Abstract

This study examined adolescent male and female students’ attitudes toward physical education (PE) from the Philippines and South Korea. Participants were 451 middle school students from the Philippines and South Korea. The Physical Education Attitude Scale (PEAS) was used to measure students’ PE attitudes. Overall, students had moderately positive attitudes toward PE. PE attitudes of Korean boys were more positive compared with Filipino boys, while the reverse was found for Korean females and their Filipino counterparts. Based on the different aspects of PE, Filipino girls were more motivated to participate in PE activities and more satisfied with their PE class than Korean girls. Korean boys were highly satisfied, more comfortable, and less anxious during PE compared with Filipino boys. Finally, Filipino boys had less positive view towards their PE teacher than Korean boys. This study shows adolescent students’ attitudes toward PE were generally positive, complex, and affected by sex and nationality. It also provides additional knowledge on comparative international research on cross-cultural PE attitudes.