Student outcomes of the physical education and physical literacy (PEPL) approach: a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of a multicomponent intervention to improve physical literacy in primary schools

ABSTRACT

Background: Health organisations such as the United Nations continue to place an expectation on school physical education (PE) programmes and wider school strategies to ensure students develop physical literacy and receive the well-established benefits of meeting physical activity guidelines. Barriers to meet this expectation such as lack of trained PE teachers, lack of time and greater emphasis on academic achievement are ongoing challenges to schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the multi-component Physical Education Physical Literacy (PEPL) intervention, designed to improve students’ fundamental movement skill, perceived physical abilities and level of physical activity.

Method: A qualified PE teacher implemented the PEPL intervention across seven schools, and another seven schools formed a control group as part of a randomised cluster-based trial. Grade 5 students (N?=?318, age 10.4 years?±?SD 0.4) completed assessments of physical activity, fundamental movement skill, attitudes towards PE, and self-perceptions of physical abilities before and after a 33-week intervention. Intervention effects were examined using general linear mixed models. Post-intervention focus groups with students were used to develop insights into experiences and outcomes.

Results: With no significant gender interactions, the PEPL approach led to enhanced object control skills (β?=?1.62; SE?=?0.61; p?=?0.008), with little evidence of any other fundamental movement skill improvements in excess of those in the control group. There was also modest evidence for an effect on accelerometer measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school time (β?=?4.50; SE?=?2.39; p?=?0.058), but this was not accompanied by any significant intervention effect over the entire week. Questionnaires indicated students in the PEPL programme became less satisfied with their own sporting ability (β?=??0.20; SE?=?0.08; p?=?0.013) but qualitative data analyses suggested that they enjoyed the PEPL approach experience, becoming more motivated and confident in their physical abilities.

Conclusions: Evidence of enhanced object control skill, increased confidence and motivation to be physically active, and moderate evidence of more MVPA during school time, indicate that the introduction of the PEPL approach contributed to the development of student physical literacy. A decrease in perceived sporting competence warrants greater attention on student’s self-perceptions in future iterations of the intervention.

Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry identifier: ACTRN12615000066583.     

Promoting schoolchildren’s self-esteem in physical education: testing the effectiveness of a five-month teacher training

ABSTRACT

Background: Schoolchildren’s personality development is considered a central goal of physical education (PE). With regard to the relationship between psychological well-being and global self-esteem over the life course, the promotion of positive self-esteem is an issue of particular significance. Past research revealed that PE taught with an individualized teacher frame of reference (iTFR) and a reflexive teaching style is associated with positive effects on facets of children’s perceived sports competence. However, it remains an open question whether this teaching styles has the potential to promote positive self-esteem.

Purpose: The present study investigated whether a five-month teacher training, aimed to enhance the teachers’ iTFR and their reflexive teaching style in PE, has a positive effect on students’ perceived sports competence and their global self-esteem. To analyse the implementation quality, changes in students’ perceived iTFR and perceived reflexive teaching style were investigated.

Method: A total of 21 teachers were assigned to either an intervention group (n?=?13), receiving the five-month teacher training, or a control group (n?=?8) consisting of regular teaching without teacher training. The teacher training encompassed five three-hour consecutive sessions during which the teachers acquired theoretical and practical knowledge about the promotion of competence perceptions in PE with a reflexive teaching style and an iTFR. Between the sessions, the teachers were instructed to implement an iTFR and a reflexive teaching style into their own PE classes. To evaluate the effects of the teacher training, their students’ (N?=?315, 53.7% girls, M_age?=?13.2 y, SD_age?=?1.3 y) perceived teaching style (iTFR and reflexive teaching), perceived sports competence and global self-esteem were measured with paper-pencil questionnaires at three measurement points (pre, post and follow-up).

Findings: Linear mixed effect models showed that students of the intervention group reported an increase in their teachers’ reflexive teaching style, but there were no changes with regard to iTFR. With regard to students’ perceived sports competence and global self-esteem, there were significant interaction effects between time and group over a period of eight months (from pre-test to follow-up), indicating positive effects on these self-concept dimensions due to the teacher training.

