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.     

受伤运动员在治疗和恢复期心理反应的调查

研究在对运动员、教练员访谈的基础上，设计运动员受伤后心理反应问卷。在北京队和北京体育大学运动系、竞技体校10个项目、76人实施问卷调查。结果显示，运动员受伤后经常会生产以下心理反应对运动能力能否恢复到受伤前水平表示怀疑；情绪波动大、着急、易怒、沮丧；更希望能得到教练、亲人、朋友的理解和帮助。本文教练员和康复工作者将运动员心理问题的解决纳入康复计划，以求运动员尽早恢复训练。     

The evolution of student-coach’s pedagogical content knowledge in a combined use of sport education and the step-game-approach model*

Background: One of the essential elements within Sport Education is the inclusion of student roles and responsibilities. While previous research has examined students’ performance in officiating tasks, the examination of student-coaches’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) within peer-assisted tasks of Sport Education has been scarce. Indeed, the only study to date which has examined student-coach effectiveness was conducted by Wallhead and O’Sullivan [2007. “A Didactic Analysis of Content Development During the Peer Teaching Tasks of a Sport Education Season.”Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 12 (3): 225–243]. In that study, student-coaches struggled to manifest PCK by providing appropriate demonstrations, to diagnose errors, or to modify tasks for higher order content development. The study of PCK may be a useful heuristic to examine instructional effectiveness in physical education.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the evolution of the PCK of a cohort of student-coaches across three hybrid Sport Education-Step Game Approach seasons, and to examine the impact of protocols put in place to specifically enhance coaches’ PCK.

Participants and setting: Twenty-one students and one teacher from a school class in the north of Portugal participated in the present study.

Method: Data from multiple sources were collected: (a) videotape observations of all lessons, (b) field notes, and (c) pre-lesson interviews with the student-coaches. These were then subjected to deductive examination through a process of thematic analysis.

Findings and conclusions: Following a baseline season that identified four key limitations within the student-coaches’ instruction (task presentation, error diagnosis, feedback, and task modification), these students participated in specific coach preparation that involved modelling teacher’s instruction, pre-lesson meetings, and coaches’ corners. While showing marked improvement in their content knowledge across the second season, a second protocol was instigated during the third that involved the student-coaches to participate in stimulated reflections of their instruction and the incorporation of planning sheets to enhance their instruction. It was found that both interventions were efficacious in developing student-coaches’ PCK, which allowed a more complete transfer of the instructional responsibility from the teacher to the students. These results give insight into the importance of including coach education protocols within the design of seasons of Sport Education with respect to student-coaches’ instructional preparation.     

Adopting a models-based approach to teaching physical education

Background: The popularised notion of models-based practice (MBP) is one that focuses on the delivery of a model, e.g. Cooperative Learning, Sport Education, Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility, Teaching Games for Understanding. Indeed, while an abundance of research studies have examined the delivery of a single model and some have explored hybrid models, few have sought to meaningfully and purposefully connect different models in a school's curriculum (see Kirk, D. 2013. ‘Educational Value and Models-based Practice in Physical Education.’ Educational Philosophy and Theory 45 (9): 973–986.; Lund, J., and D. Tannehill. 2015. Standards-based Physical Education Curriculum Development. 3rd ed. Burlington, MA: Jones &; Bartlett.; Quay, J., and J. Peters. 2008. ‘Skills, Strategies, Sport, and Social Responsibility: Reconnecting Physical Education.’ Journal of Curriculum Studies 40 (5): 601–626.). Significantly none, to date, have empirically investigated broader notions of MBP that make use of a range of different pedagogical models in/through the PE curriculum (Kirk, D. 2013. ‘Educational Value and Models-based Practice in Physical Education.’ Educational Philosophy and Theory 45 (9): 973–986.).

