Differences in students’ feelings and preferences in physical education classes: A comparison by degree of hearing loss

Abstract

Introduction: Physical education is a very important discipline since it helps the development of students’ cognitive abilities and motor skills. Also, physical education may be the best setting for individuals with hearing loss to learn about physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. Purpose: The objective of this study was to analyse differences in students’ feelings in physical education classes and their leisure time preferences at the second grade of elementary schools for the deaf by degree of hearing loss. Material and methods: Participants were 86 students with hearing loss (severe to profound hearing loss, n = 51; 59.3%); an average age of 14.3 ± 1.4 years. Six elementary schools for the deaf participated in the research. The data were described using absolute and relative frequencies, including the mean and standard deviation. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Fisher exact test, Chi-square test and Bonferroni post hoc tests were used for statistical analyses. For calculation of effect size coefficient abs(r) was used. All tests were performed at a significance level of alpha 0.05. Physical education is more popular among students with a more severe hearing loss (Z = –2.409; p = 0.016; abs(r) = 0.260). Relation to emotional response if a physical education class is cancelled, a small effect size coefficient (abs(r) = 0.175) was found, however statistical significance was not proven. Hearing loss affects the amount of leisure time spent listening to music – students with a less severe hearing loss do this activity considerably more often. By contrast, students who only use the Czech sign language do not listen to music. Conclusion: The degree of hearing loss has no negative effect on students’ feelings in physical education classes and their preferences in leisure time.