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Perceptions of Physical Competence, Motor

Competence, and Participation in Organized Sport:
Their Interrelationships in Young Children
a
Beverly D. Ulrich
a
Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, 47401, USA
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To cite this article: Beverly D. Ulrich (1987): Perceptions of Physical Competence, Motor Competence, and Participation in
Organized Sport: Their Interrelationships in Young Children, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 58:1, 57-67

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 ULRICH
REsEARCH QUARTERLY
FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT
1987, VOL. 58, No. I, PP. 57-67
Perceptions of Physical Competence, Motor Competence, and Participation
in Organized Sport: Their Interrelationships in Young Children
BEVERLY D. ULRICH
Indiana University
This study examined the interrelationships among perceived
physical competence, motor competence, and participation in
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organized sport in young children. Males and females in Grades
K through 4 (n = 250) were given The Perceived Competence
Scale for Children (Harter, 1979) or The PictoralScale for
Perceived Competence and SocialAcceptance for Young
Children (Harter, Pike, Efron, Chao, & Bierer, 1983), a 9-item
motor competence assessment battery, and a questionnaire
regarding their participation in sport. Results revealed that
perceived physical competence for children in these grade levels
was not significantly related to their participation in organized
sportprograms. Motor competence was significantly related to
participation in that participants in organized sportprograms
performed selected gross motor tasks better than did
nonparticipants. Further, children's reported perceptions of
physical competence were significantly related to their
demonstrated motor competence. Discussion focused on the
theoretical and practical implications of the results.
Key words: developmental factors, young children,
perceived competence, motor perform-
ance, youth sport.
Perceived competence has been theorized as having
an important effect on one's level of motivation. That
is, one's choice to participate or persist in a task or
activity may be mediated by one's self-concept of abil-
ity in that task. The concept of competence as a psy-
chological construct mediating intrinsically motivated
behavior was first introduced by White (1959). In his
paper, "Motivation reconsidered: The concept of
competence," he proposed effectance motivation to ex-
plain why an individual feels compelled to engage in
mastery attempts. He suggested that individuals act
because they feel a need to have an effect. If these
performance attempts are satisfying, one feels com-
petent, which provides a feeling of efficacy, inherent
pleasure, and joy. One also is likely to want to repeat
that performance.
In 1978, Harter proposed a framework which ex-
panded on White's earlier work. She viewed motiva-
tion as a complex structure and identified the need to
assess self-perceptions in specific domains such as cog-
nitive, social, and physical. Furthermore, she identi-
REsEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, VOL.
57
fied several specific correlates and antecedents related
to motivation and stressed the developmental nature
of these variables in children. Perceived competence is
a correlate which is central to her model. Actual com-
petence is identified as a correlate, but its significance
is primarily linked to its role as a precursor to per-
ceived competence and thus has a less direct effect on
motivation than perceived competence.
In the last decade a relationship between one's self-
perceptions of ability or competence, and behavior
has been proposed by other theorists as well.
Bandura's (1977) theory of self-efficacy suggests that
the stronger one's convictions are that one is able to
successfully produce the desired outcome, the more
likely one is to choose to perform or persist in that
task. Nicholls (1984) proposed that people's actions
are purposeful and are motivated by a desire (a) to
demonstrate and/or develop high ability, and (b) to
avoid demonstrating low ability.
Although the theoretical basis for the perceived
competence/motivation relationship has emerged pri-
marily from psychology, recently specialists in exer-
cise and motor development have attempted to ex-
plain the phenomenon specifically within the physical
domain. For example, Sonstroem (1978) has devel-
oped a model for physical activity in which he hypoth-
esizes that for people to participate in physical activity
they must (a) be interested in or attracted to physical
activity and (b) believe they are capable (possess the
necessary physical abilities) of achieving success at that
activity. Griffin and Keogh (1981, 1982) have offered
movement confidence as a construct reflecting an in-
dividual's feeling of adequacy in a movement situa-
tion. Underlying the importance of this construct is
the notion that children who are confident about their
movements will choose to be active, will do so in an
assured manner, and will be more likely to persist.
Results of investigations within the motor domain
generally support a significant relationship between
perceived competence and participation in organized
sport. Roberts, Kleiber, and Duda (1981) tested
fourth- and fifth-grade level students and Harter
58, No. I
 ULRICH
(1982) sixth graders, who were participants and
nonparticipants in organized sports. Results of each
study suggested that participants perceived them-
selves as more competent in sports and games than did
nonparticipants. Guyot, Fairchild, and Hill (1981) re-
ported a significant relationship between physical self-
concept and sport participation for fourth-, fifth-, and
sixth-grade level children.
Not all studies have been as supportive of such a
relationship, however. Lewko and Ewing (1980)
found a significant relationship between perceived
competence and level of participation in sports for 9-
to l1-year-old girls, but not boys. Maul and Thomas
(1975) did not find a significant difference in self-
concept of ability to perform gross motor movements
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between third-grade level girls who were participants
in a gymnastics program and girls who did not par-
ticipate in an organized sport program. However, in
each of these studies the instrument used to assess
perceived competence may have affected the results.
Lewko and Ewing asked children to rate their motor
ability on a scale from 1 to 10. Being good in sports is
clearly socially desirable for boys at this age; therefore,
the tendency for less skilled performers to overrate
themselves on a single item measure may have been
great. Maul and Thomas used an unpublished scale
from a doctoral dissertation and raised questions
themselves, in their discussion, regarding its validity.
