Research has established that body image disturbance is associated with a number of negative physical and psychological health outcomes. It is recognised that body image is subject to situational variability, yet to date, research seems to have overlooked the explicit exploration of the stability of the construct within physical education. With this in mind the overarching aim of this thesis was to explore relationships between body image, perceptions of competence and motivation, with specific attention paid to the influence of the physical education environment upon year nine boys and girls situational body satisfaction. Secondly, the thesis explores the role that these three psycho-social constructs play in transfer of learning. The design of the research was a correlational, repeated measures study conducted across two time points, combined with focus group sessions. Quantitative data collection at time point one consisted of 620 pupils from 37 year 9 physical education classes. Time point two consisted of 461 pupils from 38 physical education classes. At both quantitative time points students responded to a questionnaire package which explored perceptions of competence towards physical education, motivation for physical education and aspects of trait and state body image. Participants at time point one also provided demographic information. Additionally, 159 pupils at time point one underwent anthropometric assessments of body fat and BMI. The findings from the thesis identify that 71%-80% of year 9 boys and girls are dissatisfied with their current body size. It was identified that the majority of variance in situational body satisfaction within physical education can be attributed to factors operating at the pupil and time level, with a smaller yet significant proportion of variance being attributed to between-class factors. Lesson content did not significantly predict variations in body satisfaction scores within physical education and evidence from the focus group sessions suggest that classroom entry factors such as the changing rooms maybe more influential that factors operating within the lesson itself. Results revealed higher levels of body satisfaction within physical education are associated with higher perceptions of competence within physical education, higher levels of autonomous towards physical education, higher transfer of learning scores and lower amotivation towards physical education scores. Collectively, the results of the thesis identify the prevalence of body dissatisfaction in 13-14 year old boys and girls and the potential implications negative body satisfaction can have for experiences of physical education. Findings of the thesis warrant further investigation of how the psychological variables explored relate to further contextual and pedagogical factors.

<p> The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the personal perceived stress levels of athletic coaches (n=731) in a large urban public school district in Florida in relation to win/loss records of the most recent athletic season; the study was performed utilizing the PSS-14 (Cohen, 1983). The responses to the survey queries were answered based on a 5-point Likert scale. Out of the 731 coaches who were approached with the survey, 97 participants completed the survey; however, there were four unusable surveys, leaving 93 useable surveys. The 93 surveys constituted a 13.3% portion of the population. The correlational analysis (p&lt; .05) of the responses for High stress scores indicated that these items for the entire group (n=93) of participants were significantly correlated with the win/loss records. Females (n=29) reported more High stress scores on Questions 1, 2, 3, 8, 12, and 14. Males (n=64) reported High Stress for Questions 1, 3, and 12. Questions 1, 3, and 12 were common to both Males and Females. The findings of the research study indicated that there is a relationship between the specific subsets of PSS-14 for two of the statements and the win/loss records for the district. This correlation showed that coaches recognize and attempt to cope with the stressors that they encounter in their day to day activities with regard to their win/loss records and attempt to minimize the effects of stress and worry about anticipated events, (e.g., possible future games, playoffs, tournaments, and other associated events in the high school athletic world). Success in managing these two components of coaching would augment the other components of the PSS-14 since emotional, physical, mental and psychological factors in coaching and playing a sport are closely tied together. Continued research into the infinite possibilities of education and coaching should provide a means to improve each district's performance in the education of youth. Athletics and fitness have existed as a concomitant of education since the earliest forms of education came into existence. The two faces of education and athletics should continue to be examined to profit the individual and the community. </p>

La conceptualització del cos és un fenomen que històricament ha generat controvèrsia, entre altres raons perquè s'ha estudiat i interpretat des d'òptiques molt diferents segons els moments de la història, les cultures i/o les diverses disciplines que han intentat explicar-la. El posicionament en una visió complexa del cos, és a dir, aquella que entén el cos no tan sols com a fenomen biològic, sinó també com a fenomen social, ens proporciona eines evidents per analitzar-lo en la contemporaneïtat i estudiar la idoneïtat del seu tractament en el món educatiu formal, i més en concret, des de l'àrea educació física.Aquesta investigació proposa identificar els elements que utilitzen els infants i adolescents autòctons de cinquè d'educació primària i segon d'educació secundària obligatòria (ESO) d'una mateixa escola de Barcelona, per a construir la dimensió social del cos adult de sexe masculí i de sexe femení. La metodologia proposada per a la investigació és l'estudi de cas múltiple, en el que es distingirà com a mètode de recollida de dades qualitatives l'entrevista clínica de Piaget. Per altra banda, el mètode d'anàlisi de les dades qualitatives serà la grounded theory amb el suport del software d'anàlisi qualitatiu de l'ATLAS/ti en la seva versió 5. / La conceptualización del cuerpo es un fenómeno que históricamente ha generado controversia, entre otras razones porque se ha estudiado e interpretado desde ópticas muy distintas según los momentos de la historia, las culturas y/o las distintas disciplinas que han intentado explicarlo. El posicionamiento en una visión compleja del cuerpo, es decir, aquella que entiende el cuerpo no sólo como fenómeno biológico, sino también como fenómeno social, nos proporciona herramientas evidentes para analizarlo en la contemporaneidad y estudiar la idoneidad de su tratamiento en el mundo educativo formal, y más concretamente, desde el área de educación física.Esta investigación propone identificar los elementos que niños/as autóctonos de quinto de educación primaria y segundo de educación secundaria obligatoria (ESO) de una misma escuela de Barcelona, utilizan para construir la dimensión social del cuerpo adulto de sexo masculino y de sexo femenino. La metodología propuesta para la investigación es la del estudio de caso múltiple, en la se distingue como método de recogida de datos cualitativos la entrevista clínica de Piaget. Por otro lado, el método de análisis de los datos cualitativos será la grounded theory con el soporte del software de análisis cualitativo ATLAS/ti en su versión 5. / The body as a concept has always been a controversial issue because of the different approaches used to explain it through the sciences and different cultures. A complex approach to the body views it not only as a biological phenomenon, but also as a social construction. This new approach provides us with new tools to analyze the need to introduce the body as a complex reality in our formal education system through Physical Education taken as a subject.This research proposes to identify the elements selected by native children in five grades of Primary Education, and by native adolescents in their second year of Secondary Education (ESO, in the Spanish system), attending the same school in Barcelona, in order to construct the social dimension of the adult male and female body. The methodology used during the research was based on case studies, in which we differentiate two methods: as a method to collect data, the clinic Piaget interview and, as a method to analyze data, the grounded theory, with the ATLAS/ti (5th version) software support.