Differential Treatment of Whole Classes by a University Dance Teacher

abstract

The purpose of this case study was to examine whether a university dance teacher treated students in two dance classes differentially. Based on instructor feedback results, it was found that students were treated differentially. Students in the beginning jazz class received less instructive feedback than students in the beginning modern dance class. Data were collected through informal interviews and analysed following tenets of qualitative research. Themes which emerged from the interviews included the teacher's teaching philosophy, her style of teaching, her preference for one dance style over the other, her physical limitations, and the mixture of student abilities. It was suggested that this differential treatment was the result of the teacher viewing the two classes differently through her own lenses composed of her beliefs, curricular knowledge, values, movement preferences, and experiences as a student herseff. Findings from this study have relevance for teacher educators, dance teachers, and pre‐service teachers. The importance of personal teaching philosophy, teaching style, preference for a specific dance style, and specific movement preferences cannot be overlooked as factors affecting one's teaching. When these factors impact instructive feedback negatively then alternative measures must be considered to enhance the teaching‐learning environment.     

Participation Profiles and Socialisation into Dance Among Non‐Professional Dancers

Abstract

The study was designed to determine how individuals become socialised into folk, competitive ballroom, ballet and modern dance through an investigation of background variables, the influence of significant others and the participation profiles of dancers, and the identification of those socialization and involvement variables that best discriminate among different groups of dancers.

The subjects were 308 adolescent and adult dancers of at least 16 years of age who had pursued their main dance form for a minimum of three years. The data were collected by questionnaire, supplemented with some additional data gathered through personal interviews. Differences between the four dance groups were analysed using t‐test, Chi Square analyses, analyses of variance, Scheffe's multiple‐range test and discriminant analysis.

Most subjects were from the middle or upper socio‐economic classes. Most art dancers were women while social dancers displayed a more even distribution of sexes. Ballet dancers were youngest and ballroom dancers oldest when they started dancing. Mother's influence was significant among those who had started dancing at a young age while a friend of the same sex was influential among all respondents regardless of the age at which they had taken up dancing. Among men the influence of a friend of the opposite sex was also significant. The involvement of other family members in dance correlated most strongly with folk dancing, least strongly with modern dance. The dance teacher or coach was perceived as the most encouraging person in every dance form.

The most wide‐ranging past and present dance activities were found among modern dancers. The variables which best discriminated between dance forms were starting age, the variety of present dance activities and the intensity of practising one's main dance form. Such differences in socialisation into different dance forms should be taken into account when developing dance and dance teacher education curricula, teaching dance and planning recreational dance activities.

     

A Comparison of Video and Text-Based Questionnaire Methods for Testing Older Adults

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to initiate systematic research on dance as a creative and expressive art form. Although the process of expression through movement has concerned dancers and dance teachers for some time, there have been few attempts at a systematic analysis of either the process or the product of dance expression. Dance has generally been considered immeasurable because of its peculiarities as an art form.

While there is little apparent value in quantitative measurement of dance, qualitative measurement appears to have considerable value. It can sharpen the focus on principles of dance composition, contribute toward increased teaching effectiveness, enlarge dance's expressive range, and increase its ability to communicate.

Specifically, this study attempted to determine how effectively modern dance communicates by using a systematic analysis of individual dance compositions. Samples of dance studies with specific intentions were choreographed and filmed. The dances were then viewed and evaluated by a selected and trained jury on (a) their ability to communicate emotional and physical qualities, (b) the type and structure of their composition, and (c) their choreographic and artistic effectiveness.

Results of this study showed that least agreement was reached by the jurors in rating the dances according to structural strength and in identifying their composition type. Realistic vehicles of expression were more easily recognized than were abstract ones. There was substantial agreement on the emotion communicated by each composition. Presence of all the traditional dance elements appears unnecessary for effective communication.     

Gold Medal Volleyball: The Training Program and Physiological Profile of the 1984 Olympic Champions

Abstract

This study focused on the differences between experienced and inexperienced physical education teachers' approaches to planning, low inference indicators of teaching behavior during instruction, and global variables from the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study. It was found experienced teachers asked many more questions before they began planning than did inexperienced teachers. Experienced teachers' plans reflected a concern about contingencies that might arise during instruction, whereas inexperienced teachers' plans did not. Interaction analysis and codings of student engagement showed marked differences between experienced and inexperienced teachers. Judging the qualities of experienced and inexperienced teachers also showed important differences. These sources of data are interrelated and give a vivid picture of how experienced and inexperienced teachers differ in accomplishment of instruction. The findings are discussed in terms of what they may mean for teacher development programs.     