Clearly, the need exists to investigate this relationship
further through the use of validated measures which
consider developmental differences.
A question of theoretical as well as of applied im-
portance but which has received minimal attention is,
"How important is actual competence to one's choices
to participate or not participate in activities?" Harter
(Harter & Connell, 1984) views competence as one of
several correlates to motivation but its effect is not as
strong as perceived competence because its influence
is less direct. While actual competence affects percep-
tions of competence, one could incorrectly perceive
one's ability as low and thus choose not to participate.
Conversely, poorly skilled persons could perceive
their competence as high and thus be motivated to
participate.
In physical education and sport situations, facilita-
tors generally focus on the improvement of actual skill
levels. Ostensibly, by raising the child's level of skill
one increases the child's desire to use those skills in
games and sport. Considering the theoretical and em-
pirical support for a strong influence of perceptions of
competence on behavior one must ask if subsequent
motivation occurs because the child is truly able to
perform at a higher level of skill or because the child
thinks improvement has occurred?
Researchers investigating the relation between ac-
tual competence and participation within the motor
RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, VOL.
58
domain have thus far used motor ability or fitness
items. The equivocal results found in the few reported
studies precludes suggesting support or lack of sup-
port for such a relationship. Magill and Ash (1979)
found no relation between performance on percep-
tual-motor tasks and involvement in sports for first
through fifth graders and that fourth- but not fifth-
grade participants in organized sport could be distin-
guished from nonparticipants by their scores on phys-
ical fitness test items. Guyot, et al., (1981) found a
significant relation between motor abilities and sport
participation for fourth- through sixth-grade boys but
not girls. Smoll and Schutz (1984) found that male and
female participants in Grades 7 and 11 scored higher
on physical fitness items than nonparticipants, but no
difference was found for children in the third grade.
If, as some theorists suggest, actual competence in-
fluences perceived competence which in turn affects
one's participation choices (Griffin & Keogh, 1982;
Harter, 1981) then one must assume some measure of
accuracy in judging one's abilities. For older children
this appears to be supported. Boling and Kirk (1983),
for example, found that fifth-grade boys who scored
in the upper and lower thirds on perceived physical
ability could accurately be classifed by their perform-
ance on a series of gross motor tasks. Feltz and Brown
(1984) observed a significant relation between per-
formance on five soccer skills and perceptions of phys-
ical and soccer ability for boys and girls aged 8 to 13.
The accuracy of younger children's perceptions of
their competence in the motor domain has received
relatively little attention.
Harter (Harter, 1982; Harter & Pike, 1984) exam-
ined the relation between perceived and actual motor
competence for children 4 to 12 years old. Correla-
tions were low and increasing for ages 4 through 7 but
plateaued with a consistent and moderate value of .60
for each of the four older age groups tested. This
pattern of change in accuracy differs from the more
regular increases found within the cognitive domain.
Obviously, additional efforts are needed to clarify this
issue. One confutation in Harter's studies may have
been the use of teachers' perceptions of children's
competence as a measure of actual competence. A
more accurate representation would be obtained by a
direct assessment of performance.
Based on current evidence, a significant relation
appears to exist between perceived competence and
motivation to participate in sport for children in the
upper elementary grades. Further, these children
demonstrate some accuracy in identifying their own
levels of motor competence. However, the relative im-
portance of actual competence to the perceived
competence/motivation paradigm suggested by moti-
vation theorists has not been clearly established for the
motor domain.
58, No. I
 ULRICH
In addition, the validity of these relations in the
motor domain for young children is virtually unex-
plored. By the time children reach third grade, the
youngest age-group usually studied, they are report-
ing perceptions of themselves that have been devel-
oping for several years. Harter (1981), one of the few
theorists to provide a developmental approach, sug-
gests that the correlates to motivation and the relation
among them change with experience. Perceptions of
competence, for example, derive from a history of
mastery attempts at a skill. Very young children feel
omnipotent; successful mastery attempts maintain
that high perception of ability. Unsuccessful attempts
decrease self-perceptions and therefore decrease mo-
tivation to pursue that skill.
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One's criteria for determining success or failure in
a mastery attempt also changes with age. Success is
inferred by the young child when a task is simply
completed or a new task is learned. Older children
and adults feel successful if their performance is bet-
ter than most of their peers (Nicholls, 1984).
Age-related changes in perceived competence, mo-
tor competence, and patterns of participation in sport
as isolated variables are generally established for
young children. Kindergarten children have very
high self-perceptions which become less positive
across the elementary years (Harter, 1978; Martinek
& Zaichkowsky, 1977). Motor competence improves
during this period (Branta, Haubenstricker, &
Seefeldt, 1984; Keogh, 1969). Motivation to partici-
pate in organized sport programs also increases. Boys
and girls as young as 3 compete in sports while the
median age for involvement in organized sport pro-
grams is 8 for boys and 9 for girls (Martens, 1984;
Joint Legislative Study, 1976). Unknown, is how these
variables are interrelated and if their interrelations
change across these early years.
Therefore, the purposes of this study were to ex-
amine: (a) the relation between children's perceived
physical competence and participation in organized
sport; (b) the relation between children's demonstrat-
ed motor competence and their participation in or-
ganized sport; (c) the relation between children's per-
ceived physical competence and their demonstrated
motor competence; and (d) the nature of changes in
these relations across Grades K through 4. Given that
males generally report higher perceptions of their
motor competence than females (Duquin, 1978; Wig-
gins, 1973), more males participate in sport (Kleiber &
Roberts, 1983; Joint Legislative Study, 1976), and mo-
tor performance tends to be higher for boys than girls
(Clark & Ewing, 1985; Thomas & French, 1985), gen-
der was included as an independent variable in all
initial analyses.
REsEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, VOL.
59
Method
Sample
Twenty-five males and 25 females at each of Grades
K through 4 participated in this study (n = 250). Mean
ages of subjects in Grades K, 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 70.1,
83.1,95.3,108.1, and 119.2 months, respectively. Sub-
jects were drawn randomly from a pool of volunteers
from elementary schools in the Carbondale, Illinois
area. Sixty-two percent of the subjects were white,
30% were black, and 8% represented other racial
backgrounds. Socioeconomic status of the subjects was
primarily lower-middle to middle class.
Assessment Instruments
Two psychometric scales were used to measure per-
ceived competence.
Perceived Competence Scale for Children (Harter,
1979). This scale is a paper and pencil test which was
designed for children ages 8 and older. It was created
to measure children's perceptions of their competence
in each of three domains (cognitive, social, and phys-
ical) and their feeling of general self-worth or esteem.
Each domain is represented by a subscale of seven
items. Items are scored on a 4-point ordinal scale with
4 corresponding to high and 1 to low perceptions.
The validity of the scale is based on factor analytic
procedures which resulted in four distinct factors,
with only one item cross-loading consistently on a sec-
ond factor. Test-retest reliability data involving a
three-month interval ranged from. 70 for the general
self-esteem to .87 for the physical competence
subscales (Harter, 1982).
Since the primary purpose for using this scale was
to assess perceptions of physical competence, 7 items
were added to bring the total item number for this
subscale to 14. This was done to increase the reliability
of the subtest and to provide perceived competence
items related to items in the motor competence test
battery. Following data collection, these subscale items
were subjected to reliability (internal consistency)
analysis using the coefficient alpha. A standardized
item alpha of .85 was obtained which approximates
the value obtained by the test developer for the orig-
inal items.
Pictoral Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Ac-
ceptancefor Young Children (Harter et al., 1983). This
scale was developed for children ages 4 through 7 and
is designed to measure two general constructs of
children's perceptions: (a) perceptions of competence
and (b) perceptions of social acceptance. The compe-
tence domain is further divided into items measuring
perceptions of cognitive and physical competency
while the social acceptance domain consists of peer
and maternal acceptance items.
58, No.1
 ULRICH
Each of the four subscales has six items. However,
factor analysis revealed only two domains suggesting
that, at least for the competency domain, children in
the age range of 4 to 7 do not distinguish between
their cognitive and physical abilities.
Validity is based on factor analysis which revealed
moderate loadings ofall items on their designated factor
with two items cross-loading. In addition, scores on three
of the subscales have been used successfully to discrim-
inate between children who were identified as having
problems in that competency area and children who
were not experiencing problems (Harter & Pike, 1984).
Additional items were added to the physical domain
subscale, bringing the total number to 12. When re-
liability (internal consistency) of the items was assessed
following data collection, an acceptable standardized
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alpha coefficient of .80 was obtained.
Motor Competence. Motor competence was assessed
via nine items chosen to sample motor abilities and
motor skills common to the most popular organized
sports available to children in the community being
sampled. Preliminary items were chosen from a re-
view of the literature and reviewed by three content
experts. Subsequently a pilot study was conducted to
determine the feasibility of protocol, check for floor or
ceiling effects across the age range, and to examine the
validity and reliability of the items.
A total of 194 boys and girls in Grades K through 4
were tested on all nine items chosen for the pilot study.
In addition to the face validity established by content
experts, test item scores were subjected to multiple
regression and discriminant function analyses to ex-
amine their capacity to represent an overall profile of
children's motor performance as judged by their
physical education teacher. The average R2 produced
via the multiple regression analyses was .66. The av-
erage percent of correct classification in the discrimin-
ant function analyses for Grades K through 4 was
79.5. Results suggested that these nine performance
scores could be used in a regression or discriminant
function equation to distinguish children identified by
their physical education specialist as being in the top,
middle, or bottom third of their class in motor per-
formance during physical education classes.
Test-retest reliability coefficients for 10 first grade
subjects ranged from .57 to .95 for the nine items (M
= .80). Because younger children tend to be more
variable in their performance than older children, it
was believed that if the reliability for first graders was
acceptable, values should not be significantly lower for
the rest of the sample population. Subsequent reli-
ability estimates supported this assumption. Test-
retest reliability coefficients based on revised items in
the main study, averaged .72, .79, and .77 across the
nine items for kindergarten-, second-, and fourth-
grade subjects, respectively.
RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, VOL.
60
Items included in the battery and classified primary
as motor ability items: (a) Broad Jump; (b) Flexed
Arm Hang, (c) Sit-up Test; (d) Side-step Test; and (e)
Sixty-yard Shuttle Run. Items included in the battery
and classified primarily as motor or sport skill items:
(a) Playground Ball Dibble; (b) Soccer Ball Dribble; (c)
Softball Repeated Throw; (d) Soccer Ball Throw.
