The Role of Gender, Enjoyment, Perceived Competence, and Fundamental Movement Skills as Correlates of the Physical Activity Engagement of Finnish Physical Education Students

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between enjoyment, perceived competence, fundamental movement skills, and physical activity engagement of Grade 7 students participating in Finnish physical education. A secondary aim of the study was to examine gender differences in all assessed variables. The participants of the study were 404 Grade 7 students aged 13 years. The sample comprised 210 girls and 194 boys, who were involved in 23 classes taught by 10 physical education teachers at three secondary schools. Physical activity engagement, enjoyment, and perceived physical activity competence were assessed by self-report questionnaires. Locomotor skill were evaluated by the shuttle running test, balance skill by the flamingo standing test, and manipulative skills by the figure-8 dribbling test. Results of a stepwise regression analysis revealed that only perceived physical activity competence was a statistically significant predictor of physical activity engagement. The t-tests revealed that the girls scored better in the balance test, whereas the boys scored better in the shuttle running test. Additionally, the boys perceived higher levels of physical activity competence than the girls.