Conclusion: The present study indicates that a long-term teacher training supports PE teachers to implement teaching styles with the aim to promote students’ self-concept. Furthermore, the findings lead to the assumption that a more pronounced iTFR in combination with an enhanced reflexive teaching style has the potential to positively influence schoolchildren’s perceived sports competence and global self-esteem.     

Inclusive and accessible physical education: rethinking ability and disability in pre-service teacher education

This paper identifies and explores emergent themes in inclusive PE in the specific context of pre-service teacher preparation programs. Fully inclusive PE encompasses four areas: knowledge and curricula related to ability and disability, teacher attitudes, pre-service teacher education and a reframing of our understandings of multiple perspectives on physical literacy. Fully accessible PE involves material and attitudinal conditions configured to render these programs actually usable by all those whose ‘inclusion’ is intended. Access is, indeed, conceptually implied in ‘inclusion’, however, in practice the latter can easily become more of a slogan naming an aspiration than a realizable state of affairs. Unless an organization or individual brings a universal commitment to access, attitudinal barriers may prevent full inclusion from becoming a reality. The paper uses qualitative case study methodology to examine pre-service teacher education students’ preconceptions about ‘dis’ability and analyses heuristically how pre-service teachers pre-conceived notions of ability and disability may be challenged through an intervention. 21C PE programs can move towards an emphasis on inclusive activities which are not based on traditional conceptions of physical competence, size, shape, appearance and ability, but instead focus on how all bodies can develop fundamental movement skills, functional fitness and physical literacy. The author challenges pre-service students to address issues of accessibility, normative notions of ability, body equity, social justice and inclusion, as well as the need for multiple definitions of physical literacy. The paper is a case study of the specific phenomenon of ‘broadening student teachers’ understandings of ability and disability in PE’ as a necessary condition for preparing students to work in schools where full inclusion may not have been integral to PE policies, programs and practices.     

Effects of an intervention programme with teachers on the development of positive behaviours in Spanish physical education classes

Background: The physical education (PE) context has been emphasised as an ideal environment for developing positive behaviours among students. Under the Positive Youth Development paradigm, various initiatives have been conducted with the aim of promoting personal and social responsibility among adolescents. Self-Determination Theory has been widely used to analyse students’ motivational processes during PE classes.

Purpose: This study aimed to measure the effects of a multidisciplinary intervention with teachers on the development of positive behaviours in PE classes.

Participants: Twenty PE teachers participated in the study (M_age?=?35 years; SD?=?2.32) along with 777 of their students (M_age?=?12.81 years; SD?=?.93). The teachers (male?=?16; female?=?4) were between the ages of 29 and 48 years (M?=?35.2 years; SD?=?2.32). The students who participated in this study (male?=?377; female?=?400) were divided into 52 classes and were between the ages of 12 and 16 years (M?=?12.81; SD?=?.93).

Research design: A quasi-experimental design was used that consisted of a control group and three groups in which an intervention was developed. In the control group, the teachers did not receive any type of intervention; in the second group, the teachers received a training programme to develop strategies for supporting basic psychological needs and promoting positive behaviours; in the third group, the teachers received a didactic unit to promote positive behaviours; and in the last group the teachers received a combination of the two previous interventions.

Data analysis: A repeated-measures ANCOVA (analysis of covariance) was used for every dependent variable included in the study to analyse the effect of Group?×?Time interaction, including Gender and Grade Level as covariates. The fixed effects caused by Intercept, Group, Time, and the Group?×?Time interaction were calculated using compound symmetry as the type of covariance and restricted maximum likelihood as the estimation method.

Findings: By examining the differences between pre-test and post-test, it was determined that in comparison with the students in the control group, the students from the three experimental groups had generally improved scores on the variables related to positive behaviours, such as perceptions of the teacher's support, as well as the development of the targeted behaviours.

Conclusions: These results provide information about the efficacy of an intervention programme with teachers that consists of strategies for developing positive behaviour and support for basic psychological needs to promote the development of positive student behaviour.     

