Abstract

Physical activity is extremely important for the development of physical and psychosocial well-being at various stages of life. The objective was to determine the differences in the self-perception of physical education among school adolescents and older adults in a region of Chile by means of a retrospective survey. Twenty-eight school children of both sexes (16 males and 12 females) and 25 older adults (12 males and 13 females) were evaluated. The age range was 16 to 17 years for school children and 70 to 85 years for older adults. A self-perception scale was applied to physical education (PE), called APEF, which has two indicators (value and ability for PE). In the group of men, it was observed that adolescents showed significantly higher values in the indicator of self-perception of value in PE than their older adult counterparts; however, there were no significant differences in the indicator of self-perception of skills in PE. In females, there were no differences between adolescents and older adults. In both indicators (PA to value and PA to skills), the results indicate similar values. This study concludes that there were no substantial changes in women's self-perception of PE in terms of value and skill for PE, although, in male schoolchildren, the results indicate that they valued PE more than their older adult counterparts.