Social Factors Influencing First Year Students’ Attitude Towards Studying of Physical Education at The University of Nairobi

This study purposed to explore the social factors influencing undergraduate students’ attitudes towards studying physical education at the University of Nairobi. The study used cross-sectional survey design. A total of 273 students were profiled. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Both qualitative and quantitative data were generated by the study. The data was coded and entered into computer for analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviation. From the study, 32.7% of the students indicated that their parents’ career did influence their career choice. Majority, 51.7% of the respondents agreed to have been influenced by family members’ advice to pursue their careers. However, 37.5% of the students demonstrated that they were advised by their friends to choose the career they were pursuing while 44.1% were influenced by their teachers. About 64.5% agreed that they chose the career because it was prestigious while 14.7% agreed that they were influenced by their religious beliefs when it came to the choice of their career. The study recommended provision of quality equipment and resources in the university to improve the attitude of students towards studying PE, the ministry to organize seminars and workshops to create awareness on the importance of PE, further research to be done on the attitude of parents towards PE and the influence of socioeconomic background towards students’ attitude in studying physical education and sports.