Aim: To provide a first empirical insight into using a MBP approach involving several models to teach physical education. At its heart, this paper presents the reader with the realistic and nuanced challenges that arise in striving towards, engaging with, planning for, and enacting a broader, multimodel notion of MBP.

Method: While the study itself was broader, we focus primarily on three units (one using Cooperative Learning, one using a Tactical Games/Cooperative Learning hybrid and a third using Sport Education) taught to boys in two different age groups (i.e. 11–12 and 14–15). Two analytical questions inform and guide our enquiry: (1) What do we learn about MBP implementation through this project that would help other physical education practitioners implement a multimodel MBP approach? and (2) What are the key enablers and constraints of early MBP implementation? Data sources included (a) 21 semi-structured interviews with student groups, (b) teacher post-lesson and post-unit reflective analyses, (c) daily teacher reflective diaries, and (d) teacher unit diaries. Data were analysed comparatively considering the two analytical questions.

Results: The data analysis conveys strong themes around the areas of teacher and student prior learning, working toward facilitating a change in practice, sufficient time to consider changes in practice, and changing philosophies and practices. The results suggest that the consistent challenge that arose for the teacher towards the goal of adopting a MBP approach was the reduction of his overt involvement as a teacher. While the teacher bought into the philosophy of multimodel MBP he was continually frustrated at not progressing as quickly as he would like in changing his practice to match his philosophy.

Conclusions: Despite his best intentions, early attempts to use a multimodel MBP approach were limited by the teacher’s ability to re-conceptualise teaching. The teacher made ‘rookie mistakes’ and tried to transfer his normal classroom practice onto paper handouts while simultaneously inviting students to play a more central role in the classroom. In considering this journey, we can see an indication of the investment needed to implement a MBP approach. Pedagogical change in the form of MBP is a process that needs to be supported by a community of practice intent on improving learning across multiple domains in physical education.     

Incluye-T: a professional development program to increase the self-efficacy of physical educators towards inclusion

Physical Education teache?s (PET) self-efficacy (SE) is a cornerstone for a successful inclusion of students with special educational needs. This study aims to evaluate the effect of a training program called Incluye-T on the SE of Spanish in-service PETs (n?=?229) toward the inclusion of students with special education needs in physical education, compared with a control group (n?=?40). The study also evaluates how the training program is mediated by two demographic variables: teachers’ gender and teaching setting. The Self-Efficacy Scale for Physical Education Teacher Education Majors towards Children with Disabilities was used to measure SE pre and post-intervention. Significant improvements in SE were demonstrated for in-service PET compared to the control group for all the sub-scales of the SE scale: intellectual, physical, and visual impairments (p?相似文献   

The influence of content knowledge on teaching and learning in Traditional and Sport Education contexts: an exploratory study

Background: Our understanding of the role in which content knowledge (CK) can strengthen instructional models and how that knowledge matters for professional development is limited. It is contended that mere use of an instructional model is insufficient to impact psychomotor learning in meaningful ways.

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate how a teacher's enacted pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) differed as a function of CK and Sport Education (SE), and to investigate the relative contribution of CK and Sport Education on student learning in terms of swimming performance.

Methods: Four intact classes comprising 88 secondary school students (age: 16–17 years) were randomly assigned to a Traditional, an Sport Education, a Traditional-CK, and a SE-CK group. All classes were taught by the same teacher during a 10-day unit of instruction in the front crawl.

Results: Results showed that the teacher's PCK differed as a function of improved CK. For verbal representations, the amount of cues in the Traditional-CK and SE-CK groups increased about sixfold compared to the Traditional and the SE group. For visual representations, more partially incorrect demonstrations were observed than correct demonstrations in the Traditional and the SE group. More mature and developmentally appropriate tasks were observed in the Traditional-CK and the SE-CK group compared to the Traditional and the SE group. Students in the Traditional-CK and SE-CK groups demonstrated a significant reduction of their amount of strokes on 50?m compared to the Traditional group. A significant interaction effect revealed a larger increase in swimming performance in the CK groups compared to the Traditional and the SE group. Finally, students in the SE group swam significantly more laps than their counterparts in the other groups.