Participation in Organized Sport. Participation was as-
sessed relative to the child's involvement in organized
sport programs. All children were asked to complete
(with parental assistance) a questionnaire regarding
their involvement in physical activity and sport. Of
primary interest was whether or not the child had
participated in and completed a season in at least one
organized sport during the past year. Children who
had were classified as participants, those who had not
completed one season of involvement were classified
as nonparticipants. Additional questions related to
reasons for participating or not participating in sports,
number of years of involvement, sports of involve-
ment and how important being good at sports was to
them.
Of the 250 subjects, 122 were classified as partici-
pants; 128 as nonparticipants. The numbers of male
and female participants, respectively, at each grade
level were 6 and 8 (K), 6 and 18 (first), 12 and 14
(second), 9 and 16 (third), and 13 and 20 (fourth). The
mean number of years in which participants had com-
pleted at least one season of involvement in a sport, by
grade level were 1.00 (K), 1.88 (first), 2.23 (second),
3.40 (third), and 3.42 (fourth).
Procedures
Subjects were initially asked to complete the partic-
ipation questionnaire at home with the help of a par-
ent or guardian. Subsequently, kindergarten-, first-
and second-grade subjects received the Pictoral Scale
of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for
Young Children (Harter et al., 1983), individually, at
school in a quiet room. Third- and fourth-grade sub-
jects received the Perceived Competence Scale for
Children (Harter, 1979), by classroom. Following the
perceived competence testing, the motor competence
test battery was administered to children in pairs of
the same gender and grade level. Subjects performed
the items in bare feet; items were presented in one of
four counterbalanced orders, randomized by pairs of
subjects.
Results
Treatment of the data was divided into three main
analyses and results will be presented in that format.
1. Relation between perceived physical competence and
participation in organized sport. A 2 X 2 X 5 (Participa-
tion X Gender x Grade Level) analysis of variance was
58, No.1
 ULRICH

applied to the data with perceived physical compe-
tence as the dependent variable. Due to unequal num-
bers of participants and nonparticipants (participa-
tion main effect) the general linear model for regres-
sion analysis technique was used. This method allows
for the examination of each effect holding it orthog-
onal to all other effects in the model.
Results indicated that the participation main effect
was not significant. That is, participants and
nonparticipants did not differ significantly on percep-
tions of physical competence. The main effects gen-
der, F(I,230) = 11.6,p < .001 and grade level, F(4,230)
= 9.94, P < .0001 were significant. None of the inter-
action effects in the full model was significant.
Inspection of mean values for perceived compe-
tence suggest that the gender difference favored
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(MANOV A) with performance scores on the nine mo-
tor competence items as the dependent variables was
used to examine the relation between children's choic-
es to be participants or nonparticipants in organized
sport and their motor competence. Results indicated
a significant effect for participation, Wilks' Lambda =
.89,F(9,222) = 3.01,p < .002; gender, Wilks' Lambda
= .71, F(9,222) = 9.91, P < .0001; and grade, Wilks'
Lambda = .26, F(36,833) = 10.02, P < .0001. None of
the interaction effects in the full model were signifi-
cant.
Univariate F-tests, as well as discriminant function
analyses were used as follow-up procedures to deter-
mine which of the dependent variables contributed
most to differentiating the groups. Univariate F-tests
for the involvement main effect resulted in significant

males. Males reported a mean value of 3.36 (SD = .48)
while females had a mean of 3.13 (SD = .57). Table 1
presents perceived competence score cell means and
standard deviations for participants and nonparticip-
ants by gender and grade level.
Examination of the grade level effect as it related to
perceived physical competence, via polynomial trend
analysis, suggested a linear trend, F( 1,245) = 43.34, P
< .0001. Tests for higher order trends were nonsig-
nificant. As grade level increased perceived physical
competence decreased. Results of Scheffe's proce-
dures suggested three homogeneous subsets of
groups. Fourth and third grade level subjects were not
significantly different; third-, second-, and first-grad-
ers did not differ significantly; and second-, first-, and
kindergarten grade level subjects were not different.
2. Relation between motor competence and participation
in organized sport. A 2 X 2 X 5 (Participation X Gender
x Grade Level) multivariate analysis of variance
differences between participants and nonparticipants
on each of the four sport skill items in the motor
competence assessment battery but none of the motor
ability items (Table 2). Inspection of the means for
these two groups (Table 3) indicated that participants
performed better than nonparticipants on all items.
The discriminant function analysis suggested that
five items could be used to discriminate significantly
between these groups (Wilks' Lambda = .795, P <
.0001). These items included a combination of sport
skill and motor ability items; however, the discrimin-
ant function coefficients associated with each of these
items clearly suggested that the soccer ball dribble
item was the most powerful discriminator (Table 2).
