Factors affecting participation in sport and recreation of students staying in residences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Abstract

Almost all the institutions of higher learning across the globe offers sport and recreation opportunities to its students and staff. These programmes and services are offered to serve several purposes of which at the summit of them all is to improve social cohesion and physical fitness of the students and staff members. The challenge faced by most tertiary institutions is that services and infrastructure provided are either over-utilised or underutilised and there appears to be unknown factors precipitating the situation. It is therefore important that the motives and constraints to sport and recreation participation be discovered in an effort to help direct future strategic plans and correct present and past mistakes. The primary aim of the present study is to ascertain the factors that affect local and international student’s participation in sport and recreation, with the intention of providing pertinent information that the University of KwaZulu-Natal Sport Administration Office can utilize in imminent strategic plans for campus based sport and recreation delivery. A descriptive research design was utilised and a questionnaire was designed to investigate the views and perceptions of students (n=199) staying at the University of KwaZulu-Natal residences. The Median (M) and Interquartile Range (IQR) was used as a summary statistic. The non-parametric two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test was used to compare sub-groups. Intrapersonal and interpersonal factors prevents participation, more specifically time and lack of partners. Justifications for participation in sport and recreation were achievement/status, energy release and fun. Findings further reveal differences based on gender and age highlight the views of students on unequal treatment of various sport and recreation codes on campus. The study findings further advance knowledge on constraints and motives affecting sport and recreation participation among university students, revealing information for policymakers to consider when designing programmes for student services on campus.