Influence of gender identity on senior high school students’ attitudes toward physical education lessons

Abstract

Abstract: Objective. To investigate the influence of the interaction between biological sex and psychological type of gender identity on high school students' attitudes toward physical education lessons and their assessment of the overall lesson atmosphere. Methods. The study involved 122 10th-11th grade students (56 boys, 66 girls) from secondary education institutions in Kyiv. The S. Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) was used to determine the type of gender identity, followed by k-means clustering of respondents (4 clusters: feminine, masculine, androgynous, undifferentiated). Attitudes toward physical education lessons and overall lesson atmosphere were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. Statistical analysis included normality testing (Shapiro-Wilk W-test), multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), and post-hoc comparisons using Tukey's HSD and Fisher's LSD tests. Results. The overall MANOVA model confirmed a statistically significant effect of the interaction "Sex × Gender Identity Type" on high school students' perception of physical education lessons (F(6, 226)=2.65, p=0.017). A characteristic feature was revealed: the indicator of overall lesson atmosphere consistently exceeds the level of personal attitude toward lessons, indicating internal motivational dissonance. The largest gap between these indicators was recorded in girls of masculine and undifferentiated types. The level of attitude toward physical education lessons was found to be significantly influenced by the combination of "Sex × Gender Identity" factors (F(3, 114)=3.37, p=0.0166). Boys in almost all groups demonstrate higher attitude scores than girls, with the largest gap (1.22 points) in the undifferentiated type. In the androgynous type, an opposite trend is observed: girls rate their attitude 0.77 points higher than boys. Analysis of the overall atmosphere assessment revealed an even more pronounced significance of the factor interaction (F(3, 114)=4.76; p=0.0037). Conclusions. A complex dependence of the perception of physical education lessons on the interaction of sex and gender identity type was revealed. A gap between behavioral and emotional components was established: girls, despite higher actual physical activity, demonstrate a lower level of personal attitude toward the subject; boys, having high loyalty to lessons, do not convert it into actual motor behavior. The androgynous type of identity acts as a powerful differentiating factor: for girls, it is associated with the highest level of engagement; for boys, with the lowest indicators. The obtained data substantiate the need for a differentiated approach to organizing physical education lessons, taking into account not only biological sex but also the psychological type of students' gender identity.