SEX, AGE GROUP AND LOCALITY DIFFERENCES IN ADOLESCENT ATHLETES' BELIEFS, VALUES AND GOAL ORIENTATION IN TRACK AND FIELD

Original Article

SEX, AGE GROUP AND LOCALITY DIFFERENCES IN ADOLESCENT ATHLETES' BELIEFS, VALUES AND GOAL ORIENTATION IN TRACK AND FIELD

Ngien-Siong Chin¹, Selina Khoo², Wah-Yun Low³

¹Institute of Graduate Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

²Sports Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

³Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

This study used the Eccles et al. expectancy-value model of achievement choice and achievement goal the-ory to investigate sex, age group and locality differences in adolescent athletes' expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values and achievement goals in track and field. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 632 (349 male, 283 female) athletes from the under 15 and 18 years age groups (mean, 15.2  1.28 years) who volunteered to participate in the annual state track and field meet. The participants completed the expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values measures, and Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Question-naire. Results indicated a significant interaction effect between sex, age group and locality for expectancy-related beliefs, F(1, 624)  8.02 ( p 0.05) and subjective task values, F(1, 624)  5.98 ( p 0.05). However, no significant interaction effect between sex, age group and locality were found for task orientation, F(1, 624)  0.68 ( p 0.05) and ego orientation, F(1, 624)  0.04 ( p 0.05). Expectancy-related beliefs were found to be related with subjective task values (r 0.64, p 0.01), task orientation (r 0.40, p 0.01), and ego orientation (r 0.24, p 0.01). Subjective task values were related to task orientation (r 0.47, p 0.01) and weakly with ego orientation (r 0.16, p 0.01). Task orientation was also related to ego orientation (r 0.29, p 0.01). [ J Exerc Sci Fit • Vol 7 • No 2 • 112–121 • 2009]

Keywords: achievement goals, adolescent athletes, expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values, Malaysia










Introduction

Motivation plays a vital role in sports as it influences why and how adolescent athletes engage in the activities they choose, affecting the quality of their engagement and ultimately the outcome of their effort. Research on motivation in sports and physical education has utilized the Eccles et al. expectancy-value model of achievement

Corresponding Author

Ngien-Siong Chin, c/o Selina Khoo, Sports Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, MALAYSIA.

Tel: (60) 82-451461

Fax: (60) 82-572030

E-mail: ngiensiong@gmail.com

choice (Eccles et al. 1993; Eccles & Harold 1991) and achievement goal theory (Duda et al. 1995; Duda 1989) to predict the choices and goal orientations of athletes.

The Eccles et al. expectancy-value model of achieve-ment choice is a social-cognitive theory which explains motivational factors that individuals use to make deci-sions about achievement choice. According to the model, individuals' achievement performance, effort, persistence and choice of achievement tasks are influ-enced by their expectancy-related beliefs and task values they attach to achievement tasks (Fredricks & Eccles 2002; Eccles & Harold 1991; Eccles et al. 1983). The Eccles et al. model is based on the premise that the choices that one makes are primarily guided by one's expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values of the activity (Fredricks & Eccles 2002; Eccles & Harold

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N.S. Chin et al.

1991). Expectancy-related beliefs consist of both beliefs about ability and expectancies for success (Xiang et al. 2003). Subjective task values are defined as incentives for engaging in different tasks (Xiang et al. 2004a).

Achievement goal is a social-cognitive theory that proposes that individuals have different goals for engaging in achievement behavior (Pintrich & Schunk 1996). The two goal orientations are task and ego ori-entations. Task orientation is related to demonstrating competence, personal improvement and task mastery. It is assumed that task orientation will lead to positive and adaptive achievement behaviors (Duda et al. 1995). Ego orientation is based on one's subjective evaluation of performance compared with that of others (Nicholls 1989, 1984). Generally, ego orientation is associated with maladaptive motivational patterns that are depen-dent on an individual's perceived ability, including avoidance of difficult learning tasks and attributing success or failure to natural ability (Xiang et al. 2004a).

