PS 314: Applying psychology in the Pacific

Sports Psychology

Submission 3

Data Analysis (Local Data Summaries)

Course Coordinator: Dr. Annie Crookes

Group members:

1. Jessica S.O. Work - s11185977

2. Sinal Devi - s11184669
3. Leah-M. Qalomai - s11185643
4. Anjali A. Prasad – s11187039
 Submission 3: Data Analysis (local data summaries)

Topic: The underlying psychology in increasing the engagement of people into sports
and physical health: School and Workforce Environment.

Methods:
1.1 Overview:
The aim of our research is to find ways people are motivated in sporting and physical
activities and the role school and work environments play in encouraging people to
participate in physical activity. Some of the sectors that the research and interviews have
taken place are youth in university, working population and teachers. There were further
categories into four different stakeholders, and these are: physically active students, low
physically active students, people in the workforce and teaching staff.

1.2 Research question, themes for discussion

As highlighted and discussed in the literature review the data analysis and report section will
focus on the theme sport psychology in a Pacific Island Nation, Fiji. It will shed light on
some of the ways in engaging people into sports and other physical activity. There are three
research question that have been used while compiling this project and they are:
● What motivates individuals to engage in sports and physical activity?
● What are the interventions in schools that encouraged students to engage in sports and
physical activity?
● How do work environments encourage workers to engage in physical activity?
● What role can psychology play in engaging people in sports?

1.3 Stakeholders contacts summary

Stakeholder organisation / Name How contacted them / Meeting took place? data
or relevant role for theme dates tried to make collected or not available?
contact

Stakeholder 1: Physically Yashneel  Contacted via  Meeting took place in the

Active Students phone call on library on 20/10/22
19/10/22  Data collected on his
 Meeting experience in soccer from
scheduled on childhood to tertiary level
20/10/22
 Moana  Contacted via  Video Meeting rescheduled
Instagram on and occurred on 22/10/22
19/10/22 due to Moana’s
 Video call unavailability
Meeting  Data collected on her
scheduled on experience in swimming
20/10/22 and basketball

Sharon  Asked her at  Meeting occurred in staff

work on lounge on 20/10/22
20/10/22  Data collected on sports
engagement throughout her
schooling experience and
the difficulties she faced
when joining university

Jioji  Contacted via  Meeting took place

Instagram on 21/10/22 at Frangipani Café
19/10/22 in USP
 Meeting  Data collected on his
scheduled on experience being introduced
the 21/10/22 to basketball in high school
and how he has continued
with this in tertiary.

Stakeholder 2: Low Glorica  Contacted via  Meeting took place in the

Physically Active Students Instagram on bure at USP on 31/10/22
21/10/22  Data collected on her
 Meeting physical activity levels,
scheduled on how the schools she
31/10/22 attended promoted it and
any intervention she took to
be more active

Luisa  Contacted via  Video call meeting took

Instagram on place on 28/10/22
21/10/22  Data collected on her
 Meeting physical activity levels,
scheduled on how the schools she
28/10/22 attended promoted it and
any intervention she took to
be more active

Shahista  Contacted via  Video call meeting took

Instagram on place on 28/10/22
21/10/22  Data collected on her
 Meeting physical activity levels,
Scheduled on how the schools she
28/10/22 attended promoted it and
 any intervention she took to
be more active

Shahil  Contacted via  Meeting took place in the

Instagram on bure at USP on 31/10/22
21/10/22  Data collected on his
 Meeting physical activity levels,
scheduled on how the schools he attended
31/10/22 promoted it and any
intervention he took to be
more active

Stakeholder 3: People in Tara  From SPC  Meeting took place in her

the workforce  Asked in office at SPC on 24/10/22
person on  Data collected on their
17/10/22 experience in sports and
 Scheduled a how the organization helps
meeting on engage its workers in
24/10/22 physical activity

Vasiti  From SPC  Meeting took place by her

 Asked in desk on 24/10/22
person on  Data collected on their
17/10/22 experience in sports and
 Scheduled a how the organization helps
meeting on engage its workers in
24/10/22 physical activity

Delvin  From SPC  Meeting took place by his

 Asked in desk on 24/10/22
person on  Data collected on their
24/10/22 experience in sports and
 Scheduled a how the organization helps
engage its workers in
meeting on
physical activity
24/10/22

Ash  From SPC  Meeting took place in his

 Asked in office on 24/10/22
person on  Data collected on their
24/10/22 experience in sports and
 Scheduled a how the organization helps
engage its workers in
meeting on
physical activity
24/10/22