Discussion and conclusion: These results show the impact on student learning when CK was added to both Traditional and Sport Education conditions and contribute to the literature for pre- and in-service teachers. The Sport Education model did not contribute to students’ swimming performance. Students in the Traditional and the SE group did not get the same quality of instruction as students in the Traditional-CK and SE-CK conditions. The latter groups received content that was presented differently both as a presentation and in terms of the actual task. In short, students in the Traditional and Sport Education conditions experienced the content differently than those in the Traditional-CK and SE-CK conditions. These instructional differences resulted in students in the Traditional-CK and SE-CK conditions improving their swimming performances in terms of technical efficiency and in terms of 50?m times.     

A review of the penetration of Francophone research on intervention in physical education and sport in Anglophone journals since 2010

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Since the 1990s, the notion of intervention has expanded with growing interest in the analysis of practices in Francophone country. French-speaking research community considers intervention sciences as a specific field of research in sport and PE. The aim of this literature review was to characterize the penetration of Francophone research in the English-language literature in physical education and sport concerned with intervention since 2010 in the category ‘Education & Educational Research’ of the Journal Citation Reports (2017). This research was in line with the analysis of the papers presented during six Francophone congresses from 2000 to 2010 of the Association for Research on Intervention in Sport (Musard and Poggi 2015 Musard, Mathilde, and Marie-Paule Poggi. 2015. “Intervention in Physical Education and Sport: Trends and Developments in a Decade of Francophone Research.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 20 (3): 250–267. doi:10.1080/17408989.2013.817008.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).

Methods: The selection of articles was carried out in three stages: selection of journals, selection of articles manually, the second level of selection. The selection of journals is do in this category "Education & Educational Research" (JCR, 2017) focusing primarily on sport and physical education. Six journals met these criteria: Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, European Physical Education Review, Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, Sport Education and society, Quest, Journal of Hospitality Leisure Sport & Tourism Education. Then, the selection of articles was manually analyzing all the publications of each journal since 2010 (almost 2000 articles) according to inclusion criteria "sport or physical education", "francophone authors", and "intervention". Each 46 articles selected was classified according to its theoretical framework. The last stage of selection corresponded to an analyze and an extension of the literature review by a French-speaking specialist in each theoretical framework.

Results: The results show that French-language research on/in/for intervention is in close connection with the international tradition. Some approaches such as didactique, a technological approach, and course of action, have a Francophone specificity based on various international theoretical anchors; others such as motor learning, social psychology, ecological approach come from non-French-speaking international theoretical frameworks.

Discussion and conclusion: These findings raise the question of the Francophone specificity of intervention sciences. Beyond particular French-speaking theoretical frameworks, concepts and concerns join Anglophone traditions. As in the international fields of ‘sport pedagogy’ or ‘praxis’, the Francophone intervention sciences are composed of a diversity of theoretical approaches and are focused towards an epistemology of action. These two communities can enrich each other and deserve more interaction and exchange.     

Sports’ disciplinary legacy and the challenge of ‘coaching differently’