The link between achievement goal theory and expectancy-value model have been proposed to pro-vide a more complete picture of how the multiple facets of motivation relate to each other and to achievement-related patterns of students (Wigfield & Eccles 1992). They suggested that when individuals value a task primarily for intrinsic reasons, they would be likely to approach the task with a mastery (task) goal orienta-tion. If individuals value the task primarily for utilitar-ian reasons, they would attempt the task if they know they can succeed and avoid it if it seems too difficult (Wigfield & Eccles 2002).

Studies have shown that achievement goals, expectancy beliefs and task values are related to one another and predictive of children's intention for future participation in physical education (Xiang et al. 2004a; DeBacker & Nelson 2000). In addition, Xiang et al. (2006, 2004b) revealed that mastery goal was related to expectancy beliefs, task values and intention for future participation in running whereas performance goal was related to expectancy beliefs and task value of impor-tance. Task-oriented students tended to feel competent and valued the running program as useful, important and interesting as well as showed a strong intention for future participation in running.

Among the factors that influence athletes' perception of beliefs, values and goal orientation in track and field are sociodemographic characteristics. Adolescents' com-petence beliefs and valuing of activities tend to differ mainly in sex stereotypic ways where males have higher beliefs, values and goals compared to females (Gao & Xiang 2008; Eccles et al. 1993; Eccles & Harold 1991;

Wigfield et al. 1990, 1989). Studies have found that females tend to be more task-oriented while males tend to be more ego-oriented in the athletics context (Duncan 2006; MacDonald 2001; Plute 1999; Siegel 1999; Li et al. 1996). Task-oriented athletes tended to believe that sports would enhance cooperative skills, personal mastery, togetherness and higher levels of enjoyment. In contrast, ego orientation was positively linked with the belief that sports would increase career mobility, enhance one's popularity, social status and build a competitive spirit that tend to be associated with a lower level of motivation (Duncan 2006; Duda 1989). Other studies have also supported these find-ings (Duda et al. 1995; White & Duda 1994; Buchan & Roberts 1991; Duda 1989).

Research in motivation and achievement has gen-erally shown that competency beliefs and values varied as a function of age where the children's perceptions of competence declined as they got older (Daigle 2003). Empirical studies have reported that young children's beliefs about their ability and expectancies are overly optimistic as they always think that they are compe-tent in and will do well on upcoming tasks (Gao 2007; Xiang et al. 2004a, 2003; Wigfield et al. 1997; Lee et al. 1995; Wigfield & Eccles 1992; Eccles et al. 1989). How-ever, as children age, their ability beliefs and their ex-pectancies for success become more accurate in terms of their actual performance, realistic and sensitive to both success and failure expectations (Wigfield & Eccles 1992; Eccles et al. 1984a; Stipek 1984).

Empirical studies have shown contradictory findings for age differences in expectancy-related beliefs in sports and physical education. Most studies have shown that children's expectancy beliefs decline across school years in sport and physical education (Gao 2007; Xiang et al. 2004a, 2003; Fredricks & Eccles 2002; Wigfield et al. 1997). However, some studies found no or little decline in the children's competency beliefs and sub-jective task values in the sports and physical education domains across age (Xiang et al. 2006, 2005; Eccles et al. 1993; Wigfield et al. 1990).

Many studies have shown that younger athletes tend to be more task-oriented than older athletes (Xiang et al. 2004a; Weiss & Ferrer-Caja 2002; Xiang & Lee 2002; Digelidis & Papaioannou 1999; Thill & Brunel 1995; Buchan & Roberts 1991). However, other studies (Tzetzis et al. 2002; Christodoulidis et al. 2001) found no age differences in task and ego orientation.

