Motivation and likes of high school students towards physical education class

The experience and knowledge that students have about the teaching process, interaction in the class, and their motivation toward physical education influence their attitude and learning at school. This study investigated the likes, motivation, and attitudes of students toward physical education and the practice of sports outside class. A mixed method research was used to conduct the study, which included qualitative and quantitative techniques. We worked with a sample of 2550 students from ninth and tenth grades of public schools in the nine subregions of the Department of Antioquia (Colombia). The qualitative data were analyzed through open coding using ATLAS.ti, and the quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS. The results showed that 83.5% of the respondents really liked physical education. They like the class because of the practice and learning of sports, the possibility of improving their physical condition, the games, the break from other school subjects, the learning of values, and the attitude of the teachers. On the other hand, 88.4% of the respondents said that they play sports outside class.