abstract - kenyatta university
TRANSCRIPT
iOLUME 1. ISSUE 1 Page 31
~is conducted to shed more light on the home
advantagephenomenon as a means of justifying the
ruleof away goals counting double.
References
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iruningS.L. and Kintz B.L. (1968) Computationalhandbook 01 statistics. Scott, Foresman andcompany. Glenview Illinois.
edwardsJ. (1979) The horne ReId advantage In: J. H.Golstein Ed Sports and Games and PlayHillsdale N.J. Lawrence for IbaumAssociates.
Iso·Ahola,S. E. and Hatifield B. (1986) Psychology01 Sports: a Social psychological approach.Dubuque Iowa: W.C Brown.
OyewusiJ. A., Ogundari J. T (1988) Analysis 01Home-ReId in National soccer league.Journal of Nigeria Association of SportsScienceand Medicine (JONASSM) Vol. 2,pp. 120- 135.
Schwartz B and Barsky S.F. (1977). The homeadvantage ~ocial Forces 55, 641-661.
ABSTRACT
This paper was to investigate the participation motivesof university athletes. It was hypothesized thatparticipation motives will differ significantlyaccording to gender, type of sport and experience insport. Data was collected through questionnairesfrom 150 randomly selected athletes of KenyaHaUniversity. Data was analysed through Kruska/-wallistest of independent measures. Findings indicated thatparticipatory motives of university athletes differed bygender, type of sporl and level of experience insport. It is recommended that personnel in charge ofuniversity athletes need to know their athletes more,structure training programmes based on participationmotivation and further studies should incorporatelarger samples of athletes in secondary schools,universities, clubs and national teams.
KEY WORDS: Participation motives, Universityathletes
Introduction
Participation in games and sports dates back to
antiquity. Several theories have been propounded
to explain why man engages in physical activities
and sport and the value he derives from such
participation. Some of these theories overlap and
have been given different nomenclatures. Indeed,
many of the reasons listed in the theories of why
man participates in sports are working together
subconsciously to motivate and induce sports
participation (Henry, 1978).
Proctlrloners in sports settings desire to structure
sport and exercise settings in ways that maximize
motivation in participants (Weiss and Chaumeton,
1992). Understanding motivated behaviour is one
VOLUME 1. ISSUE 1 Page,
of the key issuespursued by sport psychologists and
educators for purposes of theoretical development
and successfulprogramming applications in
institutions (Weiss and Chaumeton, 1992).
The social exchange theory as propounded by
Thibaut & Kelly, (1959) held that social behaviour is
motivated by the desire to maximise positive
experiences and minimize negative experiences i.e.
individuals will remain in activities as long as the
outcome is favourable. Thus, an individual weighs
the costs, benefits and satisfaction of a current
situation with those of alternative situations and
makes a decision accordingly (Thibaut & Kelly,
1959).
A comprehensive review of participation in games
and sports in Kenyan educational institutions reveal
that games and sports are competition oriented and
high levels of performance is emphasized
(Wasonga, 1998, Muindi, 1998). Indeed, Muindi
(1998) emphasized that competition begins at
school level with suchevents as lntercloss, inter-year
and inter-house competitions whose main purpose is
to provide an opportunity for the most able pupils
to be identified and recruited into school teams in
various games and sports. At the university level,
the situation is worse with an over-emphasis on
competitive programmes, which cater for a few
talented sports men and women (Njororai, Asembo
& Kuria, 2000).
The few talented university athletes can be assumed
to have taken part in different games and sport at
both primary and secondary school levels of
education before joining the university. What makes
these athletes to continue taking part in sports
and games? That is why, it was apt to investigate
the participation motives of university athletes in
Kenyatta University. This was prompted by the
fact that so many students are always interested in
registering for the preparation of culture week
annual sport festival and the biennial East Africa
University games.
Hypothesis
The following three hypotheses guided this study:
1. Participation motives of the athletes will not
differ significantly due to sex.
