Abstract

The aim of this study was to look at students' attitudes about physical activity (ATPA) in government colleges in District Bannu. The relevant data was collected using a modified version of the Kenyon Attitude towards Physical Activity (Kenyon ATPA) validated by Khan al, (2012). The results of this study revealed that there were significant differences in college students' overall attitudes and five perceived meanings toward physical exercise (p < 05). However, age, discipline, and year of enrollment all had a substantial impact on their overall attitude toward physical activity (p < 05). Male students were more likely to participate in physical exercise for the purpose of social connection than female students were for sake of health and fitness. So, gender has a big impact on the types of physical activity program.  The results of this study also indicated that studying sport science could influence attitudes towards physical activity.

Key Words

Attitude, Physical Activity, Modified

Introduction

Weight gain is a risk for young adults (18–25 years) transitioning from youth to adulthood who have begun living alone (Anderson et al., 2003). Reduced physical activity, food changes (skipping breakfast, eating outside the home), and All of these factors lead to lifestyle changes that increase the chance of weight gain (Huffman & West, 2007). Individual health-behavioral patterns established at this period are likely to persist later in life for their betterment (Poobalan et al., 2014), potentially influencing oneself.

Obesity (BMI >30) increased the most among 18–29-year-olds between 1991 and 2001, growing from 7.1 percent to 14 percent (Huang et al., 2003; Mokdad et al., 2003). Regardless of the long-term health repercussions of these lifestyle modifications, this age group is frequently overlooked in comparison to children or middle-aged people (Calder & Cope, 2004), probably due to their remoteness. Their physical activity (PA) patterns are little characterized (Nixon et al., 2012), and understanding the factors that influence PA behaviour is critical to devising any intervention aimed at reducing obesity in this population.

Previous research using behavioral theories to address PA in young people (Bozionelos & Bannett, 1999; Wallace et al., 2000) were conducted on a bigger age group, were particularly concentrated on university students, or were solely based on qualitative research techniques. This is among the earliest studies to investigate people's perceptions of Physical Activity (PA) in this vulnerable age group, and it employs a quantitative method.

The assessment of students' attitude of all ages pertaining to exercise, physical activity and sports is not a new phenomenon in the field of sports sciences and physical education. Interest in this important area has been developed from the notion that a positive attitude towards exercise, physical activity and sport helps in inclining towards active participation in these activities (Tannehill et al., 2015). Physical education instructors, health care providers, doctors, and other essential members of the community have always tried to aware people regarding the positive outcomes of participating in regular physical activities (Kohl et al., 2019).  

It is believed that through participation in physical activities and sports, individuals gain in social skills (Kunzi, 2015),develop a desirable attitude toward physical activities (Swanepoel et al., 2015) and develop worthy values (Lemoniaet al., 2017). Literature endorsed that knowledge is not only sufficient to behavioural change but, an important determinant in this regard is one's attitude toward behavior. 

For instance, researchers demonstrate that attitude predict behavior quite well. Furthermore, people with a positive attitude are more inclined towards participation in physical activity compared with those who possess a less positive attitude towards exercise and physical activity (Thompson-Coon et al., 2011). One can learn or acquire attitude through experience. Additionally, teaching can have an influence upon ones' attitude. Keeping this into consideration, the teachers and advocates of sport and physical activity produce a profound influence upon the attitude of students towards physical activity. For this purpose, it is imperative that the teachers and advocates of sport and physical activity must be an example of the desired attitude to inculcate a positive attitude among students. 

The major goals of any educational institutions are a) to develop a positive attitude of students towards physical activities and b) to increase the participation rate in these physical activities. The attitude of students towards physical activity will be examined in the current study. Further, the purpose behind the conduct of this current study is four-fold. Therefore, the following research questions were the primary interest and concern of the researcher.

1. The first question related whether students would be inclined to a specific or the combination of different, dimensions of attitude towards physical activity?

2. The second question dealt with whether the male students will exhibit greater physical activity levels than their counterparts’ female students?

