Programme (NRP) Oral Presentation NIE12: Junior College Students - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

2018 Nanyang Research Programme (NRP) Oral Presentation

NIE12: Junior College Students’ Perceptions of the National Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA) Gabriel Lee, Dunman High School

Introduction

• The National Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA) was implemented in

Singapore schools in 1982 with the aim of promoting and assessing the health-related and performance-related fitness of the Singaporean school-going population.

• Consists of 6 fitness test items to measure and assess the fitness related

performance of participants.

Current Issues With the NAPFA Test

• Growing trend of obesity amongst the

nation’s young –13 percent of schoolchildren

• verweight in 2017, an increase from the 11

percent in 2011. (The Straits Times).

• Is this then, perhaps, evidence that students

are unreceptive to the NAPFA test as an assessment to evaluate and improve their fitness levels?

Past Research Conducted on Students’ Perceptions

• May reinforce Lim’s (2011) argument that students possess negative

perceptions of NAPFA, hence are not willing to be receptive to it as an instrument to evaluate their fitness.

• May be even more so for females, whom Lim (2011) interviewed as part of

her study – she discovered that even female students who scored “Gold” for the test “shuddered at the very thought of NAPFA”.

However…

• Apart from Lim (2011)’s study, there has been no other major study

undertaken regarding students’ perceptions of NAPFA.

• Also no empirical or public data available to clarify differences in

perceptions towards NAPFA between both genders.

• Existing gap in data available therefore stymies the effectiveness of the

decision-making process to allow stakeholders to implement judicious changes to NAPFA.

Aim(s) of Project

• To clarify the types of behavioural regulations behind JC students’

participation in NAPFA.

• To clarify the differences, if any, in behavioural regulations between both

genders.

Literature Review and Hypothesis

• Literature review was conducted by the author in the area of exercise where

it has been established by various researchers that female college students possessed lower levels of self-determined behavioural regulation as compared to their male counterparts.

• Hypothesis: Female JC students are more motivated to partake in NAPFA

due to extrinsic factors, whereas male JC students are more motivated to partake in NAPFA due to more self-determined behavioural regulation types (e.g. integrated regulation).

Methodology - Participants

• Total of 3 Junior Colleges (JCs) in Singapore were involved in the study
• 120 student participants, of which 85 were female and 35 were male.
• Student participants were from age 17 to 19 (M = 17.88, SD = .52).

Methodology - Procedures

• Research ethical approval was obtained from NTU’s IRB and Data

Administration Centre, Planning Division, MOE.

• Consent forms were issued and collected back from student participants.
• Only students who had submitted their consent forms were allowed to

partake in the study.

Methodology - Measures

• The survey administered was adapted from the Exercise Questionnaire

Regulations (BREQ-3) by Markland.

• The Behavioural Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ), currently

the most widely used measure of the continuum of behavioural regulations in exercise psychology research, was developed to measure amotivation, external, introjected, identified, integrated and intrinsic regulations based

• n Deci and Ryan’s Self-DeterminationTheory (SDT).

The Six Types of Behavioural Regulation (Deci and Ryan)

• Amotivation – the lack of motivation to engage in an activity or behaviour.
• External Regulation – behaviour engagement due to an external authority with an unlikely

chance of continuing the activity without external pressures.

• Introjected Regulation – behaviour engagement due to an internally imposed pressure,

usually manifested as guilt or need for self-esteem.

• Identified Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised value placed on the

behaviour.

• Integrated Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised sense that the

behaviour is an integral part of one’s self.

• Intrinsic Regulation – behaviour engagement due to an overall enjoyment of the behaviour.

Methodology - Survey

• A Likert scale was used to determine participants’ types of behavioural

regulations using a 5 option symmetric agreement scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

• Internal reliability of the test was ensured through the Cronbach’s Alpha

Coefficient.

Discussion of Results

• A 6 (type of NAPFA behavioural regulations) x 2 (gender) mixed ANOVA was
• conducted. All findings were reported significant at p <= 0.05.
• In light of the time constraints of this oral presentation, only the few most

notable observations revolving around Integrated Regulation and Identified Regulation will be presented.