An Exploratory Study of Physical Education Teacher Education Graduates’ Job Histories

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the job histories of physical education teacher education (PETE) graduates over a 15-year span. Method: A total of 118 graduates/participants completed a Qualtrics, open-ended survey. Face validity of the survey questions was established via a panel of experts and the survey was pilot-tested by PE teachers. Data were analyzed inductively via constant comparison. Trustworthiness of the data was addressed via peer debriefing and the use of member checks. Results: During the first year after graduation, of the 118 participants in this study, 82% were employed in schools, with 48% securing full-time teaching positions in health and/or PE, and adapted physical education (APE), and the other 34% in roles such as part-time teaching. Ultimately, 75% of graduates taught full-time in health, PE and/or APE. A total of 7% of those who taught opted to leave teaching. Almost all of the 80 participants still teaching planned to teach till retirement, or a very long time, with none stating that they planned to leave the profession soon. A few (3%) stated that they were undecided, however. Conclusion: There is a lack of research in the area of job histories of PETE graduates in the United States, and much of the overall research on organizational socialization is dated. The authors hope to spur further inquiry into this important area. The results of this study are encouraging but follow up studies are envisioned to further examine issues such as job satisfaction and teacher/coach orientations from acculturation through the life span of teachers.     

Development of an Objective Measure of Rhythmic Motor Response

Abstract

This study was undertaken to develop a test that would objectively measure the rhythmic element in dance, and one that could be used by teachers of dance. The resulting Test of Rhythmic Motor Response was administered to 92 college women enrolled in dance classes. Test reliability coefficients ranged from .90 to .91; validity coefficients with teachers' ratings, .49 to .51. An investigation of the relationship between this test and the rhythm imagery section of the Gordon Measures of Musical Perception yielded correlation coefficients ranging from .52 to .69. These findings are all statistically significant at the .01 level. The Test of Rhythmic Motor Response appears to have a substantial relationship with the rhythmic element in dance.     

Validity and Generalizability of Social Dance Performance Ratings

Abstract

The purpose of three related studies was to develop a social dance instrument that had logical validity and generalizable performance ratings. Three social dance experts critiqued the instrument and concluded the items described the characteristics of good social dance performance. Twelve couples from a social dance class were videotaped for 5 min while performing the fox trot. Their performances were evaluated by a different set of coders in each of the three generalizability (G-) studies conducted (Subjects × Coders × Days ANOVA design). Dance performances were held constant across coding occasions so the day facet represents degree of consistency in coding, not stability of subjects' performances. Decision (D-) studies were also conducted for various measurement conditions. Results of the G-studies indicated that coders with several years of experience teaching and evaluating dance had less systematic coder bias and less systematic coder bias for a subset of dancers than coders who had little or no experience evaluating movement of any form. The performance ratings given by novice coders could be generalized for any randomly selected coder evaluating on any given day (G = .79). It was concluded the social dance test was valid and coders could be trained to obtain generalizable performance ratings.     

Teachers as agents of change in curricular reform: the position of dance revisited

This paper reports findings from a recent large-scale survey of Physical Education (PE) teachers’ perceptions of teaching dance and compares them to results of a study completed 10 years previously [MacLean, J. (2007). A longitudinal study to ascertain the factors that impact on the confidence of undergraduate physical education student teachers to teach dance in Scottish schools. European Physical Education Review, 13(1), 99–116]. The current position of dance is examined in light of the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) in 2010, a national initiative in Scottish schools that provides a unified flexible curricular framework for children aged 3–18. Dance remains part of the PE curriculum but also for the first time in Scotland occupies an additional position within the Expressive Arts (EA). Teachers are positioned as agents of change tasked with greater autonomy, flexibility and responsibility in curriculum design. The inclusion of dance in both PE and EA provides potential for teachers to design curricula that excludes dance from the PE curriculum or alternatively use the opportunity to increase dance provision. Currently, little is known about the impact CfE has on the provision and position of dance or the factors that impinge on teachers’ decisions regarding the inclusion of dance in the curriculum. To further such understanding, 85 secondary school PE teachers responded to a questionnaire concerning dance opportunities within the current school context. In addition, the original participants from MacLean (2007) research were re-interviewed to identify and explore the factors that enable teachers to achieve agency when teaching dance. The results indicated that collaborative planning, united goals and collective action had enabled teachers to significantly increase dance provision in schools. Teacher attention had shifted from concerns about individual capacity to a focus on the level of social, cultural and material support in providing valuable educational experiences in dance for all pupils.     

