weekly Exercise
¨ Nearly three quarters of American adults report
getting at least some
exercise for a period of at least 30 minutes per
week, with an average of 3.8
times a week.
· Men,
those who are younger, those with some college education or more
and those who participated in interscholastic sports
as a child are more
likely to report getting some weekly exercise.
Interscholastic Sports Participation as a Child
¨ 61% of the adults surveyed reported that they
participated in interscholastic
sports as a child.
Child’s Physical Activity
Importance of Child Being Physically Fit
¨ Not surprisingly, nearly all (99%) adults with
children in the household (aged
6-17) feel that it is important for the child to be
physically fit, with 80%
believing this to be extremely important.
Daily Physical Activity of Child
¨ Americans with children in the household report
that their child spends an
average of 1.2 hours daily doing physical activities,
not including physical
education class. Adults with children in the
household reported the top
activities outside of school for their children are
basketball (24%),
baseball/softball (19%), bicycling (11%), soccer
(10%), football (9%) and
swimming (9%).
Setting Limits on Time Children Spend on Activities
¨ The majority of adults report that they set limits
on the time their children
spend doing certain activities, such as playing video
games or playing on the
computer (59%) and television watching (57%). Less
than half (41%) attempt
to control time spent on other non-homework related
activities.
Teens and Physical Activity
Eating A Balanced Diet
¨ Most teens ages 12-17 (79%) say that they eat a
balanced diet that includes
grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy, proteins, fats or
oils and sweets.
· Younger
teens (aged 12-14) are slightly more likely than those ages 15-17
to report they eat a balanced diet (83% vs. 75%).
School Team Sports Participate In
¨ Two out of three teens (67%) report participation
in a team sport at school.
The top sports participated in are: basketball (23%),
baseball/softball (17%),
football (15%), track and field (13%), soccer (12%)
and volleyball (11%).
¨ When asked to name the physical activities offered
in school physical
education which they like the most, teens’ top
mentions are: basketball (34%),
football (17%), volleyball (14%), soccer (13%),
baseball/softball (13%) and
track and field (10%).
Adult vs. Teen Opinions on Physical Fitness and
Health
Youth Physical Fitness
¨ The majority (69%) of Americans with children in
the household believe their
children are fit, with one-quarter (28%) seeing them
as extremely fit. By
comparison, only half (54%) of teens ages 12-17
believe that they, are fit, with
only 12% viewing themselves as extremely fit.
Things Which Prevent Children From Getting Enough
Physical Activity
¨ Adults with children in the household believe that
their children are not fit
primarily because of lack of interest or motivation
(24%), not enough time
(13%) and watching television (13%). On the other
hand, teens who believe
they aren’t fit mention not having enough time (24%),
doing homework (19%),
and lack of interest or motivation (13%) as the main
deterrents to their getting
more physical activity. Overall, adults tend to feel
that the child doesn’t get
enough physical activity because he/she lacks
interest or motivation while
teens tend to feel they just don’t have enough time
for physical activity due to
homework or other things.
Importance of Proper Hydration
¨ Nearly all (99%) adults think that proper hydration
is extremely or somewhat
important to maintaining good health, with most (88%)
seeing this as
extremely important. Similarly, nearly all (98%)
teens ages 12-17 view proper
hydration as extremely or somewhat important to
maintaining good health, but
with much less (58%) thinking it is extremely
important.
Daily Eight-Ounce Glasses of Liquid
¨ American adults report consuming an average of 8.7
eight-ounce glasses of
liquid in a normal day. Teens (ages 12-17) report
slightly less--7.0 eightounce
glasses of liquid daily.
Favorite Drink to Quench Thirst
¨ The majority of adults (59%) say water is their
favorite thirst quencher.
Other beverages mentioned are: soft drinks (16%),
fruit juice (8%), iced tea
(5%) and sports drinks (3%). Teens primarily choose
water (38%) and soft
drinks (23%) as well as fruit juice (19%), sports
drinks (8%) and milk (8%).
· Among
adults, those 55 years and over who get some weekly exercise are
more likely than other adults to say water is their
favorite thirst quencher
(66% versus 57%).
Survey Methodology
This survey, conducted by Opinion Research
Corporation International of
Princeton, NJ, through the company’s CARAVAN weekly
national telephone
omnibus service, is based on interviews with a
nationally representative sample
of 1,017 adults (18 years of age and older, 50%
male/50% female) and 500
teens, ages 12-17. The margin of error for the adult
sample is + or – 3
percentage points; when broken into subgroups (those
with children in the
household) the margin of error is + or – 6 percentage
points. The margin of error
for the teen sample is + or – 4 percentage points.
All interviewing was done from
February 3-6, 2000, for adults and February 3-7,2000,
for teens.
Footnotes:
1 Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Youth
Risk Behavior Survey, 1995.