Situating cultural diversity in movement. A case study on physical education teacher education in Norway

There is a growing body of research on cultural diversity, discrimination and racism in physical education teaching and practice. However, although ‘cultural diversity’ is a central concern in research, curriculum and policies of higher education, it is not clear how and in what ways students and teachers should consider cultural diversity. Drawing on qualitative interviews with teachers and students in a Norwegian physical education teacher education (PETE) programme, we investigate how and in what ways students and teachers regard cultural diversity in that context. We suggest that cultural diversity is not sufficiently understood when it is assumed that knowledge about particular positions or identity categories (white, black, minority, majority) is fixed. Our findings indicate that cultural diversity is visible in movement and in bodily resonance between people. These findings present a strong argument for recognition of the relational, embodied and social aspect of cultural diversity in PE.     

Impact of a pedometer-based goal-setting intervention on children’s motivation,motor competence,and physical activity in physical education

Background: School physical education (PE) programs provide a prime environment for interventions that attempt to develop school-aged children’s motor competence and overall physical fitness, while also stimulating competence motivation to engage in physical activity during childhood. It is generally recognized that a pedometer-based intervention strategy combined with a goal-setting strategy may be effective in increasing physical activity participation among school-aged children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an 8-week pedometer-based goal-setting intervention on children’s motivation in PE, motor competence, and physical activity.

Methods: A pretest–posttest comparison group design was used with the 8-week intervention (3 days/week for 24 sessions). Participants were 273 (boys?=?136, girls?=?137) students recruited from 3 elementary schools in the US. Classes in each school were randomly allocated to three experimental conditions: (1) an intervention group with a personalized pedometer weekly target to reach in their PE class (N?=?110), (2) an intervention group with the fixed pedometer target range to reach in each PE class based on the recommended criteria (N?=?90), or (3) a control group without intervention (N?=?73).

Analysis/results: The factorial repeated measures MANOVA indicated significant multivariate effects for the group [F(6, 528)?=?12.954, p?Post hoc analyzes showed that both experimental groups had significantly higher expectancy-value beliefs, motor competence, and physical activity compared to the control group (p?Conclusions: Health practitioners should be aware that goal-directed action can contribute to school students’ PE-related achievement motivation, motor competence, and achieving the recommended 60?min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.     

The impact of physical growth and relative age effect on assessment in physical education

Physical education (PE) is perhaps the school subject most likely to produce relative age effects (RAE). Like in sports, physical maturity gives students an advantage in PE, which might well be mistaken for superior ability. The aim of the present study is to investigate the extent to which physical growth, measured as height, and RAE reflect the assessment in Norwegian PE. Furthermore, we wanted to examine whether there is any gender differences in the assessment in PE as a function of physical growth and RAE. The participants (n?=?2978) were pupils in the last three years of secondary school (13–16 years old). A custom-made questionnaire was designed to collect the necessary data. The correlations between height and mark in PE for boys in 8th, 9th, and 10th grades are respectively r?=?0.14, r?=?0.32, and r?=?0.29. For girls, the correlations are r?=?0.11, r?=?0.33, and r?=?0.21. All correlations are significant (p?<?.05). The number of pupils achieving top marks was 114 in the first half of the year, whereas it was 65 in the second half of the year. The present study showed that physical growth has an impact on the pupils’ PE attainment. The physical growth is of course also mediated by the pupils’ age. RAEs were found in PE attainments also in the Norwegian school system for both genders, despite all the intentions expressed in the PE curriculum.     

Intervention programme to prevent bullying in adolescents in physical education classes (PREBULLPE): a quasi-experimental study

ABSTRACT

Background: Bullying is a social problem where there is a phenomenon of intentional aggression that occurs in all schools. It has multiple negative consequences for the victim’s psychological health. As school is a context for learning about life in society, strategies to prevent such attitudes and behaviours should be encouraged. Although some studies seem to indicate the potential of the subject of physical education to promote attitudes and behaviours against bullying, there is still insufficient scientific evidence to deduce a positive impact on the reduction or prevention of this phenomenon.

Purpose: This study aimed to analyse the effectiveness of a specific intervention to prevent bullying in Physical Education classes in Secondary Education. 6 specific sessions inserted into the physical education curriculum to find out what bullying is, who its protagonists are and how to prevent it.