Few empirical studies have been conducted to deter-mine the motivation between urban and rural youths in sports utilizing Eccles et al.'s expectancy-value

J Exerc Sci Fit • Vol 7 • No 2 • 112–121 • 2009    113

theory and achievement goal theory. Bush et al.'s (2001) study on sports and urban school youth showed that sports involvement has positive influences on self-esteem and social competence. Many rural schools often face serious economic and resource constraints such as its remoteness, being socioeconomically dis-advantaged, with limited facilities, funding and oppor-tunities that place rural athletes at risk for low motivation and lack of success (Hardre et al. 2007). However, Freeman and Anderman (2005) found that rural students were more task-oriented than urban stu-dents due to mastery goal structures in their schools.

The purpose of this study was to examine sex, age group and locality differences on expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values and goal orientation of adolescent athletes. It also examined the relationship between the Eccles et al. expectancy-value model of achievement choice and achievement goal theory.

Methods



Participants

The sample comprised 632 adolescent athletes (349 males, 283 females) who participated in the 34^th Sarawak School Sports Interdivision Athletic Meet which was held in Miri, Sarawak. Sarawak is the largest state of the 13 states in Malaysia, and is located on the north-western coast of Borneo island. Sarawak is divided into 11 administrative divisions. These athletes represented their respective divisions in the competition and are considered the best in the state level for the under 15 and 18 years age groups. These age groups were cho-sen because of research suggesting that participation motives and achievement behavior changes around this age (White 1999). Permission for the study was granted by the Sarawak Education Department, all divi-sional education officers, the Sarawak State Sports Council, team managers and coaches. Participation in the study was voluntary. In the conduct of this study, several operational definitions were used to avoid dif-ferent interpretations. The phrase "track and field" in this study refers to athletics. The term "sports" encom-passes all competitive activities, regardless of the level of physical activity. "Physical education" refers to physi-cal education programs and classes which are taught in schools.

Measures



The study used questionnaires that assessed the ex-pectancy beliefs, subjective task values and achievement

goals of adolescent athletes. The questionnaire was translated into Bahasa Malaysia using the back-transla-tion method (Brislin et al. 1973). The survey instrument was made up of three parts. The first part measured the demographic measures related to sex, age, locality and school. The second part measured expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values. These measures were developed by Eccles et al. (1983), and further used by Gao and Xiang (2008) and Xiang et al. (2004a, 2004b, 2003) in the physical education domain. Both these measures have been reworded to reflect track and field rather than the academic and physical education achievement domain. The third part measured the par-ticipant's goal orientations which were assessed using the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) (Duda & Nicholls 1992).

The expectancy-related beliefs subscale composed of expectancy-related beliefs and expectancy for success is assessed by five items. The items are measured on a 7-point Likert type scale anchored at the ends. The subjective task values subscale is composed of attain-ment value, utility value and intrinsic value, which are assessed by six items. The items are measured on a 7-point Likert type scale anchored at both ends.

Both expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values subscales showed good validity and reliability in the sports and physical education settings (Xiang et al. 2004a, 2003). Xiang et al.'s (2004a) longitudinal study demonstrated reliable consistency for expectancy-related beliefs and task values in their first-year data (Cronbach's α
 0.63 and 0.68, respectively) and second-year data (Cronbach's α
 0.62 and 0.65, respectively).

The TEOSQ is a 13-item scale questionnaire that measures task orientation (7 items) and ego orientation (6 items). Participants are asked to think when they felt most successful in track and field. The stem for all items was modified to, "I feel most successful in track and field when…" for the purposes of this study. Examples of items are: "…I work really hard" (task ori-entation) and "…the others can't do as well as me" (ego orientation). Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1  strongly disagree, 5  strongly agree). A mean score is calculated for both the task and ego scales. This gave a mean score between 1 (low) and 5 (high) for each orientation.

The task and ego goal orientation also showed excel-lent reliabilities in the sports domains (Xiang et al. 2004a, 2004c; Lim 2002; Xiang & Lee 2002). In Malaysia, the TEOSQ has been translated into Bahasa Malaysia and validated by Lim (2002). The task and ego orientation subscales demonstrated adequate internal

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N.S. Chin et al.








consistencies with alpha reliability coefficients of 0.82 and 0.71, respectively (Lim 2002).