3. The third question was that whether students of health and physical education will report greater physical activity level as compared to non-physical education?

4. The fourth question was that whether there exists a statistically significant difference in the overall attitude towards physical activity among students with different Years of enrollment in College?




Objectives

Every research study has some objectives and the current study was focused to achieve the following four specific objectives. 

1. To determine the attitude of male and female colleges’ students towards physical activity.

2. To determine a specific or the combination of different, dimensions of attitude towards physical activity.

3. To compare the mean differences between male and female college students regarding their attitude towards physical activity.  

4. To compare the mean differences between health and physical education students and non-physical education students regarding their attitude towards physical activity. 

5. To determine the statistically significant difference in the overall attitude towards physical activity among students with different Years in College.










Hypotheses

Parallel to the research questions, the following hypotheses were established as framed in the purpose statement of the study. A brief rationale for each hypothesis has been given below.

The first hypothesis dealt with the first research question that determines students’ physical activity levels.

Ha 1 It is hypothesized that students will exhibit different ranking/levels of attitude pertaining physical activity.

The second hypothesis referred to the gender differences pertaining to attitude towards physical activity.

Ha 2 There is a statistically significant difference between male and female students' attitudes towards physical activity.

The third hypothesis dealt with third research questions that examine the differences on overall attitude between physical education students and other than physical education students. 

Ha 3 The students enrolled in the health and physical education program will demonstrate a better attitude towards physical activity as compared to the students enroll in other disciplines.  

The fourth hypothesis dealt with fourth research questions that examine the differences on overall attitude between physical education students and other than physical education students. 

Ha 4 There is a statistically significant difference in the overall attitude towards Physical Activity among students with different Years of enrollment in College.

Method and Materials

Research Design

The current study was attempted to evaluate the students' attitude towards physical activity, therefore; a descriptive research design with a cross-sectional survey research approach was chosen. 

 

Participants and Sampling Strategy

The population of the study consisted of all the students enrolled in both boys’ and girls’ colleges of District Bannu for the year 2021. Due to several limitations like teaching responsibilities, stipulated time for the completion of research work, and diverse population, it was often difficult to contact each and every student of the colleges in the whole district. Therefore, the researcher selected sufficient representatives from the population which represent the characteristics of the whole population.

 

Method of Defining Sample Size

The number of subjects, objects or respondents in a study is called as sample size. It is denoted by ‘n”.  In this study, the researcher followed the table proposed by (Kerjcie & Morgan, 1970) that can be sued to determine the sample size.




 

Table 1. Determining Sample Size

Population Size	Percent Required	Sample Size
10	100	10
20	95	19
50	88	44
100	80	80
250	61	152
500	43	217
1000	28	278
2500	13	333
5000	7	350
10000	4	370

 

 

 

Table 2. List of Colleges along with Total Students and Sample Size

S. No	Population Size	Total Students	Percent Required	Sample Size
1	Government Post Graduate College	4300	7	301
2	Government Degree College No. 2	1100	13	143
3	Government Degree Colle Mamash Khel	500	43	215
4	Government Degree College Ghoriwala	650	28	182
5	Government Degree College Kakki	600	28	168
6	Governement Degree College S.K. Bala	975	28	273
7	Government Degree College KotkaHabibullah	220	61	134
8	Government Degree CollegeLandi Jalandhar	127	61	77
Total	08	8,472		1493
1	Government Degree College Mandan	1500	13	195
2	Government Postgraduate College	1270	13	165
3	Government Girls Degree CollegeMamash Khel	970	28	271
4	Government Girls Degree College Ghoriwala	700	28	196
5	Government Girls Degree College Township	327	43	140
6	Government Girls Degree College Surani	230	61	141
7	F.G Girls Degree College	390	43	167
8	Government Girls Degree College Kakki	141	61	86
9	Government Girls Degree College Domel	201	60	120
Total	09	5729		1451

 




As shown in table 3.2, the number of boys' colleges are 08, where the students are 8472. And the number of girls' college is 09 with students' enrollment in the colleges being 5729. Following the table proposed by Kerjcie and Morgan (1970), the researcher obtained a sample of n= (boys colleges=1493; girls colleges=1451).