The discrepancy between the results of the
univariate F-tests and discriminant function analysis
seems to reflect the difference in the mathematical
techniques involved. Univariate F values reflect sep-
arate group comparisons for each dependent variable,

Table 1
Perceived Competence In MotorAbility: Cell Means and Standard Deviations for Participants and Nonparticipants
by Gender and Grade Level

Grade Level
K 2 3 4 Total
Participation
Category M SO M SO M SO M SO M SO M SO
Participants8 3.58 .32 3.36 .44 3.34 .41 3.20 .56 3.10 .57 3.28 .50
Males 3.66 .34 3.44 .43 3.43 .41 3.16 .55 3.23 .64 3.35 .52
Females 3.47 .27 3.13 .41 3.24 .39 3.26 .60 2.89 .38 3.16 .45
Nonparticipantsb 3.58 .42 3.26 .50 3.24 .40 2.96 .58 2.68 .61 3.21 .57
Males 3.62 .28 3.38 .30 3.43 .33 3.03 .56 3.08 .31 3.38 .42
Females 3.53 .51 3.21 .55 3.08 .40 2.92 .60 2.51 .63 3.10 .62
Total 3.58 .39 3.31 .47 3.30 .40 3.08 .58 2.96 .61
8Number of participants per cell:
GrK Gr 1 Gr2 Gr3 Gr4
M = 8 M = 18 M = 14 M = 16 M = 20
F=6 F=6 F = 12 F=9 F = 13
bNumber of nonparticipants per cell:
GrK Gr 1 Gr2 Gr3 Gr4
M = 17 M = 7 M = 11 M = 9 M= 5
F = 18 F = 19 F = 13 F = 16 F = 12
RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, VOL. 58, No. I

61
 ULRICH

Table 2 of these three items. Therefore, when the strongest of

Univariate F Value. and Standardized Discriminant these items entered into the discriminant equation,
Function CoetfIclente for the Motor Competence Teat
Item. these related variables could account for little of the
remaining variance. Results of these analyses demon-
Standardized strated some consistency, however, in that the motor
Discriminant item demonstrating the most power in the relation-
Function ship to participation for each was the soccer dribble.
Dependent Variable Univariate F Coefficient
Post hoc univariate F-tests and inspection of the
Participation Main Effect (Wilks' Lambda = means for the main effect gender suggested a signif-
.7950 P < .0001)
Soccer dribble 22.69** 1.00
icant difference favoring males for all four of the sport
Playground ball dribble 10.56** XX skill items and three of the five motor ability items.
Softball repeated throws 5.20* XX Discriminant function analysis also identified seven of
Soccer ball throw 4.28* .30 the nine motor items as contributing to a significant
Broadjump 0.46 XX difference between the performance of males and fe-
60 yard shuttle run 2.85 XX
Situp 0.05 -.36
males (Wilks' Lambda = .735, P < .0001). Specific
items varied somewhat from the univariate results.
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Sidestep 0.35 -.25

Flexed arm hang 2.54 .16 Only two of the four sport skill items were included in
Gender Main Effect (Wilks' Lambda = the discriminant equation while all of the motor ability
.7352 P < .0001) items provided some discriminating power (Table 2).
Soccer dribble 47.47** .81
Playground ball dribble 40.04** .52
Significant univariate F values were obtained for
Softball repeated throws 32.27** XX eight of the nine motor items for the main effect grade
Soccer ball throw 17.29** XX level (Table 2). Mean values for these items generally
Broad jump 11.96** .40 improved as grade level increased (Table 3). Subjects'
60 yard shuttle run 5.93* .28 performance scores on one item, the flexed arm hang,
Situp 0.77 -.41
Sidestep 2.73 -.80 did not differ significantly by grade level.
Flexed arm hang 6.63** .22 The discriminant function analysis for grade level
(Wilks' Lambda = resulted in two statistically significant and interpret-
.2483 P < .00001) able discriminant functions (Table 2). The first ac-
Grade Main Effect (Wilks' Lambda = counted for 89% of the total variance among groups
.7811 P < .0001)
Soccer dribble 33.93** -.18 -.70 which could be accounted for by all possible functions
Playground ball dribble 79.77** .40 .30 combined (75%) and was associated with a Wilks'
Softball repeated throws 80.78** .41 .38 Lambda of .248 with P < .00001. In addition to pro-
Soccer ball throw 52.17** .20 .59 viding information which discriminated among the
Broad jump 36.08** .07 .08 five grade levels, examination of the group centroids
60 yard shuttle run 30.49** -.07 .70
Situp 28.24** .22 -.36 for this discriminant function further suggested a dis-
Sidestep 27.67** .28 - .27 tinction between kindergarten- and first-grade level
Flexed arm hang 1.29 - .23 .39 subjects versus second-, third-, and fourth-grade sub-
*p < .05. **p < .01. jects. Two of the sport skill items were relatively stron-
Note. XX = Item not included In the discriminant function ger in the equation than the others; however, seven of
equation the nine items included in the analysis contributed
moderate amounts of discriminating power and no
items were excluded. The second function was asso-
therefore, they do not account for intercorrelations ciated with a Wilks' Lambda of .781, with P < .0001,
among the variables. Discriminant function proce- and included all items as well. Two sport skill and one
dures (when using the stepwise method) attempt to motor ability item were weighted most heavily. To
identify in a stepwise manner, the most parsimonious summarize, the post hoc analyses suggested that per-
subset of variables (Klecka, 1975). In the first step the formances on the sport skill items better reflected
variable which has the highest value on the selection group differences (as classed on participation, gender,
criterion is chosen; at each subsequent step the vari- and grade) than did performances on the motor abil-
able which will yield the best criterion score (maximize ity items.