A pilot test was carried out to investigate the relia-bility of the expectancy-related beliefs, task values and goal orientations subscales in Bahasa Malaysia. The pilot test was assessed using the test–retest reliability method on 36 athletes who completed the question-naire over a 1-week interval. Results showed that the measures were reliable.

Results

There was high reliability for all the scales as shown in Table 1. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values scales were 0.81 and 0.82 respectively. The internal con-sistency coefficients for TEOSQ and task and ego orien-tation subscales were 0.78, 0.73 and 0.78 respectively.

Sociodemographic characteristics of participants

Table 2 presents the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. Table 2 shows that out of the total number of participants who volunteered in the study (n 632), 349 (55.2%) were male and 283 (44.8%) were female. The athletes' mean age was 15.1  1.2 years. The age-group categories showed that 421 (66.6%) of the respondents were 13–15 years old and 211 (33.4%) were 16–18 years old.

Sarawak is the most multiracial state in Malaysia with 27 ethnic groups. The distribution in terms of ethnicity showed that the Iban formed the largest percentage with 52.5%. This was followed by Chinese, Others and Malay who comprised 16.9%, 13.0% and 11.6%of the population, respectively. The Bidayuhs and

Table 1. Reliability of expectancy-related beliefs, subjective
task values, task and ego goal orientations

Scale	Internal consistency
Overall expectancies and task value	0.88
Expectancy-related beliefs scale	0.81
Beliefs about ability	0.71
Expectancies for success	0.76
Subjective task values scale	0.82
Attainment value/importance	0.63
Intrinsic value/interest	0.70
Utility value/usefulness	0.70
TEOSQ	0.78
Task orientation	0.73
Ego orientation	0.78

TEOSQ  Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire.

Indians formed the minority of the groups with only 5.7% and 0.3%, respectively. A total of 471 (74.5%) were rural athletes and 161 (25.5%) were urban athletes. Table 2 also shows that there were 570 (90.2%) divi-sional athletes, 57 (9%) state athletes and 5 (0.8%) dis-trict athletes.

A 2  2  2 (sex  age group  locality) analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine the effects of sex, age group and locality on expectancy beliefs, subjective task values, and task and ego goal orientations. Table 3 shows the mean and standard deviations for expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values, and task and ego goal orientations by sex, age group and locality.

Table 4 shows the ANOVA for expectancy beliefs, subjective task values, and task and ego goal orienta-tions as a function of sex, age group and locality. The ANOVA for expectancy-related beliefs revealed that there were significant main effects of sex [F(1, 624)  6.55, p 0.05] and age group [F(1, 624)  4.55, p 
0.05] but no significant main effect of locality [F(1,
624)  0.97, p 0.05]. In general, male athletes had higher expectancy-related beliefs (5.12  0.86) than female athletes (4.97  0.81), and older athletes had higher expectancy-related beliefs (5.13  0.83) than younger athletes (5.02  0.84).

There was a significant interaction between sex and locality [F(1, 624)  4.75, p 0.05, partial η²
 0.008].



Table 2. Demographic characteristics of the 632 participants*

Sex
Male	349	(55.2)
Female	283	(44.8)
Age (yr)	15.15  1.27
13–15	421	(66.6)
16–18	211	(33.4)
Ethnicity
Iban	332	(52.5)
Bidayuh	36 (5.7)
Cina	107	(16.9)
Malay	73	(11.6)
Indian	2 (0.3)
Other	82	(13.0)
Locality
Urban	161	(25.5)
Rural	471	(74.5)
Highest level of competition
District	5	(0.8)
Division	570 (90.2)
State	57 (9.0)
Total	632	(100)

*Data presented as n (%) or mean  standard deviation.






