Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Differences in University Students' Self-Determined Motivation, Perceived Competence, and Physical Activity Behavior at Institutions with Either a Required or an Elective Physical Activity Education Policy

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  • The overarching premise of this dissertation is to understand how different college and university physical activity education policies affect college and university students. Fundamentally, some American colleges and universities require their students to complete a physical activity education requirement whereas others do not. Given the different policy arrangements of college and university physical activity education programs in the American higher education system, it is important to understand how these different physical activity education policies (i.e., required to earn a baccalaureate degree vs. not required to earn a baccalaureate degree) influence students' motivation, competence, reasons for enrolling in physical activity education courses, and weekly exercise METs. The first manuscript reviewed the characteristics of physical activity education policies in the American higher education system. The tension between organizational policy and individual autonomy was most apparent. Specifically, having a required physical activity education course policy generally enhanced student accessibility to physical activity education courses and helped to form students' positive physical activity behaviors during the college and university years and post-graduation, whereas having an elective physical activity course policy was most respectful of student autonomy. The second manuscript empirically examined the differences of students' physical activity motivation, competence, and weekly exercise METs between an institution with a required physical activity education graduation requirement and one without such a requirement, but which offered an elective physical activity education program to its students. The findings revealed that having a required physical activity education policy allowed for more students with lower self-determined forms of motivation (i.e., amotivation) to access physical activity education courses in comparison to the elective physical activity education policy. This finding was also supported in a second empirical study (see below, "The third manuscript…"), which found that female students enrolling in physical activity education courses under an elective physical education policy were already engaging in physical activity. These findings suggest that having a physical activity education policy might create equal physical activity opportunities for all college and university students. The third manuscript explored students' reasons for enrolling in physical activity education courses and how students' different types of motivation, competence, and weekly exercise METs predicted their reasons for enrolling in physical activity education courses. The findings suggested that the students' main reasons for enrolling in physical activity education courses were to improve their fitness levels and to exercise regularly. There were differences in students' reasons for enrolling on the basis of their self-reported gender and the physical activity education policy arrangement of the institution they were enrolled at. Female’s reasons for enrolling (i.e., intrinsic motivation, weekly exercise METs, and amotivation) verses male's reasons for enrolling (i.e., intrinsic motivation) for were more varied. The female students also had different predictors in terms of their reasons for enrollment according which physical activity education policy they were following. These findings suggest that motivation is multifaceted and influenced by policy, context, and personal factors. On the basis of two empirical studies, it was concluded that having a required physical activity education policy creates equal opportunities for all college and university students to engage in physical activity education courses. More importantly, understandings students' reasons for enrolling in physical activity education courses can add greater depth to creating effective, inclusive, positive, and safe college and university physical activity education courses for all.
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