the statistical difference between the groups), given 3. Relation between perceived physical competence and
the variable(s) already in the equation, is added. Of motor competence. Scores for perceived physical com-
the dependent variables included in the analysis, the petence were used to classify children into the top,
soccer ball dribble, playground ball dribble, and soft- middle, or bottom one-third (Groups 1,2, and 3, re-
ball repeated throw items were highly correlated and spectively) of their grade-level peer group. A 3 x 2 x
the soccer ball throw was moderately correlated to two 5 (perceived competence x gender x grade level)

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Table 3
Meansand Standard Deviations for Main Effects Participation, Gender, and Grade Level on the Motor Competence
Teat Items

Dependent Variable
Participation Grade
Participants Non-participants 4 3 2
M SO M SO M SO M SO M SO
Soccer dribble 7.52 2.30 5.59 1.80 7.94 2.22 7.86 2.01 6.75 1.54
Playground ball dribble 16.59 6.15 12.24 5.75 20.56 3.62 18.18 4.76 14.43 4.30
Softball throw 10.88 3.77 8.45 4.04 13.75 2.76 12.32 3.12 9.66 2.44
Soccer ball throw 196.98 74.61 156.06 64.11 251.35 66.56 212.32 64.87 173.24 43.04
Broad jump 47.38 9.68 43.75 8.92 52.82 7.72 51.59 7.86 44.61 6.28
60 yard shuttle run 18.00 1.72 18.82 1.93 17.47 1.13 17.06 1.30 18.14 1.50
Situp 14.42 5.30 13.01 4.81 16.80 3.98 16.80 3.79 14.66 3.32
Sidestep 15.15 3.35 14.34 3.13 16.95 2.58 16.27 2.53 15.41 2.31
Flexed arm hang 10.03 7.78 7.37 6.38 10.65 9.49 9.24 6.97 9.36 6.81
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Gender
Males Females 1 K
M SO M SO M SO M SO
Soccer dribble 7.41 2.18 5.67 2.02 5.81 1.94 4.31 1.29
Playground ball dribble 16.32 6.38 12.41 5.64 11.47 4.84 7.19 3.21
Softball throw 10.78 3.91 8.51 3.97 7.12 2.45 5.32 2.40
Soccer ball throw 192.18 75.82 159.88 64.89 135.04 37.70 108.19 32.70
Broad jump 47.44 9.43 43.60 9.12 41.83 6.62 36.76 8.03
60 yard shuttle run 18.14 1.76 18.70 1.95 19.26 1.76 20.20 1.65
Situp 14.10 5.25 13.29 4.91 10.82 5.12 9.40 4.03
Sidestep 14.58 3.44 14.90 3.07 13.62 2.64 11.44 2.88
Flexed arm hang 10.04 7.25 7.29 6.92 7.13 5.41 6.94 6.29

MANOVA was then applied to the data to examine discriminator while the three additional sport skill
the relation between children's perceptions of their items and one motor ability item, which were signif-
motor competence and their demonstrated compe- icant in the univariate analysis, were also identified as
tence on selected gross motor tasks. strong contributors to the discriminant function equa-
Results indicated that all three main effects were tion (Table 4). Relative to group differences, exami-
significant; perceived competence, Wilks' Lambda =
.822, F(18,424) = 2.42, P < .001; gender, Wilks' Table 4
Lambda = .699 F(9,212) = 10.16, P < .001; grade Univariate F Values and Standardized Discriminant
level, Wilks' Lambda = .227, F(36,796) = 10.76, P < Function Coefficients for the Motor Competence Test
.0001. None of the interaction effects reached signif- Items
icance. Main effects gender and grade level will not be
Standardized
discussed further. Since none of the interaction effects Discriminant
were significant a presentation of these main effect Function
results and any follow-up analyses would be redun- Dependent Variable Univariate F Coefficient
dant to those presented in the analyses of these var- Physical Perceived Competence (groups = top, middle,
iables in Relationship 2, above. and bottom thirds)
Univariate F and discriminant function analyses (Wilks' Lambda =
were again used to determine which motor items con- .8713 P < .002)
Soccer dribble 7.38** .62
tributed most to distinguishing among children Playground ball dribble 8.50** .70
classed as high, middle, or low on perceived physical Softball repeated throws 3.63* -1.29
competence. A significant univariate F was obtained Soccer ball throw 10.08** .72
for all sport skill items and one motor ability item Broad jump 7.36** .57
(Table 4). Mean values for performance scores sug- 60 yard shuttle run 1.80 .31
gested a decrease in performance associated with a
Sltup 2.86 XX
Sidestep 1.46 -.30
decrease in perceptions of ability (Table 5). Discrimin- Flexed arm hang 0.26 XX
ant function procedures resulted in one significant *p < .05. **p < .01.
function, Wilks' Lambda = .871, P< .002. The softball Note. XX-item not included in the discriminant function
repeated throw item emerged as the most powerful equation

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63
 ULRICH
Table5
Means and Standard Deviations for Groupe (top,
middle, and bottom third on perceived competence
scores) on the Motor Competence Test Items
Dependent
Variable
Group 1 (top
1/3rd) Group 2 Group 3
M SD M SD M SD
Soccer dribble 7.20 2.60 6.49 2.17 5.95 1.87
Playground ball
dribble 15.99 6.73 14.44 6.22 12.69 5.66
Softball repeated
throws 10.28 4.45 9.67 3.78 8.96 4.05
Soccer ball throw 198.0283.84174.80 66.65156.12 60.64
Broad jump 47.5810.52 46.30 8.88 42.66 8.43
Downloaded by [University of Hong Kong Libraries] at 09:42 26 March 2013
60 yard shuttle run 18.13 2.01 18.49 1.67 18.63 1.96
Situp 14.58 3.83 13.71 4.99 12.82 5.15
Sidestep 15.15 3.83 14.62 2.98 14.48 2.97
Flexed arm hang 9.50 7.73 8.59 7.05 7.96 6.88
nation of the discriminant function evaluated at group
centroids suggested that this function appeared to
separate best those subjects who were lowest on per-
ceived competence (Group 3) from those of middle or
high levels of perceived competence (Groups 2 and 1).
