Statements of special educational needs and mainstream secondary physical education in north‐west England

This article, by Anthony Maher of the University of Central Lancashire, explores, from the perspective of SENCos and learning support assistants (LSAs) in north‐west England, the perceived adequacy of Statements of special educational needs as they relate to physical education (PE). The findings, generated via online surveys, suggest that most SENCos and some LSAs believe that Statements are appropriate for all curricular subjects, with PE being no different. Thus, two groups who play an integral role in facilitating the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream secondary schools in England do not differentiate between classroom based and more physically orientated subjects such as PE, which could have a negative impact on the experiences of pupils with special educational needs in PE because of the contextual and dynamic nature of special educational needs. Indeed, because most Statements do not provide PE‐specific information or learning targets, teachers and LSAs are often unable to collaboratively plan and deliver inclusive lessons or monitor and evaluate the progress made by Statemented pupils in PE.     

Assessing the learning of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream school physical education

In the UK, one consequence of neoliberalism has been the development of test cultures in schools and standardised assessment strategies used to judge all pupils against within and across curriculum subjects. Few studies to date have explored the influence of this on assessing the learning of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and none have centred physical education (PE). This study used the concept of ableism and semi-structured interviews to explore mainstream secondary school PE teachers’ views and experiences of assessing the learning of pupils with SEND. Based on the findings, we discuss the importance of schools disrupting hegemonic, ableist modes of thinking that cast pupils with SEND as being of inferior ability when compared with their peers and thus being disadvantaged by standardised, normative assessment practices. Specifically, we identify a need for senior leaders and teachers in schools to recognise the needs and capabilities of pupils with SEND, through more holistic assessment approaches that focus on social, affective, cognitive and physical learning and development. We end by discussing the significance of initial teacher education and teacher networks to support this endeavour and advocating for the amplification of the voices of pupils with SEND, given that they have expert knowledge about the perceived inclusivity of assessment in PE because they can draw upon their lived and embodied experiences.     

Swedish primary‐school teachers’ attitudes to inclusion – the case of PE and pupils with physical disabilities

Teachers play a decisive role in making inclusive education a reality. The particular case of inclusion in physical education (PE) poses a specific challenge to teaching practice. How PE teachers view inclusion may provide special insights into teachers’ general attitudes toward inclusion and inclusive practices in the general school curriculum. The aim of this study is to investigate Swedish PE teachers’ attitudes to inclusion of pupils with physical disabilities in mainstream PE classes at primary school. The sampling frame was members of the Swedish Teachers’ Union who had registered themselves as PE teachers and who indicated a current e‐mail address (n = 560). Respondents were invited to complete an e‐mail questionnaire with questions covering demographics, general attitudes, support from school management and staff, possible hindrances and personal experiences of inclusion. A total of 221 teachers (39%) responded, equal numbers of males and females with a bimodal age distribution (means of 28 and 44) with an average of eight years of service. On average, Swedish PE teachers are very positive to inclusion of pupils with physical disabilities into general PE. Gender, age, years of service and work satisfaction had no impact on general opinions of inclusive PE. PE teachers with actual previous experience of teaching pupils with physical disabilities were slightly more positive to inclusive PE. Stepwise multiple regressions were used to establish a predictive model of positive attitudes to inclusion based on: (1) having adequate training; (2) having general school support (from management and staff); and (3) demands on resources. This yielded an adjusted R ² that explained 33% of variation in attitudes.     

To assist or not to assist? A study of teachers’ views of the roles of learning support assistants in the provision of inclusive physical education in England

This paper examines teachers’ perceptions of their working relationships with learning support assistants (LSAs) when seeking to incorporate young disabled people and pupils with special educational needs (SEN) within mainstream physical education (PE), an area that has been a largely neglected aspect of research in inclusive education. The findings indicate that teachers spoke positively of these relationships when LSAs were perceived as making a positive contribution to the development of pupils’ learning and when they supported teachers as they did in other school subjects. Conversely, when LSAs and other support staff failed to provide teachers with information that was related to pupils’ needs in PE, and when LSAs did not possess the required skills, knowledge and expertise of the subject, teachers were rather critical of their relationships with them. In this regard, LSAs were seen as placing a particularly significant constraint on teachers’ ability to meet the needs of pupils in PE lessons. It is concluded that teachers’ perceptions of the constraints they experience from working with LSAs to help support pupils, and the extent and quality of support they receive, cannot be understood adequately unless they are located within the context of the relational constraints experienced by teachers.     

