Gymnastic Activities in School (the GAIS Project)

Information concerning children's knowledge of and interest in sport and physical activities was sought in a study of the aims and methods of physical education instruction at elementary levels (age 7-12). Factors in the children's immediate environment, presumed to influence interest in physical activities, were also investigated. These include: the children's attitudes toward sport and gymnastics; the children's knowledge of and participation in sport; the children's physiological status; and the influence exerted by family, friends, and the local community on the children's attitudes towards physical activity. Information was acquired by several different methods. Motor capacity was explored by means of a test battery incorporating several different tests of strength, coordination, and circulation. Interests, attitudes, and experiences in physical education were determined by questionnaire and interview responses. The cognitive dimension of the children's conceptions of sport was tested with the aid of a specially constructed test that required the children to look at pictures of different sports and then identify the sport, its characteristics, and the rules of play. To supplement the information gathered from the children, parents completed questionnaires concerning the parents' leisure and sporting pursuits, sporting interests, attitudes towards their children's sporting activities, and appraisals of their children's physical status. The children's teachers completed a similar questionnaire. Final results are not reported in this document. (MM)