Participants and setting: In the study, 764 students with an age range of 12–19 years (49.3% girls; age mean [M]?=?14.80, standard deviation [SD]?=?1.69) from two public educational centres participated. Among them, 439 were randomly assigned to the quasi-experimental group (48.1% girls; age M?=?14.70, SD?=?1.59) and 325 to the control group (51.1% girls; age M?=?14.94, SD?=?1.83). Data were collected at two timepoints, pre- and the post-intervention data.

Data collection: The Spanish version of the European Bullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (EBIPQ) was used to measure the incidence of bullying. To measure cyberbullying, the Spanish version of the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (ECIPQ) scale was used.

Data analysis: The Student t-test was performed to compare possible differences between the experimental and control groups in the pre-test. To compare the means of the factors obtained based on the variables and the instruments used, as well as the scores obtained from the subjects of the experimental and control groups at the two timepoints, linear models of repeated measurements have been established comparing the pre- and post-intervention moments and the experimental and control groups, introducing sex and grade variables to compare the effectiveness of the programme based on them.

Results: There were no differences in the pre-test measurements in any of the variables. After the intervention programme in the quasi-experimental group, the bullying victimisation (F?=?16,951; p?=?.000) and bullying aggression (F?=?5,215; p?=?.023) rates decreased significantly more than they did the control group. Likewise, victimisation in cyberbullying (F?=?6,234; p?=?.013) decreased significantly differently, but aggression in cyberbullying did not (F?=?0,099; p?=?.753).

Conclusion: The implementation of a specific intervention to prevent bullying inserted into the physical education curriculum seems to have decreased bullying and cyberbullying victimisation.     

The effects of an enhanced quality Physical Education programme on the physical activity levels of Grade 7 learners in Potchefstroom,South Africa

Background: The absence of Physical Education (PE) from the South African school curriculum before its reintroduction in recent years contributed to health concerns regarding the low physical activity (PA) levels of children and adolescents in South Africa.

Purpose: This study evaluated the effects of a once-a-week enhanced quality PE programme on the PA levels of South African Grade 7 learners.

Methods: Using a pre-test and post-test control-group design, 110 Grade 7 learners aged 12–13 years (experimental school, n?=?40; control schools, n?=?70) from two primary schools in Potchefstroom, South Africa, were studied. They participated in a 12-week PE intervention programme based on the guidelines of the South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement, which allocates one hour per week to PE teaching. The intervention included five quality-enhancing components, namely well-trained teachers, homework activities, a reward system, hand-made apparatus and the monitoring of activity intensity. In the experimental school, 40 learners were randomly assigned from the total Grade 7 class (n?=?124) to the experimental group, while two control groups (n?=?37 and n?=?33) were used, one from the same school as the experimental school and the other from a different school. Additionally, to control for PE teacher interaction effect, the experimental group was divided into 4 experimental sub-groups of 10 learners each, which were taught by 4 different PE teachers, and the pre-test and post-test data of these experimental sub-groups were also analysed. Children's PA levels were measured before and after the intervention using a validated Children's Leisure Activities Study Survey questionnaire. The Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to evaluate the effects of the intervention programme.

Results: No significant differences were found within the experimental group between the 4 experimental sub-groups and between the 2 control groups at pre- and post-test measurements (p?>?.05). There was a significant effect for the experimental group as a whole, as results of the total experimental group showed statistically significant increases in moderate PA (ES?=?0.47; p?=?.014), vigorous PA (ES?=?0.48; p?=?.012) and total PA (ES?=?0.51; p?=?.008) as well as decreases in sedentary behaviours (ES?=?0.39; p?=?.041) after the 12-week intervention programme, whereas no significant changes were found in the control group. Statistically significant improvements were also found in all 4 experimental sub-groups between pre- and post-tests for the time spent in moderate PA (p?=?.028–.05; ES?=?0.23–0.64), vigorous PA (p?=?.018–.036; ES?=?0.23–0.63), total PA (p?=?.017–.05; ES?=?0.30–0.68) and sedentary time (p?=?.014–.049; ES?=?0.26–0.66), whereas no marked changes were observed among the two control groups, indicating no PE teacher interaction effect on the results.

