Measuring student perceptions of the practical physical education class environment: developing an instrument

Abstract

This paper discusses the pilot study conducted to develop a survey instrument to be used in the collection of data in ongoing research into challenge, ability, choice and equity in Senior Physical Education (SPE) learning environments. The lack of instruments measuring student perceptions of practical physical education learning environments necessitated the development of such an instrument. This paper examines the development, appropriateness and usefulness of the Student Perceptions of the Practical Physical Education Class Environment (SPPPECE) survey instrument. Participants for this study were the year 12 SPE students from three North Queensland Catholic High schools; one coeducational and two single-sex schools. The SPPPECE results indicate that the adjusted instrument is appropriate for use with the same population. The development of the SPPPECE survey instrument is valuable in providing descriptive information about practical physical education learning environments.