J Exerc Sci Fit • Vol 7 • No 2 • 112–121 • 2009    115

locality*					8681	84		8984	87		4747	47		6968	69
					............
		Total			000			00	000			000			0
					
					97	06		4234	38		1007	09		1298	06
					...........
and					5.1245			55	5		44	4		32	3
group					81			7877			4543			7271
					.			..			..			..
age	yr)		Rural		0.820			00			00			00
sex,														
					0819			5245			1209			0612
	18
of					..			..			..			..
	–				55			55			44			33
	(16
unction
	group				83			7478			4247			6076
f			Urban		.79.			..			..			..
a					00			00			00			00
	Age
as														
					80			7703			3012			1696
					.			..			..			..
orientations					5.474			55			44			32
					78			8885			4748			7068
					.			..			..			..
goal	yr)		Rural		0.870			00			00			00
														
ego	15				1396			4142			0604			1402
	–				..			..			..			..
					54			55			44			33
and	(13
	group
task					9281			0591			5248			6849
and			Urban
					..			..			..			..
	Age				00			10			00			00
														
values,					85			0518			1007			1069
					.			..			..			..
					4.934			55			44			32
task					80	30		8582	84		4747	47		7169	70
					...........
subjective			Rural		0.8500			00	0		00	0		00	0
					
					03	08		4443	43		0805	07		1105	09
					...........
	Locality				5.1255			55	5		44	4		33	3
beliefs,
					82	87		9985	93		4948	48		6562	65
					...........
related			Urban		0.9000			00	0		00	0		00	0
					
					83	99		3412	23		1809	14		1280	96
-
					...........
expectancy					5.1544			55	5		44	4		32	2
			yr		8383	83		7880	80		4544	45		6972	70	.
for					............
																deviation
			–18		000			00	000			000			0
					
deviations
					06	13		5931	46		1710	14		0906	08
	group		16		.19...........
					555			55	5		44	4		33	3
																standard
	Age
standard			yr		8879	84		9287	90		4848	48		7065	68
					............											
			–15		000			00	000			000			0
																mean
					
					93	02		3336	34		0705	06		1394	04
and			13		.09...........											as
					545			55	544			432			3
Means					MaleFemale			MaleFemale			MaleFemale			MaleFemale		presented
.						Total			Total			Total			Total
3				Beliefs			Values
Table										Task			Ego			*Data

Urban male athletes had higher expectancy-related beliefs (5.15  0.90) than rural male athletes (5.12  0.85), whereas rural female athletes had higher expectancy-related beliefs (5.03  0.80) than urban female athletes (4.83  0.82). There was also an interac-tion between sex, age group and locality [F(1, 624)  8.02, p 0.05, partial η²
 0.008]. In males, the younger rural athletes had higher expectancy-related beliefs (5.13  0.87) than younger urban athletes (4.93  0.92). Conversely, among males, older urban athletes had higher expectancy-related beliefs (5.47  0.79) than older rural athletes (5.08  0.82). In females, younger rural athletes had higher expectancy-related beliefs (4.96  0.78) than younger urban athletes (4.85  0.81). Similarly, among females, older rural athletes had higher expectancy-related beliefs (5.19  0.81) than older urban athletes (4.80  0.83). This showed that sex differences in expectancy-related beliefs in athlet-ics changes significantly, depending on age group and locality of the school. However, the interaction between

sex and age group was not significant	[F(1, 624) 
0.929, p 0.05, partial η2  0.001]. The	interaction

between age group and locality was also not signifi-cant [F(1, 624)  1.00, p 0.05, partial η²
 0.013].