Conclusions: The enhanced quality PE programme can be used as a valuable framework for PE implementation targeted at promoting learners’ PA levels, even in the presence of restricted time allocation, and limited teaching and learning resources.     

Comparing effects of a TPSR training program on prospective physical education teachers’ social goals,discipline and autonomy strategies in Spain,Chile and Costa Rica

Background: Conflict prevention, respect, tolerance and acceptance of others should be basic outcomes in any educational context. Physical Education (PE) has the potential to be one of the curricular subjects that could help students meet these goals. However, teachers need to use appropriate instructional approaches like Teaching for Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR).

Purpose: The objectives of this study were two: (1) to compare the impact of TPSR training on social goals, discipline strategies and autonomy support of future PE teachers from Spain, Chile and Costa Rica; and (2) to assess participants’ perceptions of their country's social, cultural and curricular aspects that may influence TPSR implementation.

Participants and settings: 156 prospective PE teachers (48 from Spain, 54 from Chile and 54 from Costa Rica), with an average age of 21.41?±?2.57 years, agreed to participate. 88 (54%) were males, while 75 (46%) were female. They were enrolled in teacher training programs in three different universities located in three different countries: (i) Faculty of Education of the University of Burgos (Spain); (ii) Nursery School of the University of Valparaiso (Chile) and (iii) School of Physical Education and Sports of San José (Costa Rica). All students experienced the same TPSR intervention program, conducted by the same university teacher.

Research design: This study followed a quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test non-equivalent research design with mixed methods.

Data collection: Three validated questionnaires were used to obtain quantitative information from the participants before and after the training program. Qualitative information was obtained from three discussion groups conducted with the participating students (one from each country).

Data analysis: Statistical analysis of quantitative data was conducted with the statistical package SPSS (version 22.0), while content analysis and constant comparison were used to assess qualitative data.

Findings: The prospective PE teachers from the three countries held different views of the effects of the TPSR program on social goals, discipline strategies and autonomy support, and they were based on socio-cultural considerations of the subject (PE), the teachers’ academic training and their professional identity as teachers on each country. Spanish and Costa Rican PE teachers demonstrated a significant positive change in their perspectives on discipline strategies, and Chilean PE teachers demonstrated a significant positive change in their perception of social goals after experiencing a TPSR intervention.

Conclusion: If cultural context is considered, TPSR can be an effective teacher training approach related to discipline strategies, social goals and autonomy support in PE.     

An experimental,video-based investigation into the motivating impact of choice and positive feedback among students with different motor competence levels

ABSTRACT

Background: Research stemming from Self-Determination Theory (SDT) shows that physical education (PE) teachers who endorse an autonomy-supportive and structuring motivating style positively affect students’ motivation, engagement and learning. Choice provision and positive feedback are two concrete strategies that are part of an autonomy-supportive and structuring style, respectively. While the benefits of choice provision and positive feedback have been shown in contexts other than PE, evidence in the specific context of PE is much scarcer. Grounded in SDT and relying on experimental design, the present study sought to examine the effects of choice provision and positive feedback on students’ motivational experiences in PE, and whether these effects were moderated by students’ actual motor competence (AMC).

Method: A sample of 277 students (41% boys, Mage?=?12.78 years) was randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions (2?×?2 design). Prior to the experimental manipulation, participants’ AMC was measured with the Test of Gross Motor Development second edition. Participants then watched a videotaped PE lesson, in which the provision of choice (choice – no choice) and type of feedback (corrective feedback – positive and corrective feedback) were manipulated. Participants were asked to imagine how they would feel being a student in the displayed lessons. After watching the video, they completed validated questionnaires on their (1) anticipated need satisfaction and frustration and (2) autonomous and controlled motivation. MANOVAs were conducted to investigate the differences between the experimental groups in terms of anticipated need satisfaction, need frustration and motivation. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the potential moderating role of AMC.

