Development of an Instrument to Assess Fourth and Fifth Grade Students' Attitudes Toward Physical Education

The purpose of the authors in this study was to develop an instrument to assess fourth and fifth grade students' attitudes toward physical education. The methods for validation included (a) an elicitation study and instrument question development, (b) a pilot study, and (c) a series of analyses to assess, construct, and content validity and to assess reliability. Once data for 1,344 students were collected, an iterative process was completed using principal component analysis, exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, and confirmatory factor analysis using structure equation modeling. Data analysis showed that the instrument fit two different models. The first model shows students' attitudes to be influenced by cognition and affect. The second model shows a 4-factor model comprised of cognition- teacher, cognition-curriculum, affect- teacher, and affect-curriculum. This study yielded an instrument with valid and reliable scores that can assess elementary school students' attitudes toward physical education.