Attitudes of Male University Students towards a Physical Education Curriculum that Includes Health Education

Objectives: To investigate the attitudes of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) students toward a physical education (PE) curriculum that includes health education. Method: A self-designed questionnaire titled “Attitudes of Male University students towards their Physical Education Curriculum Questionnaire” was administered to orientation and college level students. It consisted of six aspects with ten items per aspect. All the students were male and non-PE majors. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was determined from the answers of 60 students selected randomly (alpha value = 0.05). Descriptive statistics were used to determine the overall attitude of the participants. Any aspect rated with an average score per item greater than 3 meant a positive attitude in that aspect. Results: The questionnaire had a good internal consistency (Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient range of 0.631–0.713, Cronbach’s alpha range of 0.682–0.734, test-retest reliability range of 0.879–0.934). A total of 1,327 valid questionnaires were analysed. All the aspects of the PE curriculum were viewed positively by the participants. Both levels viewed the “social aspect” and the “psychological aspect” most favourably. Novelty/Improvement: The study shows evidence for the necessity of health education in a PE curriculum designed for university students in order to encourage participation in physical activity.