 

Instrumentation

The questionnaire proposed for the current study is categorized into two sections. The first part of the questionnaire used to gather demographic information of the participants. These included gender, age, field of study (physical education non-physical education), and year of enrollment in the college. The second section employed the modified version of Kenyon Attitude Toward Physical Activity (Kenyon ATPA) by Khan, Abbass, Khan,& Din (2012) to evaluate the college students perceived attitude towards physical activity.

The reliability of the modified version was reported 0.90. The reliability of the original ATPA inventory was found 0.72 to 0.89 (Kenyon, 1986).

The students' responses were evaluated with a Likert scale on five-point. The following scoring was fixed to indicate the respondents' relative strength of agreement or disagreement on each item of the six sub-domains. Strongly disagree=1, disagree=2, undecided/neutral=3, agree=4 and strongly agree=5. The negative items were scored in reverse from five to one.

As the instrument has five-points, therefore who receive a mean score lower that 2.70 considered as a Negative Attitude, whereas a means score of higher than 2.70 and lower than 3.30 indicated a Neutral Attitude and a mean score higher than 3.30 considered as Positive Attitude toward the item as well as overall attitude towards physical activity (Chang, 2000).

Results and Discussion

Response Rate

A total of 2944 questionnaires were administered among the students, out of which 2529 were returned. 375 spoiled questionnaires were dropped whereas, 2154 (73.16%) valid and filled questionnaires were used for data analysis.




 

Table 3.  Response Rate of the Questionnaires

Response Rate of The Questionnaire
	Description	Frequency
Response Rate	Distributed	2944
	Returned	2529
	Spoiled	375
	Valid	2154
	Return Ratio	73.16%

Figure 1

Response Rate of the Questionnaire



Demographics

The age of the participants was divided into five categories. Their frequency and percentage are given in the table below. According to the analyzed data, 90 (4.2%) of the participants were having age of 17 years, 436 (20.02%) were age of 18 years and 453 (21.0%) were those having age of 19 years. Likewise, 667 (31.0%) fell in the category of 20 years and 508 (23.6%) reported 21 years of age.




 

Table 4.  Age-wise Distribution of the Participants.

Age of the Respondents
		Frequency	Percent
Age of the Respondents	17	90	4.2
	18	436	20.2
	19	453	21.0
	20	667	31.0
	21	508	23.6
	Total	2154	100.0

Figure 2

Age-wise Distribution of the Participants



The distribution of gender in the sample population was 1352 (62.8%) males and 802 (37.2%) females and the details have been presented in the below table.




 

Table 5.  Distribution of Gender in Sample Population.

Gender of the Participants
		Frequency	Percent
Gender of the Participants	Male	1352	62.8
	Female	802	37.2
	Total	2154	100.0

Figure 3

Distribution of Gender in Sample Population.



Academic discipline was classified into two categories presented in table 4.2.3 i.e., Physical Education and Non-physical Education. Out of 2154 participants, 863 (40.06%) were surveyed from the discipline of physical education and 1291 (59.49%) were taken from non-physical education.




 

Table 5.  Discipline-wise Distribution of the Participants in a Sample Population

Discipline in which Student Admitted
		Frequency	Percent
Discipline in which Student Admitted	Physical Education	863	40.06
	Non- physical Education	1291	59.94
	Total	2154	100.0

Figure 4

Discipline-wise Distribution of the Participants in a Sample Population.



Academic qualification was classified into four categories given in table 4.2.4. Out of 2154, 923 (42.9%) were admitted in 1^st Year, 506 (23.5%) were enrolled in 2^nd year. Moreover, 350 (16.2%) were found having 3^rd year and 375 (17.4%) were recorded up 4^th year of enrollment.




