Relationship between Social Support, Self-Efficacy, Task Persistence and Physical Activity in Physical Education Classes

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceived social support, self-efficacy, task persistence, and physical activity in physical education class. For the purpose of this study, 352 middle school students (male=181, female=171) attending school in S city were taken as subjects of the study and social support, self-efficacy, task persistence, and physical activity questionnaires were utilized as measurement tools. Also, descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were used for the study results. The results of the study are as follows. Social support in physical education class affected task persistence and self-efficacy and it was also found that social support influenced task persistence through self-efficacy. In addition, task persistence of students was found to have a statistically significant impact on physical activity. Therefore, it is essential to recognize that social support of teachers and friends play an important role that positively impacts self-efficacy, continuous execution of learning tasks, and physical activity in daily life. Thus, this result supports the fact that education and environment should be provided to strengthen social support.