2. Experience in sport does not significantly
influence participation motives. •
3. Participation motives of the athletes do not
differ significantly according to type of sport.
Methods and Procedures
Sample
A total of 150 subjects randomly selected from
Kenyatta University took part in the study. These
comprised 65 (43.3%) females and 8S (56.67%)
males with a mean age and standard deviation of
21.92±2.15 years respectively. They ~re
participating in ball games (n::;;67), com:bQt sports
(n=35), Racket games (n=23), Board games
(n=14) and athletics (n=11) at the university level
in preparation for culture week sports -festival
and the Biennial East Africa Inter-University
games.
Questionnaire
For the purposes of this study, a questionnaire,
which contained 33 items with 2 sections, was
Administered to the subjects. Items in Section A
VOlUME I, ISSUE 1 Page 33
covereddemographic information while items in section B were concerned with reasons/motives for
participationin sports. Each item in Section B was rated on a 4-point Likert scale format ranging from "very
important"to "very unimportant". Values of items were scaled such that the more important the motive was,
thehigher the score.
Thequestionnaire had been used in previous studies with a reliability of 0.82 (Gitonga, 2000). The
questionnairewas administered to 250 randomly selected athletes but only the results of 150 subjects are
presentedin subsequent sections due to faulty responses obtained in some questionnaires, which were
subsequentlydiscarded.
Data Analysis
Themotives were grouped together to form nine major motives for participation in sport. Data were
analysed for frequencies, percentages and ranks for- descriptive purposes. Kruskal-Wallis test for
independentsamples was used to reject or uphold the hypothesis at 0.05 of significance.
ResultsAnd Discussion
DemographicInformation .
Table 1: Experience in Sport of the University Athletes
Previous narticination in snort lYes % No % !rotalPrimary school 120 13.3 130 86.66 150Secondary school 102 68 ~8 3.2 150~otal 122 40.66 178 59.33 300Majority(86.67%) of the athletes did not participate in sport while in primary school while 32% of the
athletesdid not participate in sport while in secondary school. The results of the analysis of participatory
motivesare summarised in table 2, 3, and 4.
Table 2: Participatory Motives of University Athletes by Gender
Level of E x perien ce
Frequencies Ran k Frequencies Ran k
6 1 9 39 2.5 ,92 2.5 39 2.5
92 2.5 39 2 .5 ..
6 1 9 20 6
92 9 9 9
8 1 6 20 6
8 1 6 20 6
92 2 .5 30
8 1 6 39 2.5
Experienced (N=102) Non-Experienced (N=48)
Motives
He a Ith
Enjoym en t
Sire s s
Com petitions
Friendship
Aesthetic qualities
Cognitive
Skill developm ent
IV inning
P=O.05, X2>6.64.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page.
Table 3: Participatory Motives of Different Categories of University Athletes is presented
Sport Ball Combat Racket Board Athleticsgames sport games ~ames (N=11)(N=67) (N=35) (N=23) (N=14)
Motives IFre. Rank Fre. Rank Fre. Rank Fre. Rank Fre Rank
Health 54 4 34 1 22 1 10 6 10 l.5Enjoyment 64 2 28 4 21 2.5 13 1.5 10 1.5Stress 64 2 33 2 18 4 12 4.5 9 ...,
~
Competition 39 8 18 7.5 12 7.5 7 9 8 5Friendship 53 5 24 5.5 16 5.5 12 4.5 8 5Aesthetic qualities 24 9 18 7.5 11 9 8 7.5 4 9Cognitive f47 6 24 5.5 12 7.5 13 1.5 6 7Skill development 64 2 33 3 21 2.5 14 1 8' 5lWinning f41 7 14 9 16 5.5 8 7.5 5 8P=O.05, X2>13.28
The calculated value of 45.26 is greater than the table value (13.28). It is concluded that there is a
significant difference (P=O.05) in participation motives of university athletes in different sports.