The influence of occupational socialisation upon a teacher's interpretation and delivery of Teaching Games for Understanding to pupils experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties

This study examined how one physical education (PE) teacher in a specialist school for pupils with social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) taught Year 9 pupils utilising the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model. The research identified factors that led to such instruction, and considered the influence of occupational socialisation on the pedagogical approaches of the teacher. Data collection methods were semi‐structured interviews and non‐participant lesson observations. The resultant data were inductively analysed. Observations revealed that the lessons emphasised problem‐solving and limited technical practice. Interviews detailed how the factors influencing this practice were other PE teachers and the nature of the pupils. This research makes two recommendations: first, SEBD schools wishing to utilise TGfU should examine the prior pedagogical experiences of potential employees; second, student teachers wishing to use TGfU in institutions for pupils with SEBD should consider gaining experience of SEBD education prior to higher education in order to put subsequent pedagogical experiences into relevant focus.     

The influence of occupational socialisation upon the teaching of pupils experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in physical education

Research within physical education (PE) utilising the occupational socialisation framework indicates that the childhood phase of socialisation is the most powerful phase of socialisation. However, for most teachers working with pupils experiencing special educational needs (SEN), the childhood phase often lacks direct experience of SEN and thus ceases to exist as a socialising force. Consequently, the higher education and workplace phases form a ‘salvaged’ phase upon which to base pedagogical approaches (Pugach). In light of this dichotomy, the aims of this case study were to (1) examine how one PE head of department (HOD) in a specialist social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) school taught year 9 pupils games; (2) identify factors that led to such instruction and (3) consider the influence of the three phases of occupational socialisation on her pedagogical approaches. Data collection methods consisted of formal and informal interviews and lesson observations. The data were inductively analysed, and themes were drawn from this process. Using a systematic learning approach, lessons were game orientated based around pupil decision‐making and limited technical practice. Factors influencing this practice were her exploratory outdoor activity experiences and the nature of the pupils. In contrast to Pugach, this research indicates that the childhood phase of socialisation can provide an ‘apprenticeship of observation’ for those teaching PE to pupils experiencing SEBD. That such perceptions can be strongly held suggests that prior examination of the childhood biographies of those recruited to PE teacher training and/or PE teachers teaching pupils who experience SEBD appears warranted.     

Notes on contributors

Social cohesion in school is reflected in social discrimination processes and the complementary social roles of teachers, pupils, other staff and pupils' relatives. School social cohesion varies in level from high, characterised by prosocial interactions, to low, characterised by antisocial or violent interactions. Antisocial behaviour is usually embedded in specific interaction patterns between different social actors and is based on specific motives or stereotypes that elicit or justify this behaviour. Comprehensive study of these patterns is enabled by information and communication technology (ICT). The aim of this study is to use ICT to investigate social interaction patterns between personal and school characteristics of secondary school teachers and their curricular and disciplinary characteristics and experience of violence, including the motives they perceive when they are the victim, perpetrator or witness of six types of violence, differentiated according to the complementary roles of pupils, other teachers, other school staff and pupils' relatives. Three questionnaires were developed and used in a nationwide Internet‐based survey in Dutch secondary schools. This school safety monitor was completed in 2006 by 5148 teachers, 80,770 pupils, 1749 educational support staff and 629 school managers. Data were checked for reliability, scale homogeneity and representativeness. Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the social interaction patterns in teachers' data. The results reveal violence‐specific social behaviour and social‐mirroring processes between teachers and pupils in particular. Furthermore, teachers who are younger, female or working in low‐attainment educational settings apply more curricular differentiation and collaborate more with pupils on disciplinary matters than their respective counterparts. Teachers who work in low‐attainment schools, who work in cities, who are homosexual/lesbian or who do not feel most at home in The Netherlands experience more violent behaviour as a victim or witness than their respective counterparts. In particular, teachers attribute the following motives to violence: physical appearance, behaviour, level of school achievement, a handicap, being religious, gender, sexual preference and ways of dealing with non‐conforming behaviour or punishments. Compared to teachers, pupils gave a broad array of motives for every type of violence. The conclusion is that Internet‐based data‐collection procedures provide a more comprehensive and systematic picture of social discrimination and violence motive patterns in schools than has hitherto been customary.     

