An Investigation into the Motivations Driving Female Students to Pursue Sports Specialization in Physical Education Institutes

Abstract

Sport was traditionally considered a male-dominated field. However, in recent years, there has been a growing interest among females in pursuing sports as an academic and professional discipline. Women are now actively participating and even competing with men in various aspects of the sports field. Since every behavior is driven by motivation, the increased interest of female students in sports may stem from multiple factors such as psychological, academic, social, or economic motives — for example, a passion for sports, enjoyment of physical activity, or the availability of career opportunities. This study aimed to identify the underlying motives behind female students’ enrollment in sports disciplines. The sample of this descriptive study consisted of (40) female students from the Institute of Sports. The results showed that personal motives ranked highest (mean = 4.75), followed by academic motives (mean = 1.80), social motives (mean = 1.70), and finally professional motives (mean = 0.85).