Socialization of Prospective Physical Education Teachers: The Story of New Blood

There has been much criticism of how teachers are prepared to teach and physical education has not been immune from this criticism. Despite numerous efforts to improve the content and focus of teacher education programmes there is still a paucity of programme evaluation research on the efficacy of these teacher education programmes (Metzler & Tjeerdsma, 1998). This paper reports on part of a yearlong investigation on the efficacy of a graduate physical education teacher education programme to prepare teachers. The focus of this aspect of the study was to identify what attracted graduate students to pursue a teaching career and what beliefs they held about physical education teachers and teaching. This was a qualitative case study and multiple data sources were gathered to address the research questions. The data sources included interviews, analyses of the students' autobiographical statements, and observations of their teaching, critical incidents from their teaching and peer responses to critical incidents. Findings indicate that this cohort of graduate students, many embarking on a major career change, was more committed to teaching and their love for teaching children than coaching. While their own success and love of sport was a factor in their career choice, their experiences in helping young people engage in and enjoy physical activity was more significant than their desire to gain a teaching credential. They believed their role as a physical education teacher was to be a physically active role model and help students appreciate the importance of physical activity, to contribute to the development of student self-esteem, especially those sometimes marginalized in physical education classes, and to plan and teach lessons that would motivate all students to participate in class. This work is grounded in the occupational socialization literature and the findings are discussed in terms of what we know about how to maximize the impact of teacher education programmes especially when students' beliefs may not be aligned with those of the programme.     

Transformation of complex movements from policy to practice – a discourse analysis of Swedish physical education teachers’ concepts of moving

ABSTRACT

Background: How teachers enact policy has been of significant interest to educational scholars. In physical education research, scholars have identified several factors affecting the enactment of policy. These factors include but are not limited to: structural support available for teachers, provision of professional development opportunities, the nature of the policy, and the educational philosophies of the teachers. A recurring conclusion drawn in this scholarship is that official documentation and teachers’ work often diverge, sometimes in profound ways.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how physical education teachers in Sweden describe their enactment of policy regarding the concept complex movement, which features in the latest Swedish curriculum.

Methods: Interview data were generated with six specialist physical education teachers. Three questions guided the interviews: What is complex movement? What is not complex movement? And, can you give examples from your teaching of complex movement? Data were analyzed using a discourse analytic framework. Meaning was understood as a production of dialectical relationships between individuals and social practices. Two key concepts were utilized: intertextuality, which refers to the condition whereby all communicative events, not merely utterances, draw on earlier communication events, and interdiscursivity, which refers to discursive practices in which discourse types are combined in new and complex ways.

Results: We identified three discourses regarding the teachers’ enactment of policy: (1) Complex movement as individual difficulty, (2) Complex movement as composite movements, and (3) Complex movement as situational adaptation. Several features were common to all three discourses: they were all related to issues of assessment; they suggested that complex movement is something students should be able to show or perform, and; they left open room for practically any activity done in physical education to be considered complex.

Discussion: Three issues are addressed in the Discussion. The first concerns the intertextual nature of the teachers’ statements and how the statements relate to policy and research. The second concerns the way that knowledge, and specifically movement knowledge, becomes problematic in the teachers’ statements about complex movement. The third concerns more broadly the language used to describe the relationship between policy and practice.

Conclusions: We propose that modest levels of overlap between teachers’ discursive resources, policy, and research is unsurprising. In line with earlier research, we suggest that the notion of ‘enactment’ is a more productive way to describe policy-oriented practice than notions such as ‘implementation’ or ‘translation’, which imply a uni-directional, linear execution of policy.     

Moral Reasoning in Sport: Implications for Physical Education

ABSTRACT

This paper involves a discussion of the results of a recent research project where I interviewed athletes who play on a Canadian University's sport teams. The interviews were fairly open‐ended, exploring the athletes’ interpretations of what makes a situation an ethical dilemma and then what moral reasoning process they use in resolving the dilemmas they face. The interviews were analysed utilizing a hermeneutic approach. In analysing the transcribed interviews, I uncovered the layers of text in an attempt to interpret the athletes’ conception of ethical dilemmas. Then I focused on the reasoning process the athletes articulated in their attempts to resolve ethical dilemmas. This process required successive ‘readings’ where I attempted to relate knowledge from moral theory/moral philosophy to the words and experiences of the athletes interviewed.

