<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Study aim: Research suggests that physical activity rates decline sharply after high school. The pattern of activity or inactivity during college tends to persist into adulthood. A critical need exists for examination of strategies to engage college-age students in physical activity habits. One way to do this is through physical activity courses offered in colleges. This study examines the relationship between perceptions of a caring psychological climate and group connectedness, enjoyment, and attitudes toward classmates and the instructor in group physical activity courses. Material and methods: Participants were 174 students (107 males and 67 females; Mage = 21.71) enrolled in exercise, martial arts, and sports courses at a large university in the Mountain West. Results: Perceptions of a caring climate were significantly related to enhanced feelings of group connectedness, heightened enjoyment, and more positive attitudes toward classmates and instructor. Discussion: These findings suggest that a strategy to foster engagement in physical activity courses on campus is to train instructors to value, support, and welcome students.</p></abstract>

Study aim: Research suggests that physical activity rates decline sharply after high school. The pattern of activity or inactivity during college tends to persist into adulthood. A critical need exists for examination of strategies to engage college-age students in physical activity habits. One way to do this is through physical activity courses offered in colleges. This study examines the relationship between perceptions of a caring psychological climate and group connectedness, enjoyment, and attitudes toward classmates and the instructor in group physical activity courses. Material and methods: Participants were 174 students (107 males and 67 females; Mage = 21.71) enrolled in exercise, martial arts, and sports courses at a large university in the Mountain West. Results: Perceptions of a caring climate were significantly related to enhanced feelings of group connectedness, heightened enjoyment, and more positive attitudes toward classmates and instructor. Discussion: These findings suggest that a strategy to foster engagement in physical activity courses on campus is to train instructors to value, support, and welcome students.

College students’ perceptions of a caring climate in group physical activity classes

Biomedical Human Kinetics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Study aim: Research suggests that physical activity rates decline sharply after high school. The pattern of activity or inactivity during college tends to...

College students’ perceptions of a caring climate in group physical activity classes

Published Online: Jul 19, 2017

Page range: 99 - 106

Received: Mar 11, 2017

Accepted: Jun 08, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/bhk-2017-0015

Keywords
College students - Physical activity - Group exercise - Caring - Motivation

© Aubrey Newland, Maria Newton, Andrea Stark, Leslie Podlog, Morgan Hall

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

College students’ perceptions of a caring climate in group physical activity classes

Published Online: Jul 19, 2017

Page range: 99 - 106

Received: Mar 11, 2017

Accepted: Jun 08, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/bhk-2017-0015

KeywordsCollege students - Physical activity - Group exercise - Caring - Motivation

© Aubrey Newland, Maria Newton, Andrea Stark, Leslie Podlog, Morgan Hall

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
College students - Physical activity - Group exercise - Caring - Motivation