Participatory motives of experienced and inexperienced athletes are shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Participatory motives of experienced and inexperienced athletes
Level of Experience Experienced (N=102) Non-Experienced (N=48)
Motives Frequencies Rank Frequencies Rank
Health 61 9 39 2.5Enjoyment 92 2.5 39 2.5
I
Stress 92 2.5 39 2.5Competitions 61 9 20 6
Friendship 92 9 9 9
Aesthetic qualities 81 6 20 .6
Cognitive 81 6 20 6.
Skill developm ent 92 2.5 30 5
IWinning 81 6 39 2.5
P=O.05, X2>6.64.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Asincalculated value of 32.04 is greater than the
tablevalue (6.64) it is concluded that there is a
significance difference between motives of
experiencedand non-experienced athletes.
Discussion
Thestudy has revealed majority of the current
athletesdid not participate in the sport while in
primaryschool. Equally a significant percentage
(32%)did not participate in the sport while in
secondaryschool. This situation is worrying and this
mightexplain why universities in sub-Saharan Africa
donot produce good athletes in comparison to the
ooiversitiesin the west. Indeed, in order for an
athleteto excel in a given sport, there is need for
earlyidentification, nurturing and development of
talent.
Findingsof ·the study reveal that there are
significantdifferences in participatory motives
betweenmale and female athletes at university
level.Thisis in agreement with previous studies of
Gitongo(2000) and Coakley (1995). This is
buttressedby Coakley (1995) assertion that
participatorymotives in sports will differ across
differentgroups and gender. F~ male athletes, thE;..
participatorymotives ran e from enjoyment and
skilldevelopment to aesthetic qualities, while for
femaleathletes' participatory motives range from.
health to success/winning. The ranking of
- participatorymotives of male and female athletes- ---
givecredence to gender stereotyped versions of
socializationinto sport.
Onthe other hand, findings of this study reveal
significantdifferences in participatory motives of
Page 3S
University athletes in different sports. That is why
Muindi (1998) asserted that the foundation of
recreation competency is laid in the individual early
in life and thus it is postulated that participation
motives are also laid in the early stage of
engagement in sport. The above assertions falls
within the tenets of social exchange theory that
individuals take part in activities because the
alternatives are not satisfying.
The results of the study reveal that there are
significant differences in participatory motives of
experienced and non-experienced university
athletes. That is why Coleman (1985) observed that
inexperienced participants would have had less
exposure to the benefits of sports than their
experienced counterparts. Indeed, the
inexperienced athletes participatory motives waned
from skill development to friendship as opposed to
experienced athletes whose motives centred on
competition and health. However, it is concluded
artici ation motives in sports are erratic as- --
Kerr, (1991) observed that human organism is
complex and human behaviour is basically
inconsistent with the premise of reversal theory.
Conclusion and Recommendation
This purpose of this study was to establish the
participatory motives of athletes engaged in
university sports. The study .was embedded in the
social exchange theory as propounded by Thibaut
and Kelly (1959l. The findings of the study
illustrate that university athletes take part in sport
due to diverse motives. However, the participatory
motives are mediated by gender, type of sport and
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
experience in sport. However, within the
delimitations of this study it is recommended that:
1) Personnel in charge of university athletes
need to know their athletes more in order to
assist them to sustain and excel as they
participate in sport.
2) Coaches and games teachers need to
structure their training programmes based on
the participatory motives of their athletes.
3) Personnel in charge of university athletes
need to orientate the first years into the
sporting programmes of the university. This
can be done by early identification of tolenr
when the first year students enrol in the
university.
4) Further studies should incorporate larger
samples while employing different theoretical
frameworks, other universities and elite
athletes.
References
Coleman, M. (1985). Promoting children's wellbeing through developmentally appropri-ate sport programming, wellness perspec-tive, 2(2), 9- 12.
Coakley, J.J. (1995). Sports in Society: Issuesand Controversies,_St. Louis: Times Mirror.
Gitonga, E.R. (2000. The participatory motivesof college athletes in Kenya. Paper pre-sented at the 3rd KAHPER-SD Conference,Nairobi, Kenya. November 12.
