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A number of scholars have identified student enjoyment in physical education as a critical factor influencing students' opinions of and involvement in physical education , as well as their pursuit of physical activity outside of school (Carroll & Loumidis, 2001; Lu & De Lisio, 2009; Smith & St. Pierre, 2009). Consequently, enjoyment is an important construct for all physical educators to thoroughly understand. Unfortunately, significant gaps remain in the literature concerning the practical development of enjoyment. This paper aims to bridge these gaps by addressing what enjoyment in physical education is, why it is necessary, and how to it can be developed.
What is Enjoyment in Physical Education?
Enjoyment has been described as an "elusive concept that is difficult to articulate and is individualistic" (Smith & St. Pierre, 2009, p. 209). Perhaps due to its elusive nature, the term enjoyment is often used interchangeably with the term fun. It is problematic to use these two terms interchangeably as they have important and distina differences in meaning, which have been recognized and examined by scholars (Podilchak, 1991).
In both the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries, both the definitions of fun and enjoyment include the concept of pleasure (Soanes & Stevenson, 2005; Cassidy, 2007) (See Table 1). However, the definitions of fun are limited to one-word definitions such as "entertainment," whereas the definitions of enjoyment are more involved, such as "the state or process of taking pleasure in something" (Soanes & Stevenson, 2005, p. 576). This suggests that fun is a more limited term to describe a feeling of pleasure in the moment, whereas enjoyment is a broader term that refers to deeper feelings of pleasure that may be longer lasting.
Although there is not one finite definition of enjoyment, we propose that enjoyment in physical education be understood as: the affective state or process of experiencing pleasure in physical education.
Why is Student Enjoyment Important in Physical Education?
Students
Enjoyment is a critical component in physical education that has been seen to have benefits for the whole child, including emotional, cognitive, and physical domains (Macphail, Gorely, Kirk, & Kinchin, 2008; Prochaska, Sallis, Slymen, & Mackenzie, 2003; Barr-Anderson et al., 2008). More specifically, when students enjoy physical education it has been shown to positively enhance the emotional child,...