Discussion
Results of this study do not support the theoretical
relation between perceptions of ability and participa-
tion within the motor domain, for young children.
Two tenable reasons may explain why support for this
relation was not found. The first relates to the reasons
young children gave for their status as participants
and nonparticipants; the second to the probable de-
velopmental nature of this relation.
Within the motor domain and specifically concern-
ing involvement in sports, several variables in addition
to perceptions of ability may affect a child's choice to
become involved. Responses of children in this study
(which were similar to those found in studies which
included older children; Alderman & Wood, 1976;
Sapp & Haubenstricker, 1978) indicate that to have
fun and to be with friends were two of the most im-
portant reasons for pursuing sports. While the possi-
bility exists that skill competence is perceived as a
requisite for fun, perhaps sport participation is me-
diated more by variables associated with social involve-
ment than by competence. This may be true particu-
larly for younger children whose coaches may be less
likely to eliminate players or to stress winning over
skill development and participation for all.
Further, the theoretical perceived competence/
participation motivation relation predicts that reasons
for not participating would relate to perceptions of
low or inadequate ability. However, only 28% of chil-
REsEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, VOL.
64
dren who were nonparticipants in sports rated not
being good enough at sports or not enjoying sports as
very important or somewhat important reasons for
not participating. Reasons most frequently cited for
not participating were (a) programs were too expen-
sive, (b) programs were too far from home, and (c)
subjects were not aware of programs or felt that the
programs available for children their age did not pro-
vide sufficient choices.
Examination of the reasons given for not partici-
pating suggests that although the participant/
nonparticipant dichotomy has been used in the liter-
ature (Roberts et al. 1981; Magill and Ash, 1979;
Guyot et al. 1981), it may not represent a freely-made
choice not to participate. While participants may
choose to become involved, many nonparticipants
may also have the desire to participate and the per-
ception that their motor competencies are sufficient
for successful participation. Other factors, such as
cost, transportation, and so forth, may have prevented
many of them from pursuing this form of activity. In
future research, attention should be given to whether
or not subjects control their status on classification
variables and their reasons for choosing that status.
Of further consideration for future studies is the
additional possibility that a dichotomous classification
for participation status is too broad. A sample of par-
ticipants may include children who have played only
one season in an instructional league, play several
sports, or compete at advanced levels. Nonpartici-
pants may include children who want to participate
but prefer sports unavailable to them, are prevented
from participating by economic factors, or simply do
not want to be involved. At the extremes within these
categories the relationship between perceived compe-
tence and one's participation status may be significant
while for others in between it may not.
The second explanation for a nonsignificant rela-
tion between perceived competence and sport partic-
ipation relates to the probable developmental nature
of the perceived competence/participation motivation
relation. In previous studies which used participants
and nonparticipants in sport to investigate this rela-
tion, older children served as subjects. The youngest
sample was comprised of fourth and fifth graders
(Roberts et al., 1981), in which case a significant re-
lation was obtained. If this relation begins to be sig-
nificant at approximately the fourth-grade level, the
pooling of subjects by these researchers would have
increased the power in their analyses. In the present
investigation, fourth graders were the oldest subjects
involved, fewer fourth graders were assessed, and
their scores were pooled with those of children in four
lower grades, thus decreasing the power to detect a
significant F value.
An examination of mean values on perceived com-
58, No. I
 ULRICH
petence for participants and nonparticipants shows a
difference favoring the participants at each grade lev-
el except kindergarten (see Table 1). While the overall
participation main effect was not significant, F( 1,230)
= 2.69, P < .10, an examination of the mean differ-
ence between perceived competence scores for par-
ticipants and nonparticipants (Table 1) shows an in-
crease as grade level increases. Therefore, the relation
between these variables is changing though it may not
become significant until later elementary school years,
approximately fourth to fifth grade.
In the second major relation examined in this study
a significant relation was found between children's
demonstrated motor competence and their participa-
tion in organized sport. Specifically, subjects who par-
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ticipated in sport programs performed the selected
motor items better than did nonparticipants. Fol-
low-up tests suggested that this difference was due
primarily to scores on the sport skill items. While di-
rect effects cannot be established from a descriptive
study, these results suggest that involvement in sport
may have a significant and positive effect on skill level,
In this sample, soccer was the one sport or one of the
sports of involvement for 66% of all participants. Sev-
enty-five percent of the participants in the third or
lower grades participated in soccer. The discriminant
function analysis extracted the soccer ball dribble item
as the most powerful motor competence item in pre-
dicting group membership, that is, participant or
nonparticipant. This skill would be the one most likely
to be affected by such involvement.
That little relation was found between motor ability
items and participation supports the only other study
which investigated this relationship across a similar
age range. Magill and Ash (1979) found that the per-
formance of first- through fifth-grade participants
and nonparticipants in sport on selected perceptual-
motor tasks was not different. While their tasks were
limited in number and scope of motor abilities, the
present investigation examined performance on a
wider range of gross motor abilities. At the univariate
level of analysis, the present results agree with those of
Magill and Ash; none of the motor ability items was
significantly related to participation. However, several
of the present items contributed some discriminating
power at the multivariate level of analysis.
