Meaningfulness in Physical Education : Swedish ninth-graders experiences of meaningfulness in Physical Education

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which Swedish ninth-grade students perceive Physical Education (PE) in school as meaningful, as well as to identify what is most prominent in contributing to making physical education meaningful for the students. Method: The study is designed using a mixed-method approach, and data were collected through a web-based survey. The respondents consisted of a group of 61 ninth-grade students from four out of five ninth-grade classes at one selected school. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and thematic analysis methods. Results: The results indicated that the largest proportion of the students perceive PE as contributing to meaningful experiences to a relatively limited extent. The most prominent themes in contributing to students’ experiences of meaningfulness during PE are social interaction and having fun. These themes demonstrate an inherent interrelation, given that they were frequently referenced together in the open-ended responses. Conclusions: The main conclusion drawn is that students perceive PE as contributing to meaningful experiences to a relatively limited extent, as most students experience a relatively low level of having fun during lessons. Furthermore, the results indicate that most students do not perceive themes other than social interaction and fun as particularly significant during PE.