Worth A Thousand Words – How Drawings Provide Insight into Children-s Attitudes and Perceptions of Physical Education

The benefits of physical activity for children are promoted widely and well understood; however factors which impact on children’s beliefs and attitudes towards physical education need to be explored in more detail. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how primary school children value and perceive their involvement in physical education (PE) classes through the use of drawings. While this type of data collection has been used previously to determine a child’s response to specific health education classes, such as drug education, to the best of our knowledge it has not been used in the context of PE. Results from this study showed that kindergarten children found PE classes fun and engaging. Children in Year 4 and Year 6 were less satisfied with PE classes because of the activities offered, the lack of opportunity to play sport, and perception that teachers did not appear to value this area of the curriculum. Keywords—attitudes, physical education, primary school children, write and draw