The Impact of Teachers’ Cultural Capital on Participation of Adolescents’ Students in Physical Activity and Sport

Background Effects of cultural capital related to the physical education teacher, which is an important person for adolescents at school, on physical activity behavior of students is not well understood. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of cultural capital related to the physical education teacher on participation of adolescents in physical activity and sport. Materials and Methods The present descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 384 students (192 boys and 192 girls) aged 12 to 15 years (mean age of 13.81±0.75 years) in grades first, second, and third from regular middle schools of Saqqez city, Kurdistan province, Iran, in 2019. The dependent variables were included perceived teachers’ cultural capital, intention to physical activity, and actual physical activity which were measured by researcher-made questionnaires. Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman test, and structural equation method by using Smart-PLS software were utilized to analyze data. Results Results of Mann-Whitney U tests revealed boys reported significantly higher cultural capital scores than girls. Moreover, cultural capital significantly influenced intention to physical activity and actual physical activity behavior of adolescents. In addition, intention to physical activity had significant impacts on actual physical activity behavior. Finally, intention to physical activity played a mediating role in the relationship between cultural capital and physical activity behavior of adolescents (all T>1.96). Conclusion These results indicate that social position of physical education teacher can be considered as an important social factor that affects the participation of adolescents in physical activity and sport.