The ANOVA for subjective task values revealed that there were also significant main effects of sex [F(1, 624)  4.33, p 0.05], age group [F(1, 624)  4.83, p 
0.05], and locality [F(1, 624)

5.49, p 
0.05] on
subjective task values. Male athletes had higher task values (5.42  0.89) than female athletes (5.34  0.84). Older athletes also had higher task values (5.46  0.80)

than	younger	athletes (5.34  0.90). Rural athletes
(5.43	 0.84) valued athletics more than urban athletes
(5.23	 0.93).	There	was	a	significant	interaction

between sex and age group [F(1, 624)  8.48, p 0.05, partial η²
 0.013]. Older male athletes had higher task values (5.59  0.78) than younger male athletes (5.33  0.92), and older female athletes had higher task values (5.36  0.87) than younger female athletes (5.31  0.80). In addition, there was a significant inter-action between sex, age group and locality on subjec-tive task values [F(1, 624)  5.98, p 0.05, partial η²
 0.009]. In males, younger rural athletes had higher values (5.41  0.88) than younger urban athletes (5.05  1.05). Conversely, among males, older urban athletes had higher values (5.77  0.74) than older rural athletes (5.52  0.78). In females, younger rural

athletes had higher values (5.42 						0.85) than younger
urban	athletes		(M  5.18  0.91).			Similarly,		among
females,		older	rural	athletes	had		higher	values

(5.45  0.83) than older urban athletes (5.03  0.78).






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N.S. Chin et al.

Table 4. Analysis of variance for expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values, and task and ego orientations as a function
of sex, age group and locality

Variable	df	MS	F	η2
Expectancy beliefs
Sex	1	4.55	6.55*	0.010
Age group	1	3.16	4.55*	0.007
Locality	1	0.67	0.97	0.002
Sex  age group	1	0.64	0.93	0.001
Sex  locality	1	3.29	4.75*	0.008
Age group  locality	1	0.69	1.00	0.002
Sex  age group  locality	1	5.56	8.02*	0.013
Subjective task values
Sex	1	3.17	4.32*	0.007
Age group	1	3.52	4.83*	0.008
Locality	1	4.02	5.49*	0.009
Sex  age group	1	6.20	8.48*	0.013
Sex  locality	1	2.22	3.04	0.005
Age group  locality	1	1.30	1.77	0.003
Sex  age group  locality	1	4.34	5.93*	0.009
Task orientation
Sex	1	0.49	2.21	0.004
Age group	1	0.85	3.83	0.006
Locality	1	0.60	2.70	0.004
Sex  age group	1	0.17	0.77	0.001
Sex  locality	1	0.18	0.80	0.001
Age group  locality	1	0.14	0.62	0.001
Sex  age group  locality	1	0.15	0.68	0.001
Ego orientation
Sex	1	3.15	6.73*	0.011
Age group	1	0.85	1.81	0.003
Locality	1	1.33	2.84	0.005
Sex  age group	1	1.01	2.16	0.003
Sex  locality	1	2.11	4.50*	0.007
Age group  locality	1	0.64	1.37	0.002
Sex  age group  locality	1	1.96	0.04	0.000
*p 0.005.

Conversely, the ANOVA for task orientation revealed no significant main effects of sex [F(1, 624)  2.21, p 
0.05], age group [F(1, 624)

3.83, p 
0.05], and
locality [F(1, 624)  2.70, p 0.05]. Therefore, neither sex, age group nor locality significantly influences task orientation There was also no significant interaction between sex and age group [F(1, 624)  0.77, p 0.05], sex and locality [F(1, 624)  0.80, p 0.05], age group and locality [F(1, 624)  0.62, p 0.05], and sex, age group and locality [F(1, 624)  0.68, p 0.05] on task orientation. Thus, the influence of task goal orientation does not depend on sex, age group or locality.

The ANOVA for ego orientation revealed a signifi-cant main effect of sex [F(1, 624)  0.67, p 0.05] but no significant main effects of age group [F(1, 624) 

1.18, p 0.05] or locality [F(1, 624)  2.84, p 0.05] on ego goal orientation. That is, sex significantly influ-enced ego goal orientation. There was a significant sex by locality interaction [F(1, 624)  4.50, p 0.05, par-tial η²
 0.007]. As can be seen in Table 3, in males, urban athletes were more ego-oriented (3.12  0.65) than rural athletes (3.11  0.71). Conversely, in females, rural athletes were more ego-oriented (3.05  0.69) than urban athletes (2.80  0.62). This showed that sex differences in adolescent athletes' ego orientation about track and field changed significantly depending on the school location. However, there was no signifi-cant sex by age group interaction effect [F(1, 624)  2.16, p 0.05, partial η²
 0.003] or age group by local-ity interaction effect [F(1, 624)  1.37, p 0.05, partial

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η²
0.002]. In addition there was no significant inter-actions among sex, age group and locality [F(1, 624)  0.04, p 0.05, partial η²
 0.000].

