Does Sport Education promote equitable game-play participation? Effects of learning context and students’ sex and skill-level

Abstract

This study conducted an innovative quantitative examination of the level of student game-play participation during two, consecutive and ‘naturalistically’ implemented, Sport Education (SE) seasons, while taking into account students’ sex and skill-level and the activity participation context (team practice/competition, handball/football). A total of 24 eighth-grade students (nine girls, 15 boys; Mage12.9±1.3) were affiliated in three teams of eight players (five boys and three girls per team) to participate in two consecutive SE seasons (handball: 12×45-min lessons; football: 12×45-min lessons). Students’ participation time in identical small-sided game forms was measured in team practice and competition contexts and analysed through four participation indicators (total, mean, structural, and intra-team participation). T-Test analysis examined differences between girls/boys and lower-skilled/higher-skilled students, in each season. Repeated measures T-Test analysed differences between the two seasons, for each variable and group and each participation context. Overall, although there was a relatively equitable participation of students in the game-play activities of the two seasons, the students’ ‘skill-level’ was a more influential variable in their participation than the variable ‘sex’. The higher-skilled students had higher total participation time than lower-skilled students in the second season (football). There was a more balanced interplay in girls’ and boys’ time of participation in the activities, although boys showed higher participation than girls (mean participation and intra-team participation) in the competition context of football. Teachers who seek equitable participation of students in learning activities should consider the social and cultural context of students and the situated effect of SE implementation, balancing team practice with competition activities.