Students' Implicit Theories of Ability in Physical Education Classes: The Influence of Motivational Aspects of the Learning Environment

This study examined the influence of the perceived situational climate on students' implicit theories of ability in physical education (PE) classes. The empirical data stem from a questionnaire survey of ninth grade students conducted in the county of Buskerud in Norway. Canonical correlation, multiple regression and one-way MANOVA analyses revealed a consistent pattern of relationships between the motivational climate in PE as perceived by the students and their implicit theories of ability. A learning environment that is perceived to emphasise competition and social comparison and to raise concern about one's ability seems to induce fixed implicit theories of ability. By contrast, a climate in which effort, progress and teacher support of all students is seen as prevailing seems to generate a theory of ability as expandable and learning induced. Results were interpreted as providing evidence for the importance of a mastery-oriented climate in PE in terms of fostering optimism for learning in school physical education. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

中小学体育教育教学中实施心理健康教育模式的研究

随着社会的不断发展和进步,人们对心理健康的要求也在不断提高,据现有相关调查,我国中小学学生的心理健康水平反而在逐年下降,成为学校教育的一大障碍,要想改变这一状况,学校管理部门和学校体育工作者正在作出积极探索,从不同的教育教学模式进行有效探讨,但还没有进行深入的调查研究,本文试图从学校心理健康教育模式进行进一步探讨,以求获得心理健康教育的有效途径,也为学校体育教育发展以及学生心理健康水平提高作一有效积极探索与研究.     

Experimental longitudinal test of the influence of autonomy-supportive teaching on motivation for participation in elementary school physical education

The present study examined the efficacy of autonomy-supportive teaching during elementary school physical education (PE) in influencing pupils’ enjoyment, fear of failure, boredom and effort. A sample of 54 pupils attending fifth and sixth grades comprised the control group (typical instruction; n = 27) and the experimental group (autonomy-supportive instruction; n = 27). Pupils’ responses were provided four times during a school trimester on perceived autonomy-support provided by the PE teacher, fulfilment of psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, behavioural regulations for PE participation, enjoyment, fear of failure, boredom and effort. In the autonomy-support condition, levels of the positive motivational indexes remained relatively stable during the trimester. Motivational deterioration was evident for the control group, and especially during the middle and the end of the trimester. Autonomy-supportive teaching leads to enhanced levels of motivation compared to non-autonomy-supportive teaching that may lead to gradual decline of motivation for PE participation.     

Gender Effects in School Subject Preferences: a research note

Rankings of liking for nine curriculum subjects were obtained from 93 middle school pupils aged 11‐13 years, who also completed the Children's Sex Role Inventory. Statistically significant gender differences in the rankings of English and humanities were found, which were both preferred by girls, and for physical education (PE) and science, which were preferred by boys. Some statistically significant associations between subject rankings and sex typing measures also emerged. Higher rankings of music and humanities were associated with higher Femininity scores, while higher rankings for PE were associated with lower Femininity scores. The only significant association with Masculinity was for English, where higher rankings were associated with lower Masculinity. No significant associations with Masculinity or Femininity were found for science, a traditionally male‐stereotyped curriculum area. Associations found between the rankings of the different subjects indicated a tendency for pupils to prefer either more academic or more practical subjects, but there was no indication from the limited data available on their performance that this could be related to their academic ability. The implications of these preliminary findings for future investigations are discussed.     

Comparison of value orientations of Quebec and American teachers: a cultural difference?

Given the active presence of the American culture in Canada, this study was conducted to compare priorities given to a set of value orientations by Quebec physical education (PE) teachers and their American counterparts to determine if value orientations are prioritized similarly in both cultures. Results show that Quebec PE teachers prioritized value orientations differently than their American colleagues, Quebeckers giving high priority to the subject matter and low priority to social skills while the opposite was true for their American colleagues who gave high priority to social skills and low priority to the subject matter.     

Beliefs and Influences About Grading Elicited From Student Performance Sketches

Undergraduate education majors, student teachers, and experienced teachers (N = 326) responded to two written sketches depicting different levels of student effort. They decided on a grade, rated the importance of achievement and nonachievement factors, and wrote a defense of their grading decision. Overall, experienced teachers tended to give lower grades. Lower grades were awarded more when a female with high effort and low aptitude was portrayed or when a male with low effort and high aptitude was portrayed. Preservice and experienced teachers considered cognitive, nonachievement dispositions to be valid educational outcomes contributing to grade variation. There was a dichotomy of beliefs about borderline grading: Participants were struggling with being a judge or an advocate when the grade was used to punish inadequate effort or to reward improvement. An understanding of the interplay of beliefs, attitude, and social judgment with assessment is essential if teachers are to develop grading strategies that communicate the diverse learning outcomes expected of students.     