 

Table 6.  Distribution of Year-wise Enrollment of the Participants

Year of Enrollment
		Frequency	Percent
Enrollment Year	1st Year	812	37.7
	2nd Year	695	32.3
	3rd Year	353	16.4
	4th Year	294	13.6
	Total	2154	100.0

Figure 5

Distribution of Year-wise Enrollment of the Participants



Reliability of the Scale

The inter-item consistency and reliability of the measuring scale was checked by using Cronbach's Alpha. For this purpose, the computer software of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 was used. The results of Cronbach's Alpha based on standardized item reported as a score of .838 that is considered very positive for testing reliability.




 

Table 7.  Reliability Statistics

Cronbach’s Alpha	Cronbach’s Alpha based on Standardized Items	Number of Items
.838	.838	32

 




Descriptive Statistics

The researcher has tried to highlight each subscale along with every item assigned to subscales.

It is important to mention that the results were classified into three sets based on the obtained mean score. The participants received a mean score lower than 2.70 on the item and overall agreement of the subscale were considered Negative Attitude, participants with mean score of higher than 2.70 and lesser than 3.30 were placed in Neutral Attitude, and those with mean score higher than 3.30 were considered positive attitude towards that item and overall subscale too (Chang, 2000).  




 

Table 8.  Physical Activity as a Social Experience

S No.	Statements	Male Mean	Female Mean
1	Physical Activities are the source of interaction with people.	3.38	3.05
2	National and annual sports day of the college and other celebrations promote socialization.	3.40	3.17
3	Physical Educationalist should avoid close intimacy with the people because it lowers his honor.	3.28	3.11
4	Parents must allow their children for physical activity because it enhances their relationship with other segments of society.	3.36	3.07
5	Physical activities are not promoting a positive attitude towards people.	3.14	3.02
6	Participation in Physical activities gives public identity to participants.	3.14	2.95
7	Physical activities have a positive impact on moral behavior.	3.45	3.40
8	Educational abilities of the students are affected while participating in physical activities.	3.18	3.19
	Total Physical Activity as a Social Experience	3.29	3.12

 




The attitude of participants on physical activity as a social experience was analyzed through eight different questions and their mean scores are presented in table 4.4.1.  The overall mean score of 3.29 and 3.12 respectively for males and females’ asserts that the participants possess neutral attitude towards physical activity as a social experience.




 

Table 9.  Physical Activities for Health and Fitness

S. No	Statements	Male Mean	Female Mean
1	To promote better health conditions, the students may take part in the sporting activities	3.45	2.48
2	Physical activities  are one of the source for fitness	3.62	3.42
3	Posture deformities cannot be improved by taking part in physical activities	3.37	3.11
4	Participation in physical reduces the risk of heart diseases	3.27	2.92
5	To get rid of all the worries, tension, and illness one should take part in physical activities	3.45	2.87
6	Growth and development factors affected by movement can be enhanced through participation in physical activities	3.41	3.36
	Total Physical Activities for Health and Fitness	3.43	3.03

 




Attitude of the participants was evaluated on physical activity for health and fitness with the help of six closed-ended questions based on a 5-point Likert Scale. A mean value of 3.43 asserts a positive attitude on part of male participants towards physical activity for health and fitness. However, a mean score of 3.03 reveals a neutral attitude towards physical activity for health and fitness.




 

Table 10. Physical Activity as a Search for Excitement

S. No	Statements	Male Mean	Female Mean
1	Physical activities are the source of a thrill	3.55	3.27
2	Pleasure cannot be achieved through physical activities	3.66	3.65
3	Participation in physical activities  is dangerous and risky for children’s	3.50	3.30
4	Mental satisfaction can be achieved while participating in physical activities	3.44	3.41
5	A person who participated in physical activities  is well control of his body	3.58	3.37
6	Participation in sport develops self-control in trying situations	3.47	3.47
7	Taking part in sporting events give you a personal satisfaction	3.74	3.64
8	Participation in physical activities may cause physical handicap	3.61	3.61
9	Physical activities are life-threatening experiences	3.40	3.40
	Total Physical Activity as a Search for Excitement	3.55	3.46

 




Attitudinal responses of the participants were assessed regarding physical activity as a search for excitement. In this regard, nine (09) questions were asked and the mean score of each question and the overall mean score are presented in table (4.4.3). An over mean score of 3.55 and 3.46 respectively for male and female participants as shown in the last row of the table shows that participants possessed a positive attitude on physical activity as a search for excitement. 