Findings and conclusions: The benefits of choice provision were clearly shown with students in the choice condition anticipating significantly more autonomy, competence and relatedness satisfaction and autonomous motivation, while they anticipated significantly less autonomy and relatedness frustration when compared to students in the no choice condition. Similarly, the addition of positive feedback to corrective feedback yielded clear benefits, with lower averages in anticipated need frustration found among students who watched the videos in which positive feedback was added to corrective feedback. No support was provided for a synergetic motivational effect between choice and positive feedback. Overall, the present findings show the importance of offering choice and providing positive feedback to motivate students in PE, with positive effects being present for all students independent of their initial AMC levels. Although few interaction effects were found, lowly motor competent students benefited even more from receiving positive feedback than highly motor competent students. The findings of this study are important to take into account in PE teacher education programs and professional training programs for PE teachers about how to teach in a (more) motivating way.     

Finnish students’ enjoyment and anxiety levels during fitness testing classes

ABSTRACT

Background: Fitness testing is a commonly applied learning and teaching practice implemented in both secondary and elementary school physical education (PE). Many teachers believe that by using a variety of different tests, they are able to provide students with feedback regarding their fitness status, and furthermore, increase students’ willingness to be physically active later in their lives. However, empirical evidence concerning students’ affective responses during fitness testing classes is limited.

Purpose: The primary aim of the study was to investigate whether students’ perceptions of enjoyment and anxiety differed between two different types of fitness testing classes and PE in general. In addition, the measurement invariances over time and between Grade 5 (aged 11–12) and Grade 8 (aged 14–15) groups were determined.

Method: A total sample of 645 Finnish Grade 5 (N?=?328, 50% boys, mean age?=?11.2, SD?=?0.36) and Grade 8 students (N?=?317, 47% boys, mean age?=?14.2, SD?=?0.35) participated in the study. Series of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the level of measurement invariance between general PE and fitness testing classes, and between age groups. Strict factorial invariance was supported for both enjoyment and anxiety scales allowing for latent mean comparisons. Latent mean differences were studied using z-tests.

Results: Grade 5 students perceived significantly lower levels of enjoyment and cognitive processes and a higher level of somatic anxiety in fitness testing classes compared to general PE. Additionally, for Grade 8 students, levels of enjoyment and cognitive processes were significantly lower and somatic anxiety and worry higher in fitness testing classes than in general PE. Furthermore, enjoyment was significantly higher, and cognitive processes, somatic anxiety and worry lower among Grade 5 students compared with Grade 8 students in both contextual PE and during fitness testing class.

Conclusion: Results of this study indicate that students’ perceptions of enjoyment were lower in fitness testing classes compared to PE in general. Additionally, students perceived lower levels of cognitive anxiety and higher levels of somatic anxiety in fitness testing classes than in general PE. It is noteworthy that students might not significantly dislike fitness testing per se but instead have significantly more positive affects towards PE in general. Generally, practitioners conducting fitness testing lessons are encouraged to embrace different strategies such as fostering basic psychological needs or promoting mastery climate to facilitate enjoyment and diminish anxiety.     

Assessing Students’ Perceived Learning and Contentment in Physical Education: A Scale Development Study and Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

ABSTRACT

Although students’ perceived learning is central in physical education (PE), few measurements are available. Furthermore, little is known about how students’ perceptions of PE effect students’ perceived learning in PE. Therefore, the aim was to develop a scale to assess students’ perceived learning and a measurement to assess students’ perceived contentment in PE, and furthermore, to analyze the interrelationship between students’ perceived learning and students’ perceived contentment in PE. A total of 1203 students in Sweden who were aged 12–16 years participated. The results from the exploratory (n = 601) and confirmatory (n = 602) factor analyses as well as the validity and reliability analyses showed that there was psychometric support for the one-dimensional model perceived learning in PE and for the three-dimensional model perceived contentment in PE. The structural equation modeling analyses showed that both competence and joyfulness were directly and positively related to students’ perceived learning.     

Relationships between physical education (PE) teaching and student self-efficacy,aptitude to participate in PE and functional skills: with a special focus on students with disabilities

Background: Students with disability show an increasing incidence of school failure. Quality teaching and appropriate support may foster high self-efficacy, a predictive factor for successful school outcomes. Physical Education (PE) can provide students with a context in which self-efficacy and participation are promoted leading to improved academic achievement. The transition into secondary school can be challenging for many students with increased educational demands, developmental changes and individual social identification coinciding. A disability may add to the challenge of success.