Exchange of information about physical education to support the transition of pupils from primary and secondary school

The purpose of this study was to identify how information about physical education is exchanged between secondary schools and their respective feeder primary schools, what information is exchanged and how this information is used. A secondary purpose was to look at whether there is any relationship between schools engaging in liaison activities and exchanging information about physical education, and between exchanging information and the number of associated secondary schools to which pupils are sent or feeder primary schools from which pupils are received. Questionnaires were sent to 177 secondary and 538 feeder primary schools. Responses from 80 secondary schools and 299 primary schools showed that the highest percentage of teachers exchanged information through written documentation, followed by discussion at cross phase liaison meetings. The type of information exchanged by the highest percentage of teachers was identified as generic information about key stage 2 and 3 of the National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE) areas of activity and schemes of work, rather than information about the specific physical education content covered or information about individual pupils, such as levels of attainment or ability. Further, results suggest that information may be used for pastoral purposes and that only a small percentage of teachers used the information exchanged to plan for continuity and progression in the physical education curriculum. There was a significant positive relationship between engagement in liaison activities and information received about the physical education curriculum followed by pupils, but a significant negative relationship for primary teachers between the number of different secondary schools to which pupils' progress and knowledge about the key stage 3 schemes of work that Year 6 pupils will follow in their associated secondary schools. These results are discussed in relation to continuity and progression in physical education in the transfer of pupils from primary to secondary schools.     

创新体育课教学模式,促进高技能人才培养

随着生产力的高速发展,社会对应用型人才的需求急剧增加,我国高职教育承担着越来越重的任务。高职体育作为一门重要的素质教育课程,肩负着锻炼学生身体、心理和社会素质的重要使命,创新体育课教学模式、促进高职生高技能素质培养,已是摆在体育教育工作者面前一项重要的课题和任务。     

新时期高校青年教师思想政治工作探讨

青年教师是高等教育事业发展的生力军,是高校教师群体的重要组成部分,是大学生学习知识和思想进步的引路人,加强和改进高校青年教师思想政治工作具有重大意义。新时期做好高校青年教师思想政治工作,要坚持以人为本,解决青年教师的实际问题;积极创造条件,深入开展社会实践活动;占领网络阵地,加强网络思想政治工作;正视心理问题,关注青年教师心理健康。     

Including pupils with special educational needs in secondary school physical education: a sociological analysis of teachers' views

This paper explores physical education (PE) teachers' views of the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in PE from a figurational sociological perspective. Starting from the premise that teachers' views cannot be adequately explained by studying the concept of inclusion or the teacher in isolation, it is argued that we can only begin to make sense of such views by locating teachers within the figurations of which they are a part and by exploring two particularly salient features of those figurations: namely, teachers' habituses and contexts. In doing so, the paper focuses upon the training teachers receive, the constraints imposed upon them by their colleagues and pupils, and, most importantly, the suitability of the National Curriculum for meeting the needs of pupils with SEN. The paper concludes by highlighting some of the unintended consequences of the inclusion of pupils with SEN in PE.     

再论体育教师的职业素养

体育是学校教育的重要组成部份,体育教师的职业素养直接影响着体育教学的质量。依据从事体育教学的经验,体育教师的职业素养应该由职业道德素养、业务能力素养、身体形态素养、心理品质素养、社交能力素养组成。各素养之间应该相互联系、相互影响、相互制约的。     

Bridging the gap – but mind you don't fall. Primary physical education teachers' perceptions of the transition process to secondary school

Currently there is a large variation in the quality of children's experiences, both across and within primary schools and concerns regarding the quality of physical education (PE) teaching. Significantly, a failure to engage children at this critical time in appropriate high quality PE provision, prior to the transition to secondary education, is likely to result in inadequate development of basic movement competence and motivation to be physically active. Critical to this is the collaboration between primary and secondary PE teachers and ensuring that programmes of study for PE are progressive and provide continuity to promote future lifelong physical fitness. A mixed method design was used employing both focus groups and interviews with primary PE teachers to assess their perceptions of the transition process to secondary school and its impacts on children's physical education. Findings would suggest that primary PE teachers receive little support from their secondary counterparts and are often viewed upon as insignificant in providing initial physical education experiences to young children.     

从“圈养学生”事件对学校体育若干问题的思考

从上海部分小学课间禁止学生进入操场,实行课间“圈养学生”的新闻事件,对学校体育中“健康第一”的人才观的树立、家长对学校体育的要求、学校执行国家有关学校体育的规定、体育教师的保险措施等方面进行了探讨和思考,为更好地实现学校体育教育的功能提供一些参考．