Regional Differences in Student Attitudes Toward Physical Fitness, Fundamental Game Skills, Physical Education, and Leisure-Time Activity: A Comparative Study of Punjab, Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir

Background: In India, school-age children encounter a wide range of environmental, cultural, and infrastructure factors that may influence their perspectives on physical education (PE) and physical activity. There is still a lack of comparative, region-sensitive evidence.

Purpose: The goal is to investigate and contrast the general attitudes of school children in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) regarding four important areas of physical education viz. physical fitness, basic game skills, attitude toward PE classes, and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA).

Methods: After completing a three-month training program, 72 final-year B.P.Ed. studentteachers implemented standardized physical education instructional units in government and private schools that were purposefully chosen throughout the three states. The Post-Physical Education Program Training Questionnaire (12 Likert-scaled items; 4 domains) was filled out by students in Grades 8–10 (N=270; 30 per state per comparison group; balanced urban/rural mix). Instrument content validity was established by expert review; internal consistency reliability exceeded α=0.80. Independent‑samples t tests examined pairwise state differences; one‑way ANOVA tested overall group differences.

Findings: Students from Punjab had the most positive overall attitudes (M=48.13, SD=1.64), followed by those from J&K (M=45.66, SD=2.15) and Rajasthan (M=42.79, SD=2.63). At p<.01 (ts≥3.00), all three pairwise comparisons were significant. ANOVA confirmed a strong overall effect, F(2,87)=92.70, p<.01; MS_between=427.85; MS_within=4.61.

Conclusions: Perceptions of PE-related outcomes among students vary markedly by state and seem to be influenced by contextual factors, such as sports culture in Punjab, climatic and infrastructure limitations in Rajasthan, and geopolitical/climatic disruptions in J&K. Results back up the creation of region-responsive PE curricula, targeted infrastructure investment, and teacher training to promote equitable engagement in physical activity across India.