Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Oikarinen, V. & Mäkelä, M. 2025. Upper comprehensive school physical education teachers’ beliefs about strength training for adolescents. Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Sport Pedagogy Master’s thesis, 50 pp., 4 appendices. The purpose of our study was to explore the perceptions that upper comprehensive school physical education teachers have regarding strength training for adolescents, and how much strength training is included in school physical education lessons. Based on these aspects we aimed to examine whether there is a connection between the beliefs and the amount of strength training performed. Various beliefs and myths have long been associated with strength training for children and adolescents. According to previous literature, common concerns include a negative impact of strength training on growth, as well as a high risk of injury associated with such training. However, strength training has been shown to have several positive effects on health, and it is not more dangerous for young people than other forms of physical activity. Nevertheless, many professionals still hesitate to implement strength training for young people, especially in school environments. Increasing evidence-based knowledge supports the creation of safe and effective strength training methods that promote the holistic development and well-being of adolescents. We collected the data using a questionnaire, which was completed by 112 upper comprehensive school physical education teachers from various parts of Finland. The questionnaire assessed the teachers’ opinions on a range of statements and beliefs related to strength training. In addition to the statements, we gathered descriptive information about the respondents (age, region of residence, gender, highest level of education and year of graduation), as well as how often they include strength training into their lessons. The amount of strength training was examined separately as a primary and secondary goal of the physical education lessons. The connection between the beliefs and the amount of strength training was analyzed both individually and through sum of variables created from the statements. The data was analyzed using quantitative methods with the IBM SPSS Statistics software. According to our study, misconceptions that have been proven incorrect still seem to persist among physical education teachers to some extent. The majority of teachers (70 %) reported that strength training is a primary goal in their physical education lessons 2 to 5 times per school year. Strength training was more often included in the lessons as a secondary rather than a primary objective. The belief that strength training is dangerous and associated with higher risk of injury appeared to be linked to a lower amount of strength training conducted during physical education classes. Key words: strength training, beliefs, physical education teacher, upper comprehensive school, adolescents
Authors: Mäkelä, Mikko, Oikarinen, Venla
Institution: University of Jyväskylä
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6997473202