Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to find out the influence of sports-based attitudes and
self-concept on sports participation among pupils who are deaf in a special primary
school in Nandi County, Kenya. This study sought to establish the extent of
participation of pupils who are deaf in sports activities; influence of sports-based
attitude, and self-concept towards sports participation. The choice of the one school in
Emgwen was done because it is the only deaf school and admits pupils who are deaf in
the County and beyond. The study was based on Daryl Bem theory of self-perception
and Carl Rogers theory of the self. A mixed method research design was used. The
study targeted a population of 106 pupils including boys and girls of Kapsabet School
for the deaf. The study sample was 66 respondents. The study used purposive sampling
to select respondents who participated in the study. The data was collected using a
questionnaire. Data was analysed using frequencies, and percentages. Chi-square was
used to test the hypotheses of the study. The study findings indicated that 80.0% of the
pupils agreed that they did participate in sports because they liked playing with others;
81.7% believed that they can do any task/job as far as sports activities are concerned
and 78.3% agreed that they like participating in sports naturally. An association
between students’ sports-based attitude and sports participation was significant at a chi-
square of 30.483, df =4 and p-value of 0.000 was obtained. An association between
students’ sports-based self-concept and sports participation was significant at a chi-
square of 84.308, df =4 and p-value of 0.003 was obtained. The study concluded that
students who are deaf participated in sports because they liked playing with others.
Children who participate in active sports are intrinsically motivated to do so because
they have positive self-perceptions. The study came to the conclusion that among deaf
students, sports participation and sports-based self-concept are significantly correlated.
The study recommends that teachers and parents should encourage the pupils who are
deaf to participate in sports just like other pupils. The study recommends deaf pupils
should be encouraged to participate in sports since sports enhance their mental, moral,
emotional and sociological aspects. Positive sports-based attitude should be inculcated
among deaf pupils. The self-esteem or concept should be nurtured through positive
sports experiences. The findings of the study are expected to help teachers, parents and
other stakeholders foster positive self-concept and positive sports-based attitude of deaf
children. Findings from the study were expected to create awareness in teachers and
administrators in schools as to how best they could improve sports participation among
deaf pupils.