Overview of Results

Overview of Results

• 1. Significant Difference Between

Integrated Regulation of Males vs Females Overall Low Integrated Regulation Scores

• 2. Significant Difference Between

Identified Regulation and Other Forms of Regulation Across Males and Females Overall High Identified Regulation Scores

• 3. Females are more extrinsically

motivated whereas males are more self-determined in terms of motivation.

Discussion of Results (Part 1)

• It was discovered that the interaction effect between the types of

behavioural regulation and gender of the participant was found significant, F(5, 590) = 2.86, p = .02, partial η2=.02. This result indicated that behavioural regulation scores were different between females and males.

Discussion of Results (Part 1)

• Upon conducting a post-hoc test for the interaction effect, it was

discovered that male’s Integrated Regulation score was significantly higher than female’s (p = 0.02).

Integrated Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised sense that the behaviour is an integral part of one’s self.

Analysis of Results (Part 1)

• Male JC students possessed a higher level of Integrated Regulation than

female JC students.

• This could be because revailing social norms might have resulted in males

internalising NAPFA, or keeping fit, as an integral part of their masculine identity – in accordance to Parson’s role theory (Robertson, n.d).

• Role theory is a perspective in sociology and social psychology that

considers most motivations to be the acting out of socially defined categories, in this case, hegemonic gender roles.

Integrated Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised sense that the behaviour is an integral part of one’s self.

Analysis of Results (Part 1)

• Males may believe that NAPFA, as an assessment meant to evaluate their

physical fitness and falls squarely under the “male domain” (Riemer, 2003), is aligned with the expectations, norms and behaviours that they are supposed to fulfill as part of their masculine identities (Chalabaev, 2013).

• On the other hand, females may possess socially constructed ‘feminine’

identities that cause them to be “directed away from sports and exercise that require strength, power, aggression and masculinity” (Mansfield, 2018) – notably, in this case, for NAPFA, a battery of assessments to test fitness components such as muscular endurance and muscular strength (Giam, 1980).

Integrated Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised sense that the behaviour is an integral part of one’s self.

Analysis of Results (Part 1)

• Second reason for higher integrated regulation

score observed for males may also be the corollary of role theory – male JC students assume the second role of a male pre-enlistee about to serve National Service (NS).

• This second role could then have provided JC

males, for whom “compulsory national service follows formal schooling” (Fry & McNeill, 2011), the impetus to internalise that keeping fit defines their identity as male pre-enlistees who are about to serve NS.

Integrated Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised sense that the behaviour is an integral part of one’s self.

Analysis of Results (Part 1)

• On the other hand, as female JC students are

not required to serve NS, they do not possess the role of a pre-enlistee about to serve NS, thus there may be less motivation for them to integrate NAPFA as part of their identity as females.

Integrated Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised sense that the behaviour is an integral part of one’s self.

Overall Integrated Regulation Levels

• Although male JC students reported higher levels of integrated

regulation as compared to females, overall integrated regulation scores were noted to be the lowest out of the six types of behavioural regulations amongst the entire sample (i.e. for both genders).

Integrated Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised sense that the behaviour is an integral part of one’s self.

Analysis of Results (for Low Integrated Regulation)

• The low levels of integrated regulation reported notably contradict the

findings of other studies, which found that participants tended to have high levels of integrated regulation when it came to exercise (Duncan, Hall, Wilson, Jenny, 2010).

• This could be due to the differing contexts in which both studies were

conducted; the aforementioned studies aim to study participants’ behavioural regulations for casual exercise whereas this study’s context is that of NAPFA, a compulsory fitness test.

Integrated Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised sense that the behaviour is an integral part of one’s self.

Analysis of Results (for Low Integrated Regulation)

• Once again, drawing the attention back to Parson’s role theory, we cannot

neglect the fact that JC students all possess another role: teenagers who crave autonomy and free will (Fleming, 2005).

• Thus, JC students are unlikely to integrate NAPFA as part of themselves due

to the clashing mandatory nature of NAPFA with the importance of volition to their identities – resulting in low levels of Integrated Regulation overall.

Integrated Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised sense that the behaviour is an integral part of one’s self.

Discussion of Results (Part 2)

• On the other hand, Identified Regulation score was noted to be the

highest for both males and females, as well as for overall.