Relationship between achievement goals, expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values

The relationship between achievement goals, expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values were also explored. Task orientation was moderately

and positively	related to	ego	orientation	(r 0.29,
p  0.01). Task	orientation	was	positively	related to

expectancy-related beliefs (r 0.40, p 0.01) and sub-jective task values (r 0.47, p 0.01). Ego orientation was positively related to expectancy-related beliefs (r 0.24, p 0.01) but correlated rather weakly with subjective task values (r 0.16, p 0.01). Expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values were moder-ately and positively related to each other (r 0.64, p 
0.01).

Discussion

This study examined adolescent athletes' motivation in track and field within an expectancy-value model developed by Eccles and her colleagues and achieve-ment goal theory. The results showed that younger male athletes from rural and urban schools have higher competence beliefs in track and field than younger female athletes from rural and urban schools. Older male athletes from urban schools also have higher competence beliefs than older female athletes from urban schools. However, older female athletes from rural schools placed higher competence beliefs than older male athletes from urban schools. Generally, male athletes from rural schools are more likely to be active and continue in track and field as they progress through their school years. This finding was consistent with previous studies (Gao & Xiang 2008; Wigfield et al. 1997; Eccles et al. 1993, 1984b, 1983), which found that females have lower competence beliefs than males. Male athletes may perceive track and field as a masculine sport where they are more likely to enjoy challenging physical activities (Brandell et al. 2004). This showed that when athletes feel that the activity is appropriate for their sex, they also feel more competent and maintain their effort, even under adverse conditions (Daigle 2003; Wigfield et al. 1999). Therefore, individuals who perceive themselves to be competent may be motivated to engage in track and

field and, conversely, withdraw from activities when they perceive themselves to lack competence (Daigle 2003). Although this inconsistency between actual achievement and self-perceptions of ability may be due to a response bias, with boys being more self-congratulatory and girls being more modest (Eccles et al. 1984b), as in many cases, females actually out-perform males; yet, other studies show females as having lower self-perception (Pintrich & Schunk 1996). This was proven by Xiang et al. (2003) who reported that girls were more likely than boys to hold lower expectancy-related beliefs about physical education and show less intention for future physical education participation.

The results further revealed that older athletes have higher beliefs than younger athletes. This implied that older athletes can have positive beliefs about track and field with the support of significant others, as shown in previous studies (Xiang et al. 2006, 2005; Eccles et al. 1993; Wigfield et al. 1990). One explanation is related to their conception of ability. Older athletes showed that they are more dependent on the undifferentiated conception of ability and less likely to depend on social comparisons and recognition. Another reason may be that older athletes show signs of maturity that enable them to focus on long-term goals where success is determined by their amount of effort and time invested in their sport. In order to achieve long-term success, they must persist with hard work regardless of ability, prevail further in their performance and perform over time. They are expected to develop fully as top athletes in their 20s with consistent high performance.

Further analysis showed that younger female ath-letes in rural and urban schools placed higher values than younger male athletes in rural and urban schools. In urban schools, older male athletes placed higher values than female athletes. In rural schools, older male athletes placed higher values than older male athletes. Male athletes who have higher values than female ath-letes showed that they think it is more important and useful to participate in track and field. Thus, they tend to enjoy and hold more positive beliefs about partici-pating in track and field. Generally, rural athletes have higher values than urban athletes. This implied that locality plays a role in forming adolescents' values about track and field. One possible reason may relate to the support of significant others such as coaches, physical educators and teachers who inspire the athletes to achieve greater heights in their performance. Despite the limited resources and opportunities faced by rural athletes, the support of significant others could influence

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their task values to help them to persist in times of dif-ficulty. Thus, rural athletes who find track and field enjoyable and interesting are more likely to sustain their participation, persist and exert more effort (Sabiston 2005). However, it is undetermined as to how long these rural athletes would be able to sustain their values in track and field when they are deprived of opportunities, resources and benefits that are available to urban athletes.