Raveena  Staff at USP  Meeting conducted on

 Asked in 25/10/22 at SLS hub
person on  Data collected on their
 25/10/22 experience in sports and
 Scheduled a how the organization helps
meeting on engage its workers in
25/10/22 physical activity

Stakeholder 4: Teaching Mr Simon  Asked in  Meeting conducted at Mr

Staff (School person on Simon’s house on 1/11/22
Teacher) 28/10/22  Data collected on his
 Meeting experience engaging
scheduled on students in physical activity
1/11/22

Mr Jeremy  Asked via  Meeting conducted in Mr

(Physical email on Jeremy’s office in USP
Education 31/10/22  Data collected on his
lecturer at  Meeting experience engaging
USP) students in physical activity
scheduled on
2/11/22

2.0 Results

2.1 Stakeholder 1- Physically Active Students

We interviewed four students who are physically active and participate in sports
competitively.

How did you get into regular physical activity?

It was seen that these four students became physically active because they participated in
sports over their primary and secondary education.

● Sharon was active in swimming in primary school and basketball in high school
● Jioji active in rugby in primary school while in high school and university became
active in basketball.
● Moana, active in swimming high school and basketball in high school as well as
university.
● Yashneel had a passion for soccer since primary school.

All four stated that the time given by schools for students to play sports, for example, the last
hour of school in primary school or physical education periods in high school helped them
become engaged in the sport. It was noticed that competitions motivated them to keep
training and enhance their skills as all four competed at inter-school competitions at district
and national level representing their schools.
What was the motivation to continue engaging in sports and physical activity?

● They considered sports fun

● Moana and Sharon described it as an ‘escape’
● All four stated it helped them made great friends and enjoyed playing with people
who loved the sport
● All four emphasised on its importance for their physical and mental health
● Two of the four expressed interest in playing their sport of interest professionally

How did your school promote physical fitness among students?

● For example, Through physical education periods

● Participants stated that they would play almost every afternoon in primary schools
and had 2 periods per week for physical education (P.E.) in high school
● All four represented their schools in inter-school competitions, therefore, had their
own training in the afternoon which was organised by the coach/teacher in charge.
● The schools’ participants consisted of a ground and a court. Sharon’s primary school
had a swimming pool, a swimming instructor came in every week to teach them
throughout her time there.

What were some of the challenges you faced?

● Time management- especially now in university as the loads are higher

● Difficulty maintaining consistency in university as they had to find their own clubs
● Some schools focused more on one sport or more academic oriented which reduced
motivation

How do you stay consistent?

All four were part of a team in their schools so this motivated them to continue training and
engaging in competitions. It was their responsibility as a member of the team to show up for
training. Now three students are part of a team still in their respective clubs. However, Sharon
expressed that when she entered university, she took an unplanned break from sports. This
was because in university students you had to actively seek out the sport and club you are
interested in. She ended up getting whisked away in school and it was not until this year that
she pushed herself to go for squash and bowling training with friends. Now she is being
active in these sports but mentions that she felt more active in high school.

2.2 Stakeholder 2- Physically Inactive Students

We interviewed four students in USP who we knew engaged in low physical activity.

What are some of the struggles you face when engaging in physical activity/sport-
related activities?

● Getting really tired easily and had body pains when engaging in such activities
 ● Struggled to find opportunities to participate in physical activity as a lot of time a lot
of their time was taken up by ‘university load’ and other personal commitments

How did your primary and high school promote sports?

Three of the four students stated that their school promoted sports in terms of physical
education periods, having a netball and soccer team representing their school and
extracurricular activities such as Kula Dance Competitions. The school’s students also had a
playing ground and a court. One student stated that her school focused more on academics so
did not really promote sports as much as it should have. There were physical education
periods, but they were not always scheduled outdoor games. Sometimes other subject
teachers would poach the periods, they would write notes on PE instead, or it would be
considered a ‘free period’ to do other subjects.

Would you say you are less/more physically active in university compared to high
school? Why?

All four participants explained that they were less physically active now compared to high
school. They all explained this due to university load and finding it hard to sacrifice time for
physical activity. Some of the things participants said ranged from ‘too many assignments’,
‘increased workload compared to high school’ and having ‘little to no time’ for physical
activity.

Have you ever tried to be more active? If so, what were your motivations for this and
how did this journey go?