This research has the potential to be both theoretically and practically significant. The theoretical significance of the research lies in the application of a study of moral theory/moral philosophy to actual ethical dilemmas faced by athletes. Although moral philosophy is a well‐established scholarly discipline, the application of insights gleaned from a study of this discipline to the practice of sport has not received much attention in the scholarly literature. Most of the empirical research conducted in the area of sport and moral reasoning has focused on theories of moral development, i.e. Piaget, Kohlberg, and so forth (Booth, 1981; Figley, 1984; Romance, 1988; Brandi, 1989; Shields & Bredemeier, 1995), while most of the research concerned with moral theory/moral philosophy has been solely conceptual in nature (Shea, 1996; Arnold, 1984; Fraleigh, 1984; Zeigler, 1984; Feezell, 1986). The research presented in this paper integrates a naturalistic framework, specifically hermeneutic analysis, with conceptual knowledge derived from moral theory/moral philosophy.

The research also has the potential to have significant practical implications. My objective is to determine what sort of moral reasons athletes provide when they attempt to resolve ethical dilemmas encountered in their sport. Understanding these reasons has significant implications in that teachers and coaches could facilitate the development of the critical thinking skills and dispositions required in moral reasoning if they were aware of where their athletes were in need of guidance.

     

Basketball Shooting

Purpose: This study investigated Finnish physical education (PE) teachers' intentions to leave the profession and the reasons behind them. Method: A large sample (N = 808) of PE teachers who graduated between 1980 and 2008 (432 women, 376 men) answered a modified job satisfaction and teacher follow-up questionnaire that elicited career perceptions, intentions, and current work duties. Results: In this sample, 26% of the respondents were contemplating leaving their jobs as PE teachers and an additional 13% were actually in the process of transferring from PE teaching but planned to remain in school teaching. To determine the reasons for considering leaving the PE teaching profession, principal axis factoring with direct oblimin rotation was performed on the 35 items of the questionnaire. These factors were labeled as status of the PE teaching profession, pupils, working conditions, colleagues, expertise, workload, administration, and stress. The most influential factors were poor facilities, poor equipment, and isolation from the peers. Additional factors included working conditions, low status of the PE teachers, and workload. For women, workload and stress were more significant reasons for leaving the profession than they were for men (p = .010–.040, d = 0.34–0.43). PE teachers in the age group of 40 to 44 years old constituted the largest group who were considering leaving the profession. Conclusion: Thirty-nine percent of the PE teachers considered leaving the profession. Even though PE teachers face a variety of challenges in their work, the majority intend to remain in the teaching profession. Improved resourcing and collegial support could potentially reduce PE teachers' intention to leave.     

Rhythmics in Music and Dance

Abstract

This paper presents results of the Kraus-Weber Test for Minimum Muscular Fitness which was conducted in East Pakistan. A total of 2325 Pakistani male and female school children were subjects. The results were compared with reports of the original tests in the United States and Europe. The testing program revealed that Pakistani children were less able than European children in passing the six test items. They were, however, more successful than American children included in the original report of the Kraus-Weber Test.     

The Development of In-Service Teachers' Knowledge of a Constructivist Approach to Physical Education: Teaching beyond Activities

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe three aspects of learning a movement approach that were salient and initially problematic for 1 experienced teacher, 2 early career teachers, and 1 student teacher. A constructivist perspective was the theoretical base. Across 3 years, the researcher conducted 11 weeks of observations, 15 formal interviews, 3 group interviews, and daily informal interviews. Three problematic aspects were: (1) knowing to what extent they should give information and tell children what to do when teaching less structured content, (2) knowing the whole of the approach and how components connected, and (3) knowing content (i.e., pedagogical content knowledge) in enough depth and detail. Knowledge development was facilitated by more experienced teachers, experience, and a set of key ideas.     

Confirmation of a Teacher Expectancy Model: Student Perceptions and Causal Attributions of Teaching Behaviors

Abstract

This study described patterns of observed and student perceived teaching behaviors directed to high and low expectancy students and determined how students attribute causes to the teaching behaviors. Eleven certified elementary classroom teachers and their second and third-grade classes served as subjects for the study. Twenty-seven high expectancy and 33 low expectancy students were identified by having the teachers rate their students in terms of expected levels of performance for the school year. Three types of teacher feedback were recorded by trained observers: a) praise/encouragement; b) skill correction; and c) corrective behavior feedback. Students were also interviewed to see whether their perceptions of the teachers' actions were consistent with the coded dyadic interactions. In addition, interviewers asked the students to describe the causes for the teacher's actions. Each cause was classified into one of four attributional categories: a) personal causes; b) teacher causes; c) environmental causes; and d) complex causes. Major differences between observed and perceived teacher praise and corrective behavior feedback were found for high and low expectancy students. Attributional data also revealed that low expectancy students tended to attribute corrective behavior feedback to personal causes much more so than high expectancy students. High expectancy students, on the other hand, were more inclined to attribute the same behavior to teacher characteristics.     