Identified Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised value placed on the behaviour.

Discussion of Results (Part 2)

Females Males

• For females, Identified Regulation score was significantly higher than

External, Introjected, Integrated and Intrinsic Regulations.

• For males, Identified Regulation score was significantly higher than the
• ther five types of behavioural regulations.

Identified Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised value placed on the behaviour.

Analysis of Results (Part 2)

• Overall high levels of identified regulation might be due to the changes in

the Physical Education Syllabus to be more values-driven in terms of curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2014), which might have led to JC students placing more value on NAPFA as it can help them to inculcate positive values such as resilience or tenacity.

Identified Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised value placed on the behaviour.

Analysis of Results (Part 2)

• For females, the significantly higher Identified Regulation score (compared

to the rest of the behavioural regulations) might be due to the values females associate NAPFA with, which the author opines to be those of conformity, one of the ten broad categories of values under Schwartz’s BasicTheory ofValues (Schwartz, 2009).

• Values under the umbrella of conformity include adherence and self-

discipline.

• Thus, females may see worth in NAPFA as they wish to inculcate these

positive values through NAPFA itself.

Identified Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised value placed on the behaviour.

Analysis of Results (Part 2)

• As for males, there is more tangible value that they may possibly place on

NAPFA, which they may proceed to internalise – it can help them to evaluate and improve their fitness levels in preparation for National Service (NS), even possibly allowing them to cut down on the time spent serving NS if they do well for the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) (CMPB, n.d).

Identified Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised value placed on the behaviour.

Analysis of Results (Part 2)

• As for the intangible values males may place on NAPFA, these are likely to

be different from those females associate NAPFA with.

• For instance, males may associate NAPFA with achievement values,

where males may see NAPFA as an opportunity for them to demonstrate their self-competency or prowess in physical activity.

• This has been demonstrated in other studies, where it has been established

that males are inherently poised to pursue achievement values to satisfy their psychological needs (Schwartz, 2009).

Identified Regulation – behavior engagement due to an internalised value placed on the behaviour.

Discussion of Results (Part 3)

• It can also be observed that while the perceived locus of causality was

located more towards the left of the Self-Determination Continuum for females, the perceived locus of causality was located more towards the right of the SDC for males.

Analysis of Results (Part 3)

• Observation validates hypothesis – females are more extrinsically

motivated to partake in NAPFA whereas males possess higher levels of self-determined regulation.

• Females’ higher levels of extrinsic regulation might be due to the fact that

there is more extrinsic pressure placed on them by external forces, for instance, the media.

• Research has previously discovered that girls were less self-determined to

exercise compared with boys, which the researchers noted may be a result

• f their negative body image due to external forces such as the media

(Lauderdale, 2015).

Analysis of Results (Part 3)

• On the other hand, while it could have just been

as likely that as much extrinsic pressure is placed on males to partake in NAPFA due to NS, successful educational measures might be the reason why males are more self-determined to partake in NAPFA.

• National Education (NE), for instance, might

have resulted in males internalizing these external pressures to a greater extent as compared to females – thus leading to higher levels of self-determined regulation.

Limitations of Study

• Due to the relatively small sample size recruited for the study (120

participants), the survey’s results might not be representative of the entire JC cohort in Singapore.

• An imbalance in the sample sizes of male and female respondents was
• bserved. This might have resulted in fewer than actual statistically

significant differences between the types of behavioural regulations driving male and female students’ participation in NAPFA.

Concluding Remarks and Future Directions

• JC students are typically motivated to partake in NAPFA not because of

extrinsic forms of regulation but due to more self-determined forms.

• Considering the differences in the types of behavioural regulations driving

male and female JC students, there is a case to be made for gender- specific fitness programmes that are designed to play to the particular gender’s dominant behavioural regulation.

• Future research is needed to ascertain whether the observations noted in

this study can also be applied to other educational levels, such as Primary or Secondary e.g. it is unlikely that the effects of NS on males’ behavioural regulations will be as profound at the Primary School level.

Thank You For Your Kind Attention! 

NIE12: Junior College Students’ Perceptions of the National Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA) Gabriel Lee, Dunman High School