 

Table 11. Physical Activity as an Aesthetic Experience

S. No	Statements	Male Mean	Female Mean
1	Good body shape cannot be developed through participation in physical activity	3.61	3.32
2	Participation in physical activities  enhance the sense of appreciation of others	3.34	3.51
3	Physical activities are not one of the sources of developing a good personality	3.29	3.12
4	Physical activities  are adding artistic movement to an individual	3.41	3.31
	Total Physical Activity as an Aesthetic Experience	3.41	3.32

 




Four (04) different questions were asked to measure the attitude of participants on physical activity as an aesthetic experience. Certain attribute like good body shape, sense of appreciation, good personality and development of artistic movement were included in this subscale of the physical activity scale. Mean scores of 3.41 and 3.32 respectively for males and females shows that the participants considered a positive attitude of physical activity as an aesthetic experience.




 

Table 12. Physical Activity as a Catharsis

S. No	Statements	Male Mean	Female Mean
1	Participation in physical activities control the emotions of an individual	3.60	3.37
2	Engagement in physical activities  is the worthy use of leisure	3.34	3.54
3	The students may be afforded freedom in their physical activities in order to remove any sign of burden	4.20	3.87
4	Harsh behavior can be modified while taking part in physical activities	3.04	3.07
	Total Physical Activity as a catharsis	3.54	3.46

 




The attitudinal standing of the participants was analyzed about physical activity as a Catharsis, comprising controlling emotions, constructive use of leisure time, removing burden, and modifying harsh behaviour. An overall mean score 3.54 and 3.46 respectively for males and females substantiates that participants perceived a positive attitude towards physical activity as a Catharsis.

 

Inferential Statistics

Applying data normality tests before using parametric tests is one of the important steps in the inferential analysis. One of the important

assumptions for parametric tests is the normally distribution of the data set. Different tests are used to check the data normality, however; Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) and Shapiro-Wilk (S-W) are commonly used in Social Sciences. According to Allen and Seaman (2007) if the p-values of KS and SW is higher than the significant value (p > .05) then it means that the data is normally distributed. The p-values for both tests were found higher that the significant level, hence; the use of parametric tests were feasible.




 

Table 13. Data Normality Tests

Tests of Normality
	Kolmogorov-Smirnova			Shapiro-Wilk
	Statistic	df	Sig.	Statistic	df	Sig.
Overall Attitude	.028	2150	.198	.985	2150	.153
a. Lilliefors Significance Correction

Figure 6

Ha 1 It is hypothesized that students will exhibit different ranking/levels of attitude pertaining to physical activity.



The measures of variability of the overall attitude scores and also the scores of sub-domains were assessed using a modified version of Kenyon Attitude Toward Physical Activity (Kenyon ATPA) by Khan, Abbass, Khan, & Din (2012).As earlier discussed that The participants who received a mean score lower than 2.70 on the item and overall agreement of the subscale were considered Negative Attitude, participants with a mean score of higher than 2.70 and lesser than 3.30 were placed in Neutral Attitude, and those with a mean score higher than 3.30 were considered positive attitude towards that item and overall subscale too.

The adjusted mean scores and the sd. Deviation of the overall attitude scale and the mean scores and sd. Deviation of the five sub-domains are shown in table 4.5.2.




