MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF COEDUCATIONAL AND SAME-SEX PHYSICAL-EDUCATION CLASSES

Middle school students (n = 466) participated in a year-long multi-act ivity physical education program in which classes were coeducational i n the fall semester and same-sex in the spring semester. Following par ticipation, students reflected back across the year and anonymously co mpleted a questionnaire that elicited opinions from students regarding their affinity toward physical education, perceived abilities, and pr eferences for coeducational and same-sex. The findings indicated that males perceived themselves to have significantly more skill, strength, and endurance than females. Females perceived themselves to be signif icantly more overweight than males. Males also liked physical educatio n significantly better, while females exhibited a systematic decrease in liking physical education from 6th to 8th grade. The findings are d iscussed in terms of implications for teaching and teacher education a nd the need for future research on coeducational and same-sex class st ructures in physical education.