Anxiety of class IV elementary school students in learning physical education gymnastics: Anxiety differences based on gender

Background and Study Aim. Many students, especially females, feel hesitant about performing gymnastic movements, such as the back roll, due to anxiety. This study aims to determine the differences in anxiety of Class IV Elementary School students in Learning Physical Education Gymnastics Material based on male and female gender. Materials and Methods. This research is comparative. The research subjects were fourth-grade students in Sleman Regency Elementary School, Yogyakarta. The sample was determined using random sampling, totaling 148 students: 65 males, 83 females, aged 10‑12 years. Subjects were not physically disabled and were willing to participate by filling out a screening questionnaire to ensure they had no medical conditions that might affect the study. The “Physical Education Continuous Anxiety Scale” was used as the instrument to measure anxiety. The analysis was performed using regression techniques in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 software. Results. Based on the study results, we found that there is a significant difference in anxiety between male and female students in learning Physical Education Gymnastics material (p 0.004 < 0.05). The difference in anxiety between male and female students is 0.12, with female students experiencing higher anxiety than males. Conclusions. Teachers should strive to create a task-focused, motivating environment and encourage reflection on students’ ability to work under pressure. This approach will increase student engagement, especially in Physical Education Gymnastics, and improve their performance.