The greater capacity of motor skill items, particu-
larly a soccer skill item for this sample, to distinguish
between participants and nonparticipants supports
the contention of Feltz and Brown (1984) that aspects
of the theoretical model of participation/motivation
and its correlates are not only domain specific but may
vary by sport. Perhaps Henry's (1968) hypothesis
stated years ago regarding the specificity of motor
skills applies not only to the performance of skills but
to their interrelation with psychological constructs as
RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, VOL.
65
well. Future investigations should consider that in ad-
dition to general test items (perceived competence and
motor competence), items that are related to the sport
or sports most frequently available to or played by the
sample population may provide a more meaningful
profile of children's perceptions and competencies.
The significant relation found between perceptions
of physical competence and demonstrated motor
competence suggests that these children had a rela-
tively accurate perception of their motor competence,
at least when grouped into the top, middle, or bottom
third of their grade level on perceived competence.
Further, those children in the bottom one third of
their grade level on perceived competence were more
easily distinguished from the others than were the top
or middle groups. This would not surprise practition-
ers, who routinely observe that the poorly skilled are
made aware quickly of their lack of skill. The fact that
this may be demonstrated so early and that sport skills
were more strongly related to perceptions of compe-
tence than were motor ability items suggests the prac-
tical need to assess skill levels and subsequently pro-
vide individualized, objectives-based instruction for
all school children.
These results are generally in agreement with stud-
ies involving older subjects (Boling and Kirk, 1983;
Guyot et al., 1981). However, some discrepancy is ap-
parent between the present results and those found by
Harter (Harter, 1982; Harter & Pike, 1984) for chil-
dren ages 4 to 12. When correlating children's per-
ceptions of their motor competence to teachers' per-
ceptions of the children's competence she found low
but rising coefficients for the 4- to 7-year-old subjects
and consistently moderate (.60s) values for the 8- to
12-year-old subjects. This suggests an interaction
among age, perceptions of competence and actual
competence. That is, the accuracy of children's per-
ceptions improves until approximately age 8, then pla-
teaus at a moderate level through approximately age
12. In this study an interaction between age, percep-
tions of competence and motor competence was not
found.
In the present study, unlike Harter's, the motor
competence tasks were not a direct reflection of the
perceived competence items, which may have de-
creased the power in the analyses to find such a change
in the accuracy of these subjects. However, the meth-
od she used to assess competence makes her interpre-
tation of her correlations as a reflection of the relation
between perceived physical competence and actual
competence questionable. In Harter's work, motor
competence was not demonstrated but inferred by
teachers' perceptions of the children's competence.
Teachers responded to the same perceived compe-
tence questions as did the children by reporting their
perceptions of the child's competence. Essentially,
58, No.1
 ULRICH
Harter's subjects may have become more accurate at
reflecting their teachers' perceptions than in under-
standing their actual motor competence.
Further investigation into possible changes in the
accuracy of self perceptions of motor ability is war-
ranted. Methodology should include assessment of
demonstrated motor competence and a match be-
tween motor competence tasks and perceived compe-
tence items. In addition, consideration should be giv-
en to choosing motor items that relate to those motor
activities in which the sample subjects are most fre-
quently engaged. This may require different items for
different subsamples, particularly when the age range
of the total sample spans several years.
Downloaded by [University of Hong Kong Libraries] at 09:42 26 March 2013
Summary
Overall, the findings of this study suggest that for
young children, perceived physical competence is not
a significant correlate to motivation to participate in
organized sports. However, those who are partici-
pants demonstrate a higher level of skill than
nonparticipants, and, in a general sense, these chil-
dren demonstrate an understanding of their motor
competence relative to their peers, within their own
grade level.
If, as has been suggested by results from other stud-
ies (Feltz & Petlichkoff, 1983; Roberts et aI., 1981;
Weiss, Bredemeier, Shewchuck, 1984), perceptions of
ability do become significantly related to involvement
within a few years, then some direction for practition-
ers may be suggested by these results. During these
early years, efforts to improve actual skill levels and
children's understanding that their levels of skill have
improved and are sufficient for effective participation
in sports, would be most beneficial to raising or main-
taining positive perceptions of competence and a de-
sire to participate in sports.
From a theoretical standpoint, results of this study
support the proposed relation between perceived
competence and actual competence (Bandura, 1977;
Harter, 1981; Sonstroem, 1978). In contrast, a signif-
icant relation between perceived competence and par-
ticipation motivation (Harter, 1981; Harter & Con-
nell, 1984; Nicholls, 1984) was not supported for this
age group. Possibly during these years the sport
participation/motivation paradigm may need to be
modified (Figure 1). Within sport situations, young
children may participate for a variety of reasons (of
which perceptions of competence may be one but not
yet a major contributor). Participation subsequently
affects skill level, which feeds into one's perceptions of
competence. In time, the connection between per-
ceived competence and motivation becomes estab-
lished, although at different rates for different chil-
dren.
RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, VOL.
66
ACTUAL
COMPETENCE
PARTICIPATION
MOTIVATION
F,
(CONNECTION NOT
YET ESTABLISHED) PERCEIVED
COMPETENCE
Figure 1-Posslble relationships among three elements
of the sport participation/motivation paradigm, for young
children.
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Submitted: September 20, 1985
Accepted: May 23, 1986
Beverly Ulrich is a research associate in the Department of Psychology at
Indiana University, Bloomington, 47401. This research was computed in
partial fulfillment of the PhD degree in physical education at Michigan
State University, under the direction of Dr. Vern Seefeldt.
58, No.1