Methods: Three groups of students, aged 13 years and enrolled in Swedish mainstream schools were targeted (n?=?439). Groups included students with 1. A diagnosed disability, 2. Low grades in PE (D–F) and 3. High grades (A–C) in PE. Questionnaires were collected and analyzed from 30/439 students with a diagnosed disability (physical, neuro-developmental and intellectual) from 26 classes, their classmates and their PE-teachers (n?=?25). Relationships between student self-reports and PE-teachers’ self-ratings were investigated. Also examined was the potential to which students’ functional skills could predict elevated general school self-efficacy, PE specific self-efficacy and aptitude to participate in PE. Results were compared with the total sample and between the three target groups (n?=?121).

Results: For students with disabilities, better self-rated teaching skills were related to lower student perceived general school self-efficacy, PE specific self-efficacy and aptitude to participate in PE. The impact of classroom climate in PE was more obvious among students with disabilities. Perceived functional skills were associated with elevated general school self-efficacy, PE specific self-efficacy and aptitude to participate in PE. Better socio-cognitive functional skills had an overall positive effect on all outcomes. Students with disabilities reported results similar to the total sample, the D–F group scored lower and the A–C group higher than the total sample and the disability group. Elevated self-efficacy in PE is six times less probable in students with disabilities, compared to the A–C group.

Conclusions: Our findings that better teacher planning and grading skills, are detrimental to students disadvantaged by disability is contradictive. Improving the establishment and communication of adapted learning standards at the transition to secondary school is a crucial and a predictive factor for promoting positive school experiences for students with disability. Students with disabilities need to be assured that the intended learning outcomes can be reached by doing activities differently than their typically functioning peers. Consideration of class composition is suggested as a means of promoting a positive learning climate, which would particularly benefit students with disabilities. Allocation of resources to support student socio-cognitive skills would improve experiences for the D–F group and likely promote a positive learning environment.     

Physical education teacher education students' knowledge,perceptions and experiences of promoting healthy,active lifestyles in secondary schools

Background: Physical education teacher education (PETE) offers a context for students to learn about the promotion of active lifestyles in secondary schools through their interactions and experiences during the teacher education process. However, previous studies have found low levels of health-related fitness knowledge amongst PETE students, which is a concern given that there are high expectations of physical education (PE) to promote healthy, active lifestyles. In addition, international literature reveals a number of problematic issues associated with health-related teaching, learning and professional development in PE. Exploration of health-related experiences within the PETE process and consideration of the extent to which they address these previously identified issues were considered worthy of study because of PETE's potential to influence the health-related teaching of the students, and to ultimately impact the health-related knowledge and behaviour of the pupils they go on to teach.

Purpose: To explore PETE students' health-related physical education (HRPE) knowledge, perceptions and experiences during a PETE programme.

Participants and setting: Purposive selection of PE students on a one-year post-graduate secondary PETE programme at one University in England, working in partnership with up to 60 schools.

Research design: Case study.

Data collection: A qualitative approach founded on the interpretive paradigm was used, utilising a questionnaire completed by 124 PETE students.

Data analysis: Responses to the open-ended questions were analysed by means of the generation of themes using constructivist grounded theory methods.

Findings: At the outset of their programme, PETE students' knowledge of how active children should be was limited and confused. Their initial perceptions of the learning associated with promoting healthy, active lifestyles in PE were at variance with what they experienced in schools during their training. These experiences were diverse, the most common structure being discrete units of study with no health-related learning evident within the rest of the PE programme. The focus of the HRPE learning was predominantly physiological with minimal attention to physical activity recommendations or monitoring. Most students experienced school-based HRPE programmes, which they considered not particularly effective in promoting healthy, active lifestyles amongst young people.