 

Table 14. Rank Order

Descriptive Statistics
	Male (1352)			Female (802)
	Adjusted Mean	Standard Deviation	Rank	Adjusted Mean	Standard Deviation	Rank
Search for Excitement	3.2552	.55368	5	3.1293	.53388	4
Catharsis	3.3380	.63233	4	3.0352	.57828	5
Health and Fitness	3.5246	.81727	2	3.4648	.84593	1
Aesthetic Experience	3.40	.804	3	3.30	.810	3
Social Experiences	3.5337	.40604	1	3.4488	.46157	2
Overall Attitude	3.4102	.34675		3.2746	.31491




As shown in Table 4.5.2, male students indicated social experience (3.533) as the most favorable reason for participation in physical activity, followed by health and fitness (3.524), aesthetic experience (3.40), catharsis (3.338), and search for excitement (3.255). In the same table, female students reported health and fitness (3.464) as most favorable reason for participation in physical activity, followed by social experience (3.448), aesthetic experience (3.30), and catharsis (3.035).

Ha 2 There is a statistically significant difference between male and female students' attitudes towards physical activity.




 

Table 15. Results of t-Test for Independent Samples

Descriptive Statistics
	Male (1352)		Female (802)		t-value	P	D
	Adjusted Mean	Standard Deviation	Adjusted Mean	Standard Deviation
Search for Excitement	3.2552	.55368	3.1293	.53388	5.171	.333
Health and Fitness	3.3380	.63233	3.0352	.57828	11.085	.002
Catharsis	3.5246	.81727	3.4648	.84593	1.621	.116	2152
Aesthetic Experience	3.40	.804	3.30	.810	2.701	.248
Social Experiences	3.5337	.40604	3.4488	.46157	4.456	.001
Overall Attitude	3.4102	.34675	3.2746	.31491	9.060	.028

 




As indicated in Table 4.5.3, male colleges' students reported higher mean scores (3.4102) on overall attitude towards physical activity compared with their counterparts' female students (3.2746). Results of the t-test for independent samples demonstrated a statistically significant difference on overall attitude. Therefore, hypothesis Ha 2 is accepted.

Results of the t-Test indicated statistically significant differences between the gender for Search for Health and Fitness (p=.002), and Social Experience (p=.001). However, no statistically significant differences were found between the gender for Catharsis (p=.116), Aesthetic Experience (p=.248), and Search for excitement (p=.333).

Ha   The students enrolled in the health and physical education program will demonstrate a better attitude towards physical activity as compared to the students enrolled in other disciplines. 




 

Table 16

Discipline of Students
	Physical Education (863)		Non- Physical Education (1291)		t-value	P	D
Variable	Adjusted Mean	Standard Deviation	Adjusted Mean	Standard Deviation
Search for Excitement	3.2984	.55190	3.1482	.54005	6.268	.169
Health and Fitness	3.4293	.61163	3.0888	.60472	12.748	.675
Catharsis	3.5429	.81017	3.4752	.81017	1.859	.160
Aesthetic Experience	3.41	.802	3.33	.810	2.223	.226	2152
Social Experiences	3.5482	.39355	3.4713	.44934	4.087	.000
Overall Attitude	3.4452	.34406	3.3027	.32779	9.595	.390




The above Table 4.5.2 depict that male participants reported an overall Positive Attitude towards physical activity having a mean score of 3.4449. Analyzing the perceived meaning of participants regarding sub-domains of physical activity, they reported either positive or neutral attitude.

The most likely reason for participation in physical activity among male was Search for Excitement (3.5484), followed by Catharsis (3.5428), Health and Fitness (3.4297), Aesthetic Experience (3.41), and Social Experience (3.2954) respectively.

On the other hand, the most likely reason for participation in physical activity among female was Catharsis (3.4629), followed by Search for Excitement (3.4571), Aesthetic Experience (3.32), Social Experience (3.1237), and Health and Fitness (3.0264) respectively.

Ha 4 There is a statistically significant difference in the overall attitude towards Physical Activity among students with different Years of enrollment in College.




 

Table 17. Results of ANOVA Attitude score among students with different Years in College

	Sum of Squares	Df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Between Groups	10.001	3	3.334	29.722	.000
Within Groups	240.707	2146	.112
Total	250.709	2149

 




Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was applied to measure the Attitude score of students group based on their enrollment in the College and the results are presented in Table 4.5.3. The computed F (3, 2146) = 29.722* was significant at .05. Hence, it can be concluded that there was a statistically significant difference in the overall attitude towards physical activity among students with different years in college.