All students stated that they did try to be more active by going for walks in the
neighbourhood and trying out the gym. One student said that their motivation was to go back
to how slim they were in the past, another was afraid of becoming obese, one expressed that
one point in their life they got really lazy so wanted to become more active so that they would
not ‘suffer late in life’; finally, another said that they were in a state of depression so they
tried to ‘sweat it out instead of crying it out’. All four stated that they were in a kind of a
cycle where they would want to be more active, try it out, then it would work for a while and
then their consistency would start lacking, leading to eventually not trying anymore.

2.3 Stakeholder 3- People in Workforce

We interacted with four people from Pacific Community (SPC) and one person from (USP)
to discuss how their workforce engaged them in physical activity/sport. All five classified
themselves as active people.

How does your workforce engage you in physical activity/sport?

SPC
 ● Organization has Wellness Wednesdays from 3pm-4pm to do a form of physical
activity
● All four stated they would leave work and go to their respective spaces that
accommodate the sport they love. For example, Ash went to the tennis club, Tara
went paddling, Delvin played soccer at his club and Vasiti would sometimes go and
play rugby at her club.
● However, they said at times when things get busy at work, they would just use the
wellness hour to do office work.
● The workers also sometimes organised table tennis competitions between different
departments at wor. There was also an inter-business bowling competition that SPC
takes part in, people volunteer to play and a team is formed.

USP

 The staff that we talked to was under SLS and stated that this year her boss emailed
about health and wellness day which encouraged her to be physically active again
after years of inactivity. She stated that there was a netball competition between
different schools within USP which encouraged them to train during the week. This
was also a good thing for social interaction.

What are some challenges you face in trying to be physically active?

SPC

● Finding time to be active while being a parent and being in a demanding job

USP

 Finding time and motivation was a challenge for her. She stated that the competitions
between the schools were a driving factor to play netball, now that the competitions
were over the training every week died down and eventually stopped.

What are the benefits of being physically active to you?

All five stated it helped them stay physically fit, relieved stress, helped their mental health
and it was refreshing to do something other than ‘work’.

2.4 Stakeholder 4- Teaching Staff in Education sectors

We talked to a primary school teacher and a university lecturer for physical education units.

As a teacher, how did you engage your students in physical activity?

Primary School Teacher

● Two hours given for sports per week to students- included the skill and activity in his
work.
 ● Sometimes teachers would coordinate with each other on having their PE periods at
the same time so different classes in the same stream can compete. This helped drive
the students to learn, play and have fun.

Lecturer

He was very practical in his physical education units; he would try to have classes at the gym
court and engage students in physical activity. He would also tailor his assignments around
playing sports, for example, students to organise tournaments and play them.

What are some challenges faced when engaging students in physical activity?

Primary School Teacher

● Limited equipment e.g., number of balls

● Teacher’s college did not equip him well enough on how to teach physical education
skills to students

USP Lecturer

● Limited equipment and space for booking court

● Limited range of sports available in USP- mainly rugby, soccer, basketball, netball

3.0 Discussion- SWOT Analysis

4.0 Conclusion
Sports psychology is a fascinating field that includes many different areas of study, all with
the goal of improving performance, promoting healthy living, and increasing participation in
sports. Our subtheme is engaging people in sports and physical activity. The research was
based in different sectors to get reviews from people, the sectors that were involved were
students from the university (students who were physically active and students who were less
active), teachers and the workforce. All questions were aimed at finding out what the stance
was on engaging in sports and physical activity in schools and workforce environments. It
focused on finding what motivated people, the challenges they faced and the effect of
interventions in promoting physical activity at school and work. It was highlighted in the
research that people kept constant physical activity because they joined a particular sport
which they enjoyed. The different competitions that they had in school were highly
motivating for the students to take part. All groups recognized the importance of physical
activity to one’s health. In schools, PE periods and competitions motivated students to
participate in physical activity. Although, there was mention of some schools favouring a
particular sport or neglecting sports to focus solely on academics. At the workforce,
programmes launched such as Wellness Wednesday and interdepartmental competitions
encouraged workers to be active. This really helped them to get off their busy and hectic
work life and relieve stress. There were common challenges faced by the different groups
such as finding time to play sports with their other commitments like school, work and being
parents; finding the proper motivation and consistency; and lack of equipment. It was noticed
that those who were not physically active did not have fun doing sports and mostly did it to
not gain more weight. While interventions in school and at work were in place, the
motivation of individuals to engage in them was essential for it to work. Sports psychology
can be used to design interventions or programs that encourage individuals to stay physically
active. This includes methods like finding the right activity, setting the right goals, driving
the right motivation and mental training for consistency.