Conclusion: It would seem that PETE is not adequately preparing future PE teachers to promote healthy, active lifestyles and is not addressing previously identified issues in health-related teaching and learning. Changes clearly need to be made to the health-related interactions and experiences within PETE and within any PE, and sports science degree programmes preceeding or associated with PETE. PE is unlikely to effectively promote healthy, active lifestyles without the health-related aspect of PETE being radically changed, especially and crucially the school-based provision. This requires professionals working together to draw upon and utilise up-to-date health knowledge, as well as the best available guidance on how to ensure that teachers are able to use such information.     

The Korean national curriculum for physical education: a shift from edge to central subject

Background: Within the last half century, the Korean national curriculum has undergone seven periods of reform, each at intervals of just 6–8 years. The most recent ‘seventh curriculum’ was developed in 1997, and implemented in schools from 2001. Continual curriculum change has been driven by national and social needs, keeping in line with the philosophical and theoretical positions popular in the field of education. The main theme for the seventh curriculum that sets it apart from previous curriculum reform is it is a ‘differentiated curriculum.'

Purpose: This study is intended to reflect and analyze the historical change of the Korean National Curriculum for Physical Education (KNCPE) over the past 60 years, covering the first through to the seventh curriculum reform phases, and then to propose the shaping and future directions of physical education (PE) national curriculum in Korea in a context of demonstrable global academic achievement among other neoliberal concerns.

Discussion and conclusions: Fifteen years have passed since the inception of this ‘new’ curriculum. A number of studies have been conducted to investigate its educational effects. Nevertheless, the results are unclear and many problems exist in this area. First, PE is still regarded as a minor subject area compared with other subjects such as mathematics or science. Second, major philosophies and principles employed to construct the framework for movement activities are heavily based on Western concepts and approaches. And lastly, many students are still physically unfit and passive in their daily life suggesting that the curriculum messages have not been effective. Now, further change is needed to refocus the PE curriculum, arguing that PE in Korea is at a curriculum cross-roads.     

Grading in Portuguese secondary school physical education: assessment parameters,gender differences and associations with academic achievement

ABSTRACT

Background: Assessment is crucial for the quality of teaching and learning in physical education (PE). Currently little is known about the students’ level of achievement in PE and about the parameters used for calculating the PE grades. Although there is evidence that boys are more active outside school than girls and participate more in organized sports, few studies have examined possible differences between genders in PE achievement. Furthermore, despite the current interest in the relationship between motor competencies and cognitive functioning, limited research has examined if PE grades are associated with academic achievement.

Purpose: Considering the lack of information on the current level of students’ success in PE, the main aim of this study is to examine the PE grades of Portuguese students in secondary school. Specifically, this study analysis the level of students’ achievement in PE, the relation of PE grades with other school subjects’ grades, compares the PE grades between boys and girls, and presents the PE summative assessment parameters used in schools.

Method: Participants were 1936 students (57% girls) from the 10th, 11th and 12th grades (16.8?±?1.3 years old) attending eleven Portuguese secondary schools. Information was gathered on their grades in PE and in the other school subjects at the end of the school year. Information on the specific assessment parameters used in each school was also collected.

Results: The average grades in PE were 14.9?±?2.3 points (20-point scale). Only ～1% of students with a final PE grade had a negative performance (<10 points). PE grades were relatively higher than in most of the other school-subjects and for most students (68.7%) the PE classification raised their overall average grade. The level of correlation between grades in PE and in other school subjects was statistically significant (r's?=?.13 to .29, p?<?.05) although lower than that between grades in the other school subjects (r's?=?.44 to .84, p?<?.01). There were significant differences between girls’ and boys’ grades in PE (14.3?±?2.3 and 15.9?±?2.1 points, respectively). The school assessment parameters prioritize physical performance over participation and attitude.

Conclusion: The Portuguese students’ level of achievement in PE seems to be very satisfactory. However, as boys have higher grades than girls it is urgent to find appropriate strategies to tackle this problem. The associations found between PE grades and academic achievement could have relevant repercussions considering the current debate about the status of PE and about the relationship between motor and cognitive competencies. It is also relevant that the schools’ summative assessment parameters are based mainly on skill mastery and not on effort and participation. This study provided a brief glance into some aspects of the assessment of PE in Portugal and is it is desirable that future investigations examine the teacher's assessment practices.