Be empowering. Be athlete-centered. Be autonomy supportive. These are three related topics currently being promoted by sport psychologists and sport pedagogists in an effort to recognize athletes’ unique qualities and developmental differences and make coaching more holistic and coaches more considerate. This has led us to ask, how likely are such initiatives to lead to coaches putting their athletes at the center of the coaching process given that coaches’ practices have largely been formed through relations of power that subordinate and objectify athletes’ bodies through the regular application of a range of disciplinary techniques and instruments [e.g. Barker-Ruchti, N., &; Tinning, R. (2010). Foucault in leotards: Corporeal discipline in women's artistic gymnastics. Sociology of Sport Journal, 27, 229–250; Heikkala, J. (1993). Discipline and excel: Techniques of the self and body and the logic of competing. Sociology of Sport Journal, 10, 397–412; Gearity, B., &; Mills, J. P. (2012). Discipline and punish in the weight room. Sports Coaching Review, 1, 124–134]? In other words, to try to develop athlete-centered coaches capable of coaching in ways that will empower their athletes without also problematizing the discursive formation of coaches’ practices concerns us [Denison, J., &; Mills, J. P. (2014). Planning for distance running: Coaching with Foucault. Sports Coaching Review, 3, 1–16]. Put differently: how can athlete empowerment initiatives be anything more than rhetoric within a disciplinary framework that normalizes maximum coach control? It is this question that we intend to explore in this paper. More specifically, as Foucauldians, we will argue that coaching with greater consideration for athletes’ unique qualities and developmental differences needs to entail coaching in a less disciplinary way and with an awareness and appreciation of the many unseen effects that disciplinary power can have on coaches’ practices and athletes’ bodies.     

Physical activity levels,game performance and friendship goals using two different pedagogical models: Sport Education and Direct Instruction

Background: Advances in technology have changed children’s lifestyle so much that the majority of them do not meet the recommended 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. Compulsory Physical Education has been highlighted as an ideal context to achieve the suggested physical activity (PA) goals, since it could be the only place where some students become truly physically active. In those classes, the teacher selects a pedagogical approach and this selection could be vital to meet the advised PA levels.

Purpose: The goal was to assess the effects of two instructional approaches, Sport Education Model (SEM) and Direct Instruction (DI) in Primary Education students’ physical activity intensity levels, game performance, and friendship goals.

Method: A total of 88 students with an average age of 11.16?±?0.63 years, enrolled in two year-5 (from 10 to11 years) and two year-6 (from 11 to 12 years) Physical Education classes of the same school agreed to participate. The number of participants in the SEM was 47 and in DI was 41. The schools’ administration distributed one class of each grade to the experimental group, which experienced SEM, and to the non-equivalent group, which experienced DI. The content selected for both study groups was the same: Handball. Both study groups experienced a 15-session learning unit (45 min per class, three sessions per week). The goal was to conduct the experiment in a non-manipulated (intact) educational context. It followed a pre-test, post-test, experimental, non-equivalent group design. Participants wore Actigraph GT3X accelerometers in order to monitor physical activity levels, answered questionnaires to assess friendship goals, and their game performance was assessed using the Game Performance Assessment instrument (GPAI).

Results: Results showed that students who experienced the SEM had significantly higher light and moderate physical activity levels, friendship-approach and friendship-avoidance goals, while the ones who experienced DI had significantly higher sedentary physical activity levels. The GPAI scores showed significant gains in students’ game performance in both study groups, but these were larger in the SEM one.

Conclusions: The SEM could be considered more effective than DI to improve Primary Education students’ PA levels, game performance and friendship goals.     

Development of a Physical Education Teaching Efficacy Scale

Relationships have been found between teacher efficacy and many teaching and learning variables, but few researchers have examined teaching efficacy in physical education. The instrument reported here, the Physical Education Teaching Efficacy Scale, was developed based on the teaching efficacy literature, existing scales, and National Association for Sport and Physical Education's Teacher Education Standards. Students attending 11 institutions who are majoring in regular and alternate physical education teacher education and who are at different stages of preparation (N?=?592) completed the initial survey. Exploratory, followed by confirmatory, factor analysis resulted in a 35-item, 7-factor scale. Factors were Content Knowledge, which were activities one might teach; Applying Scientific Knowledge in Teaching, which reflected academic content; Accommodating Skill Differences; Teaching Students with Special Needs; Instruction, which included management, motivation, and instruction; Using Technology; and Assessment. Results support that the Physical Education Teaching Efficacy Scale addresses many aspects of teaching physical education and meets research criteria for validity and reliability.     