Undergraduate Physical Education Majors' Perceptions of the Roles of Teacher and Coach

Abstract

This investigation examined undergraduate physical education majors' perceptions of the roles of teacher and coach. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 80 physical education majors at a large urban university. Subjects were asked to rate the importance of twelve characteristics or abilities for teachers and for coaches. Results indicated that the subjects viewed the abilities needed for each of the roles as similar. Subjects were asked to indicate their job preference, and to estimate their ability to perform each of the roles. Gender was significantly related to role preference, with males indicating a greater preference for the coaching role. Students indicating a preference for teaching only have less experience in athletics than the coaching only and the teaching/coaching groups.

A significant relationship was found for selected background variables with estimated role performance. The variables most highly related to confidence in one's ability to teach were positive role models and skill in a wide range of activities, and those most related to estimated ability to coach were positive role models and very high skill in at least one activity.     

The occupational socialization of German physical education teachers

To date, most of the work on the occupational socialization of physical education (PE) teachers has been completed in the United States and Britain. The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the occupational socialization of German PE teachers who were trained prior to unification of the two German states and worked in both their old nations and the new Germany. The two research questions we attempted to answer were (a) What were the perspectives and practices of West German (WG) and East German (EG) PE teachers? and (b) What factors influenced these perspectives and practices? Participants were five former WG and five former EG teachers. Data were collected using four qualitative techniques (formal and follow-up interviews, document analysis, film snippets) and analyzed by employing analytic induction and constant comparison. Findings indicated that there were distinct and different patterns of socialization for the former German states. The WG group possessed conservative teaching orientations nurtured during their childhood and youth and reinforced during their training and by their school cultures. Perceived changes in German society and culture led to slight modifications of these orientations over the teachers’ careers. Prior to reunification, the EG group possessed a high performance orientation primarily honed by the politics of the state. The perspectives and practices of WG teachers were relatively unaffected by reunification. In contrast, the transition to a new system was emancipating for four of the EG teachers who shifted to a teaching orientation. Conversely, the transition was particularly difficult for one of the former EG teachers who partially retained his high performance orientation and strategically complied with new national requirements.     

Relationship between Working Environment,Self-Concept,Real-Ideal Self Discrepancy,and Functionality in Physical Education Teachers

Abstract

The major purposes of the present study were to determine to what extent and in what ways an individual's personality is affected by the working environment. Three questions were asked about the effect of working environment on: (a) realism or accuracy of self-concept, (b) agreement between real self and ideal self, and (c) functionality of personality characteristics. Subjects were 49 physical education faculty in three inner-city and three suburban Los Angeles area high schools. The Holmen Adjective Check List (HACL) was used to assess self-concept, real-ideal self discrepancy, and functionality. Results showed that: (a) suburban teachers had more accurate self-concepts than did inner-city teachers, (b) suburban teachers were seen as being more like their “ideal selves” than were inner-city teachers, and (c) individuals experienced in a given work setting were not necessarily seen as better adapted to that environment than those not working there.     

皖北高校大学生体育舞蹈课程开展现状的调查与研究

对淮南师范学院等皖北六所高校进行体育舞蹈课程开展现状的调查与分析,结果显示,皖北高校体育舞蹈课程都已经开展,但由于课时少等原因,大学生只可以通过公共体育选修课学习其中的伦巴、恰恰及华尔兹等部分舞种;高校学生主要通过学校课堂、晚会等宣传表演来了解体育舞蹈,他们选修体育舞蹈课程最主要的动机是丰富业余文化生活;皖北高校体育舞蹈专项教师人数偏少,缺乏相应的外出培训机会;体育舞蹈教师的职称结构与年龄阶段基本是一致的,年轻教师缺乏教学经验;影响体育舞蹈课程开展的因素是多重的,其中学生对体育舞蹈的认识不够、学校对体育舞蹈不够重视及教师水平的缺乏是重要的影响因素。建议:各高校应加强与体育舞蹈课程相关的基础设施建设,应重视教师业务能力和技术水平的提高,为教师提供更多业务培训机会,制定合适的教学大纲,合理安排和选择教学内容,进一步完善体育舞蹈教学体系。