Master of Science (Exercise and Sport Studies)

The purpose of this study was to examine if ropes course training can have positive effects on ITE students in teambuilding. In this study, the effectiveness of a ropes course was assessed to determine the extent of teamwork, cooperation, trust, and team cohesion. The subjects used for this study were students from Institute of Technical Education (ITE), between 16 and 17 years of age, enrolled in the January 2004 intake of the National ITE Certificate (NITEC) Mechanical Engineering Course. From this cohort, 24 students volunteered to participate as subjects in this study.

Two research instruments were used to collect data, namely Team Assessment Inventory (TAI) and Physical Activity Group Environment Questionnaire (PAGEQ). All participants were required to complete a Pre-test TAI questionnaire on the first day prior to the start of the ropes course and a Post-test TAI questionnaire immediately after completion of the 3-day ropes course training. The TAI was also administered 4 weeks after the ropes course training to see if teamwork can be retained over a sustained period of time. The PAGEQ questionnaire was administered at the end of the 3-day course for the group. The aim of PAGEQ is to assess the cohesiveness of the team as reflected through the perceptions of individual members.

The overall results indicated that students who participated in ropes course activities reported higher level of team effectiveness and team cohesion. A significant increase in TAI mean scores from pre-test (mean = 1.19), post-test (mean = 4.13) to post-test 4 (mean = 4.36) were found. In addition, the PAGEQ scores also revealed an increase in group cohesion as a result of participation in ropes course training. The PAGEQ data showed higher scores in the two scales, the Attractions to Group-Task (ATG-T) and Group Integration-Task (GI-T).

Positive change of participants is generally an accepted fact associated with experiential learning such as ropes course activities. However, further research is needed to develop a reliable instrument design to accurately measure the effectiveness of team and its related dimensions. Another area to consider concerns corporate use of the ropes course; is the experience similar to the results found in this study? The ropes course is a superb facility for team training. With continued research, further insight may be gained for more effective and efficient use of ropes course in developing teamwork.