Touching the didactic contract—a student perspective on intergenerational touch in PE

A growing anxiety around intergenerational touch in educational settings has both emerged and increased in recent years. Previous research reveals that Physical Education (PE) teachers have become more cautious in their approaches to students and they avoid physical contact or other behavior that could be regarded as suspicious [Fletcher, 2013. Touching practice and physical education: Deconstruction of a contemporary moral panic. Sport, Education and Society, 18(5), 694–709. doi:10.1080/13573322.2013.774272; Öhman, 2016. Losing touch—teachers’ self-regulation in physical education. European Physical Education Review, 1–14. doi:10.1177/1356336X15622159; Piper, Garratt, & Taylor, 2013. Child abuse, child protection and defensive ‘touch’ in PE teaching and sports coaching. Sport, Education and Society, 18(5), 583–598. doi:10.1080/13573322.2012.735653]. Some also feel anxious about how physical contact might be perceived by the students. The purpose of this article is to investigate physical contact between teachers and students in PE from a student perspective. This is understood through the didactic contract. For this purpose, focus group interviews using photo elicitation have been conducted with upper secondary school students in Sweden. One of the major findings is that intergenerational touch is purpose bound, that is, physical contact is considered relevant if the teacher has a good intention with using physical contact. The main agreements regarding physical contact as purpose bound are the practical learning and emotional aspects, such as learning new techniques, preventing injury, closeness and encouragement. The didactic contract is in these aspects stable and obvious. The main disagreements are when teachers interfere when the students want to feel capable or when teachers interfere when physical contact is not required in the activity. In these aspects the didactic contract is easily breached. It is also evident that personal preference has an impact on how physical contact is perceived. In conclusion, we can say that physical contact in PE is not a question of appropriate or inappropriate touch in general, but rather an agreement between the people involved about what is expected. Consequently, we should not ban intergenerational touch, but rather focus on teachers’ abilities to deal professionally with the didactic contract regarding physical contact.     

REACH Harlem: young urban boys’ experiences in an after-school PA positive youth development program

Background: After-school approaches offer a viable solution to the current challenge of physical inactivity among many adolescents; however, availability, cost, transportation, and interest limit many youths’ choices during non-school hours [Roth, Brooks-Gunn, Murray, and Foster 2003. “Youth Development Programs: Risk, Prevention and Policy.” Journal of Adolescent Health 32 (3): 170–182]. In addition to these limitations, safety concerns in urban communities act as barriers to participation in both after-school programs [Sanderson and Richards 2010. “The After-School Needs and Resources of a Low-income Urban Community: Surveying Youth and Parents for Community Change.” American Journal of Community Psychology 45: 430–440] and physical activity [Moore, Roux, Evenson, McGinn, and Brines 2010. “A Qualitative Examination of Perceived Barriers and Facilitators of Physical Activity for Urban and Rural Youth.” Health Education Research 25 (2): 355–367].

Purpose: This year-long qualitative case study sought to explore young urban boys’ experiences in an after-school program that aimed to empower young men through the sport of basketball.

Method: Two coaches facilitated weekly sessions for 5–20 young men of color in an urban, public school after-school program in Harlem, NY. The program recruited young men to an after-school program that offered basketball instruction in a safe space. During the program, students worked on basketball skills as well as reflective reading and writing through weekly journals and immersive conversations that revolved around weekly themes such as sportsmanship, culture, power, and communication. At the conclusion of the study seven boys aged 10–14 agreed to be interviewed about their experiences in the REACH program. Sources of data include journals, interviews, and observations. These data were coded by two independent coders, peer reviewed by a third researcher and analyzed using the constant comparative method.

