INFLUENCE OF GENDER DIFFERENCES ON THE MOTIVATION AND PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN TEAM SPORT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to investigate the influence of gender differences on the motivation and performance of students in team sport in the University of Benin, Benin City. In order to carry out this task, four research questions were raised and three hypotheses were formulated which were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The descriptive survey research design was used for this study. The population of this study comprised three hundred and six (306) undergraduates in the Department of Human Kinetics and Sports Science. The data was collected using simple random technique and a sample size of one hundred and fifty three (153) undergraduate students from the Department of Human Kinetics and Sports Science was used for the study. The researcher instrument used for the study was a self-structured questionnaire, the validity of the instrument was subjected to scrutiny and the test-retest reliability technique was used to ascertain its reliability. The correlation coefficient computed was 0.72 indicating that the instrument was reliable. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentages and mean, while Pearson Correlation statistics was used to test the hypothesis. The findings revealed that female students have better sport performance than the males. Further findings revealed that female students have greater motivation than their male counterparts. More findings revealed that there is a positive weak relationship between motivation and sports performance. This study concluded that male and female students should be reminded constantly of the enormous benefits that are associated with optimal performance in sports, also, male and female students involve in sports should continue to participate in events based on their gender.