Banding effects in physical activity participation extent and reasons therefor of Hong Kong Secondary school pupils

Abstract

To examine differences among students from schools with different banding classification with regard to their physical activity participation and motives therefor, 2,998 school children in school grades secondary 2, 4 and 6 (average age = 14.2 years) from high-band (N = 1260), medium-band (N = 557) and low-band (N = 1181) schools were surveyed. The data from the participation questionnaire indicated that students in higher-banded schools had greater participation in physical activities and differed significantly from lower-band students in many of their motives for sport and exercise involvement. There were also significant differences in the types of sports the students of the variously banded schools engaged in. It was concluded that there is no evidence that students in schools labelled as low-band have greater interest in physical activities, and that the suggestion, that high-banded students focus on their academic pursuits at the expense of their physical well-being more than low-band students, was unfounded.