The findings further found that male athletes were more ego-oriented than female athletes. This is consis-tent with previous findings (Li et al 1996; White & Duda 1994; Williams 1994; Newton & Duda 1993; Buchan & Roberts 1991; Duda 1989), which showed that males tend to be more ego-oriented than females. This implies that male athletes' main concern is to perform better when compared with other athletes in terms of their abilities due to an increase in social comparison, competition and normative grading prac-tices as they progress through the school years (Xiang et al. 2004a). Therefore, participation in track and field is more likely to increase the status of males and recognition from others.

The results showed a significant difference in ego orientation among urban and rural athletes. Rural ath-letes reported higher ego orientation than urban ath-letes, especially for female rural athletes. Rural and urban male athletes also showed similar ego orienta-tion as their mean difference was small. The finding supports Bush et al.'s (2001) study that showed urban students tend to demonstrate positive self-esteem, which is associated with task or learning goal orienta-tion that can increase their motivation levels.

Rural athletes are concerned with gaining recogni-tion and seeking social status through track and field as they are given more opportunities for participation as compared to other sports in rural schools. This is because rural athletes confront economic and resource constraints that deprive them of equal opportunity compared to urban athletes (Hardre et al. 2007). Participating in track and field based on normative criteria would increase competitiveness among rural athletes in evaluating their success. High athletic achievement such as being the best in their school and region could be perceived as a way to gain popularity, status and recognition. This would lead to better opportunities such as better schooling, incentives, equipment and facilities that are generally lacking in rural schools. Therefore, being on the school team and representing the division would lead to the tendency of rural athletes to adopt an ego goal orientation.

Finally, the positive relationship between the two theoretical perspectives supports the findings of previ-ous studies (Xiang et al. 2006, 2004b, 2003), which also revealed similar results. This implies that students who scored higher on expectancy-related beliefs in sports tended to see it as more useful, important and interesting than students who scored lower on expectancy-related beliefs (Gao & Xiang 2008).

Implications

This study found further evidence that male athletes hold higher expectancy-related beliefs than female athletes in the sports domain. Despite track and field being a non-contact and non-aggressive sport, female athletes perceived track and field to be relatively mas-culine and inappropriate for them. The sex-stereotyping of track and field has resulted in interventions by the Malaysian government to support sports for women, which has increased female participation, involvement and motivation in track and field and other sports.

Since expectancy-related beliefs and task values are related, practitioners should look into developing positive beliefs and task values towards track and field. This is because an athlete who expects to do well in track and field and has high value for that task would be expected to choose that task over others (Stuart & Whaley 2005). Parents, coaches and teachers can also play a big role in shaping adolescent athletes' beliefs and behaviors through positive influences and making track and field training and activities interesting and fun. When parents, coaches and teachers have high perceptions of the athlete's ability, the decline in the adolescent's expectancy-related beliefs and task values will be less dramatic and will likely increase engage-ment and eventually encourage participation in track and field (Daigle 2003; Fredricks & Eccles 2002). It is important that the influence of athletic values and expectancies is emphasized equally as athletes would judge the tasks that they perceive themselves to be good at as more important, enjoyable and useful, which would increase their expectancies of success.

As male athletes have been shown to be more ego-oriented in their goals, it is necessary to create a task-oriented motivational climate during the transition from lower to upper secondary school. In doing so, the task-oriented climate would also provide an opportu-nity for ego-oriented rural athletes to feel success and develop self-competence. Athletes of all levels, includ-ing elite athletes, have reported positive outcomes when they perceive the environment as high in a mas-tery orientation (Treasure 2001).

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