Findings: Theme one: Shooting guns (violence) is a barrier to shooting hoops at local courts. Analysis of the data highlighted violence as an always-present barrier to playing basketball, specifically, and physical activity, generally speaking. Theme two: Future plans, the NBA. The vast majority of boys discussed joining the NBA, either directly from high school or after a year at a college. The NBA dream operated as a perceived pathway to a safer future and higher education. Theme three: Having and being role models. Analysis of the data also pointed to participants both being and/or having a role model. These relationships impacted them in a variety of ways and not only helps us better understand their experiences in the program but also elucidates how barriers to physical activity were alleviated. The young men who participated in this after-school program were able to engage in interest-based physical activity and academic learning tasks, thus creating a peaceful space to develop positive associations between school, physical activity, and community.

Conclusion: Closely examining the lived experiences of the REACH participants is significant for understanding their barriers to physical activity and how REACH, as a PYD sport program, alleviated those barriers. Examining the data around these issues also expands on the need for PYD programs [Wright and Li 2009. “Exploring the Relevance of Positive Youth Development in Urban Physical Education.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 14 (3): 241–251] and extends understandings of the PYD framework put forth by Holt et al. [2017. “A Grounded Theory of Positive Youth Development Through Sport Based on Results From a Qualitative Meta-Study.” International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology 10: 1–49]. Specifically, our study demonstrates the reciprocal and iterative nature of PYD climate, life skills focus, and PYD outcomes. Our study also expands on the understandings of PYD climate, extending the focus beyond relationships to also including participants’ experiences and perceptions.     

Observing the coach-created motivational environment across training and competition in youth sport

Adopting an integrated achievement goal (Nicholls, J. G. (1989). The competitive ethos and democratic education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.) and self-determination theory (Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268. doi:10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01) perspective as proffered by Duda, J. L. (2013). (The conceptual and empirical foundations of empowering coaching^TM: Setting the stage for the PAPA project. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11, 311–318. doi:10.1080/1612197X.2013.839414), the aim of the current study was to observe empowering and disempowering features of the multidimensional motivational coaching environment in training and competition in youth sport. Seventeen grass-roots soccer coaches were observed and rated in training and competitive settings using the multidimensional motivational climate observation system (MMCOS; Smith, N., Tessier, D., Tzioumakis, Y., Quested, E., Appleton, P., Sarrazin, P., … Duda, J. L. (2015). Development and validation of the multidimensional motivational climate observation system (MMCOS). Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 37, 4–22. doi:10.1123/jsep.2014-0059). In line with our hypotheses, coaches created different motivational environments in the two contexts. More specifically, coaches were observed to create a less empowering and more disempowering environment in competition compared to in training. The observed differences were underpinned by distinctive motivational strategies used by coaches in the two contexts. Findings have implications for the assessment of the coach-created motivational environment and the promotion of quality motivation for young athletes taking part in grass-roots-level sport.     

Exposing athletes to playing form activity: outcomes of a randomised control trial among community netball teams using a game-centred approach

This study evaluated whether exposing junior netball players to greater amounts of competition relevant activity (playing form activity) had an effect on game play outcomes and session involvement. A group-randomised controlled trial in one junior netball club in the Hunter Region, NSW, Australia. Ninety female athletes (mean age = 9.04 years, SD 1.53) were randomised by team (n = 11) into the intervention (n = 41) or 9-week wait-list control (n = 49) condition. The Professional Learning for Understanding Games Education into Sport (PLUNGE into Sport) programme was undertaken in the first half of nine training sessions (9 × 30 min). The intervention exposed athletes to playing form activity through a coach development programme within training sessions. Athletes’ decision-making, support and skill outcomes during a small-sided invasion game, and session involvement (pedometer step/min), were measured at baseline and 9-week follow-up. Linear mixed models revealed significant group-by-time intervention effects (P < 0.05) for decision-making (d = 0.4) and support (d = 0.5) during game play, and in-session activity (d = 1.2). An intervention exposing athletes to greater levels of playing form activity, delivered via a coach education programme, was efficacious in improving athlete decision-making and support skills in game play and increasing athlete involvement during sessions.     

