Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of modern sports of the students studying at the departments of physical education and sports in Turkey, and to examine them based on different variables such as age, gender, department, grade, academic gross domestic product (GPA) and the habit of actively doing sports. In terms of the data analysis process, the descriptive statistics were presented with the values of frequency, percentage, average and standard deviation. In order to determine the differences in the group average of the population the researcher made use of one sample t-test. To compare three-phase groups, variance analysis (ANOVA) was conducted and the Sidak post hoc test was used for paired comparisons. The analysis was conducted using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) 21.0 packet program. The Cronbach Alpha analysis was also used to test the reliability of the three statements about modern sports in the survey. Following the validity and reliability studies conducted by Özer, the Cronbach Alpha was measured as 0.75 while specifically for the current study the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was found to be 0.80. In a review of the study findings, no statistically meaningful differences between the participant students’ age, gender and active sports participation variables and the socio-economic, political and educational sub dimensions of the scale were found. On the other hand, there were differences found between students’ departments, classes and grade point averages and the sub dimensions of the scale. The study results revealed that to improve perceptions of modern sports in Turkey, socio-economic, political and educational factors must be considered. In this sense, the need for new revisions has arisen considering the socio-economic, politic and educational issues all together.

Key words: School, sports, physical education, sports management, modern sports understanding.