 

Table 18. Mean Attitude Score among Students with Different Years in College

	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error	95% Confidence Interval for Mean
					Lower Bound	Upper Bound
1st Year	920	3.3586	.35845	.01182	3.3354	3.3818
2nd Year	506	3.2783	.33001	.01467	3.2495	3.3071
3rd Year	349	3.3401	.35349	.01892	3.3029	3.3773
4th Year	375	3.4915	.25410	.01312	3.4657	3.5173
Total	2150	3.3599	.34156	.00737	3.3454	3.3743

 




As the "F" value was found significant, therefore the Tukey-HSD multiple comparison tests was used. According to the Table 4.5.4, the 4^th Year students reported the highest mean score (3.49) followed by 1^st Year (3.35), 3^rd Year (3.34), and 2^nd Year (3.27). 

Discussion

The current study examined the colleges’ students Attitude Towards Physical Activity (ATPA) and analyzed those possible differences between the participants' ATPA based on their gender, discipline and year of enrollment. In the results section, the current status of the colleges students' ATPA indicated that the overall mean score for males were found   3.41 which is positive, and for females were noted as 3.27 which is not so positive. This results show that ATPA among colleges'' students need a lot of room for improvement. The reason is that attitude shape an individuals' behaviour and determines one participation in daily physical activities. Therefore, researchers suggest that the above reason can also be applied to the participation of regular and daily PA (Linda Rikard& Banville, 2006).  It is not very difficult to predict those students who reported a mean score of 3.41 to 3.27 that would take part in daily physical activities. Previous studies have suggested a variety of useful strategies to enhance the ATPA of these students. One study effective curriculum implementation, enjoyment and sense of belongingness are the significant determinants of students positive ATPA (Mac Kinnon& Leighton, 2002). Another study found that a situational-interested curriculum, in which students may evaluate and build both offensive and defensive strategies, can pique students' interest in PA(Chen &Darst, 2011).According to the findings of a study, a learning environment that fosters personal significance is vital for the formation of positive attitudes (Zsóka, 2013). Students, on the other hand, are less likely to develop a favourable attitude toward PA in a pleasant learning environment (Hagger et al., 2002). The researcher suggested that teachers should deliver their lectures on the benefits of daily physical activities. Likewise, students must be educated and motivated towards healthy life styles behaviour to minimize the risks of obesity and other health risks (Dunlavy, 2008). 

While comparing the gender differences on ATPA, male students indicated social experience (3.533) as a most favourable reason for participation in physical activity, followed by health and fitness (3.524), aesthetic experience (3.40), catharsis (3.338), and search for excitement (3.255). In the same table, female students reported health and fitness (3.464) as the most favourable reason for participation in physical activity, followed by social experience (3.448), aesthetic experience (3.30), and catharsis (3.035). These findings are consistent the previous studies, where males reported higher means score as compared with females on ATPA (Colley et al, 1994; Greenwood et al., 2001). However, one study contradicts with findings of the current study in this way that male and female students did not report statistically significant differences on ATPA (Johnson &Tabasam, 2003).

Additionally, the t-Test analysis revealed that physical education students reported higher mean score on ATPA as compared with non-physical education students. By this point, we really see there are big differences between the two majors in nature. With regard to the comparison between the differences of the majors, the findings above were relatively new, which means we provided a set of quantitative data to the topic of the relationship between ATPE and participants’ majors, because there are no findings available from the previous study in this concern.

Furthermore, ANOVA results indicated that the 4th Year students reported the highest mean score (3.49) followed by 1st Year (3.35), 3rd Year (3.34), and 2nd Year (3.27). This finding indicates a possibility that the enrollment year does gradually generate a positive impact on attitude toward physical activity. Research done by Corbin and Chevrette (1974) showed positive attitude changes freshmen in response to class experiences in a physical education course.