Teacher Perceptions of a Physical Education Statewide Assessment Program

Abstract

A statewide program assessment was established to make positive change in physical education school programs in South Carolina. Reform efforts depend both on balancing accountability for change and teacher support for change (Odden &Anderson, 1986). The purpose of the study was to determine teacher perceptions of the South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Program and its effects across six related themes including: changes in teaching and learning, changes in curriculum and instruction, teacher awareness of the assessment program, teacher support for the program, work place conditions, and the advocacy role of the program. It was also the purpose of this study to determine if the survey responses were in any way related to teacher and school variables. The overall results of the study indicated positive change and support for the assessment program, supporting the viability of the standards, assessment, and accountability reform effort to positively impact physical education programs.     

Student performance in high-stakes examinations based on content area in senior secondary (VCE) physical education

Background: Senior secondary physical education courses for certification continue to evolve with curricula reform occurring to ensure content is contemporary, student learning outcomes are maximised and assessment practices are valid for determining certification of students. The content of examinable senior secondary physical education courses privilege theoretical concepts over student physical performance of motor skills and this is reflected in the use of written assessment of cognitive outcomes in many courses internationally.

Purpose: Student examination data were analysed from the year 12 (exit year) written examination of Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Physical Education to determine if student performance varied by Area of Study (content). Additionally, it investigated whether there was a relationship between student performance in each of the four Areas of Study examined and overall examination performance and considered the alignment of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy and the implications the findings may have on the teaching of VCE Physical Education in the future.

Methods: A secondary data analysis of student results from the 2011 (n?=?9323; M?=?5212, F?=?4111) and 2012 (n?=?8781; M?=?5011, F?=?3770) VCE Physical Education (Victoria, Australia) examinations were conducted. Examination questions were categorised by content, and means and standard deviations (SD) for discrete and continuous data were calculated, and categorical variables were presented as percentages. Regression analysis was also performed to establish the relationship between student cohort size and examination scores. An independent sample t-test was used to explore the examination scores and each Area of Study scores across 2011 and 2012. A one-way ANOVA were performed to investigate the differences of each Area of Study scores between examination grades from UG to A+.

Results: The results showed a positive correlation between VCE Physical Education student cohort size in a school and examination score in 2011 and 2012. Student performance differed across both years (2011 and 2012) and across Areas of Study within each of the years analysed. Students performed significantly lower on questions relating to the ‘planning, implementing and evaluating a training program’ Area of Study in 8 of the 11 possible grades (2011) and 10 of the possible 11 grades (2012) than in each of the other Areas of Study.

Discussion and conclusions: This study reveals that student performance on the external VCE Physical Education examination is not consistent across all content areas (Areas of Study). This may suggest that student difficulties in answering questions based on content in ‘planning, implementing and evaluating a training program’ result from topic or content difficulty rather than process or question difficulty. From these findings, implications for teaching examinable physical education effectively include the use of experiential learning and practical experiences to provide students with experiences from which they can draw knowledge when completing written assessment tasks. Additionally, the importance of having the required content knowledge to teach examinable physical education confidently for pre-service and in-service teachers is discussed.     

The Occupational Socialization of a First-Year Physical Education Teacher with a Teaching Orientation

The research reported in this paper examined how one American university's physical education teacher education (PETE) program influenced the perspectives and practices of a first-year high school teacher named Ed (a pseudonym). In addition, it explored how this influence was mediated by Ed's biography and entry into the workforce. Lawson's [(1983) Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 2, pp. 3-16; (1983) Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 3, pp. 3-15] hypotheses on physical education teacher socialization guided data collection and analysis. Data were collected though journal writing, formal and informal interviews, and document analysis. They were analyzed using constant comparison and analytic induction. Key findings were that features of Ed's biography led to the formation of a teaching orientation which, in turn, facilitated his full induction by his PETE program. Consequently, on entering the workforce, Ed was determined to teach as he had been trained even in the face of some serious situational constraints.