Henry, L.B. (1998). School, Sport and Leisure:Three dimensions of adolescence. Lon-don: Lempus.
Kerr, J. (1991). Arousal, emotion and indiviexperience in competitive sport. IrHackfort (Ed) Research and emotionsports, 5 (91): 67-95.
Muindi, D.M. (1998). A study on the relotioibetween performance in physical skillacademic achievement among pupilprimary education in Kenya. Unpubli!Ph. D. Thesis. Kenyatta University.
Njororai, W.W.S., Asembo, J.M. & Kurio(2000). University sport proqromrneKenya: The need to refocus on health.O. Amusa & A.l. Toriola (Eds). Sexercise and health. Proceedings olThird Scientific Congress of the AFAHSD held in Sept. 1997 in Nairobi, KEPieterburg, PJS Signs.
Thibaut J.W. and Kelly H.H. (1959). The, SPsychology of Groups. New York: Wi
Wasonga, T. (1996). Childhood Sport socktion in the development of compesport and talent in Kenya. In L.a., ArM. Wekesa & A.L. Toriola (Eds) The I
ing of an African Athlete, A rdimensional Approach. Proceedings 0
2nd conference of AFAHPER-SD, HaZimbabwe.
Weiss, M. R. & Chaumeton, N. (1992). Motiona I orientations in sport. In: T. HornAdvances in sport psvchohChampaign: Human Kinetics Publisher!61-99.
VOLUME " ISSUE 1
experience in sport. However, within the
delimitations of this study it is recommended that:
1) Personnel in charge of university athletes
need to know their athletes more in order to
assist them to sustain and excel as they
participate in sport.
2) Coaches and games teachers need to
structure their troining programmes based on
the participatory motives of their athletes.
3) Personnel in charge of university athletes
need to orientate the first years into the
sporting programmes of the university. This
can be done by early identification of talent
when the first year students enrol in the
university.
4) Further studies should incorporate larger
samples while employing different theoretical
frameworks, other universities and elite
athletes.
References
Coleman, M. (1985). Promoting children's wellbeing through developmentally appropri-ate sport programming, wellness perspec-tive, 2(2), 9- 12.
Coakley, J.J. (1995). Sports in Society: Issuesand Controversies,_St. Louis: Times Mirror.
Gitonga, E.R. (2000. The participatory motivesof college athletes in Kenya. Paper pre-sented at the 3rd KAHPER-SD Conference,Nairobi, Kenya. November 1 2.
Henry, L.B. (1998). School, Sport and Leisure:Three dimensions of adolescence. Lon-don: Lempus.
•Kerr, J. (1991). Arousal, emotion and lndlvid
experience in competitive sport. InHackfort (Ed) Research and emotionssports, 5 (91): 67-95.
Muindi, D.M. (1998). A study on the relationslbetween performance in physical skill cacademic achievement among pupilsprimary education in Kenya. UnpublishPh. D. Thesis. Kenyatta University.
Njororai, W.W.S., Asembo, J.M. & Kuria I(2000). University sport programmesKenya: The need to refocus on health. hO. Amusa & A.L. Toriola (Eds). SPIexercise and health. Proceedings ofThird Scientific Conqress of the AFAHPSD held in Sept. 1997 in Nairobi, KenPieterburg, PJS Signs.
Thibaut J.W. and Kelly H.H. (1959). The SocPsychology of Groups. New York: WilE
Wasonga, T. (1996). Childhood Sport sociaIition in the development of competi1sport and talent in Kenya. In L.O., ArmM. Wekesa & A.L. Toriola (Eds) The ming of an African Athlete, A rmdimensional Approach. Proceedings of2nd conference of AFAHPER-SD,HareZimbabwe.
Weiss, M. R. & Chaumeton, N. (1992). Motitiona I orientations in sport. In: T. Horn ((Advances in sport psvcholoiChampaign: Human Kinetics Publishers61 -99.