Findings, Conclusions, Suggestions for Future Research and Recommendations

Findings

1. Results of the current study showed that male students indicated social experience as the most favorable reason for participation in physical activity, followed by health and fitness, aesthetic experience, catharsis, and search for excitement. Whereas, female students reported health and fitness as the most favorable reason for participation in physical activity, followed by social experience, aesthetic experience, and catharsis.

2. The findings of this study showed that as a whole, colleges’ students from the various colleges’ demonstrated favorable response toward physical activity.  However, males indicated that they are slightly more positive or favorable toward physical activity compared to their female counterparts.

3. 3. When participants were divided into two groups, physical education and non-physical education, the results were analyzed, the t-Test results showed that physical education students 

4. Indicated more positive or favorable attitude toward physical activity compared to their non-physical education counterparts.

5. 5. When the participants were divided into groups depending on their college enrollment status (number of years they have been enrolled in the college), the ANOVA results show a a significant difference in the attitude toward physical activity among the students. Further analysis using Tukey multiple comparisons revealed significant difference of The mean attitudes score between the students enrolled in different Years 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year. Students from the 4th Year students reported highest mean score (3.49) followed by 1st Year (3.35), 3rd Year (3.34), and 2nd Year (3.27). 




Conclusion 

The current study examined the colleges students’ attitude towards physical activities. After careful data analysis, the following conclusions were made;

It has been found that colleges students’ reported positive attitude towards physical activity, however; their overall mean scores were not so prominent. Therefore, efforts must be made to promote the culture of physical activity in campus and also outside of the campus. Findings of the study further indicated statistically significant differences on sub-scales of ATPA. According to the analyzed data, males were tending to participate in social experience, followed by search for excitement, catharsis, aesthetic, and health and fitness. Whereas, the most likely reason for participation in female students was social experience, followed by catharsis, aesthetic, search for truth and health and fitness. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that gender is perceived as one of the important factors in determining the types of physical activity program to organize for college students. The results of the current study also revealed that physical education students reported higher mean score on overall attitude towards PA, confirming the importance of physical education in shaping students’ attitude towards PA. Furthermore, it has been concluded that students enrolled in 4th year reported higher mean score compared with 3rd, 2nd and 1st year students. The results indicated that the senior students tend to demonstrate more favorable attitude toward physical activity suggesting that enrollment inn educational institutes may help to gradually generate positive impact on attitude toward physical activity.




Suggestions for Further Research

Additional research in the areas of attitude toward physical activity and the implementation of physical activity programs in higher education institutions is needed. Further research is suggested in the following areas:

1. Because this study's sample is limited to college students, a similar study including other colleges should be undertaken.

2. A follow-up study comparing sports science students to other groups of students in terms of their levels of physical activity, types of physical activity, and reasons for physical activity adherence is also proposed.

3. The findings revealed that physical activity as a source of excitement was not well received and ranked last among the five sub-domains, implying that more research is needed to discover the reasons. This is critical in developing more dynamic and determined college students, especially when it comes to achieving excellence.




Recommendations

My recommendations are as follows, based on the preceding findings:

1. Authorities must emphasize the need of everyday physical activity for college students. To achieve this goal, the required human and material resources must be provided, allowing college students to participate in daily physical activity in a more conducive atmosphere.

2. Reform PE curriculum and PA programs so that college students can enjoy and benefit from the updated curricula and PA activities while also feeling a sense of belonging.

3. Commit to improving the teaching-learning environment in colleges for PE and PA, which will have an impact on the promotion and development of college students' ATPE and PA.

4. Boost PE teachers' participation whenever they teach a PE class or organize a PA event (effect of role model).

5. Using a variety of teaching approaches to match the needs and characteristics of different learners (e.g. The Spectrum of teaching styles in physical and health education settings).

6. Provide a varied range of sports or physical activities for pupils to choose from (i.e., align with the requirements of diverse learners).

7. Take into account the gender peculiarities of students and give workout regimens that are appropriate for their gender and majors.

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