Instructional Models in Physical Education

Background Fidelity is an essential component of research, theory and practice in pedagogical models in physical education [Hastie, P. A., and A. Casey. 2014. “Fidelity in Models-based Practice Research in Sport Pedagogy: A Guide for Future Investigations.” Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 33 (3): 422–431. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2013-0141]. Reporting fidelity data has been recognized as a way to know whether student learning outcomes can be attributed to the practical architectures of pedagogical models [Casey, A., and D. Kirk. 2020. Models-based in Physical Education. London: Routledge]. However, research that examines the effectiveness of pedagogical models rarely reports this valuable information about the authenticity of implementation [Casey, A., V. Goodyear, and B. Dyson. 2015. “Model Fidelity and Students’ Responses to an Authenticated Unit of Cooperative Learning.” Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 34 (4): 642–660. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2013-0227]. To date, no overall data have been published on how researchers reported fidelity data in cooperative learning literature in physical education. Therefore, it seems necessary to examine whether researchers have attended to fidelity to offer insights about the quality of the model delivery. Purpose To conduct a model fidelity check in cooperative learning research in physical education using checklists. Method First, a literature review was conducted to capture intervention studies focusing on cooperative learning in physical education. Second, a quality assessment was performed to obtain a global methodological score for the selected studies. Third, a model fidelity check was implemented to examine the quality of model delivery. Findings A total of 28 studies (11 qualitative, 13 quantitative, and 4 mixed methods) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were selected. Regarding checklist-1, only 10 studies (35.7%) reported the complete information of all items. Most presented a rich description of the curricular elements of the unit (71.4%) and a detailed description of the program context (68.7%). Information concerning teacher expertise (60.7%) and students’ previous experience (46.4%) was the lowest reported. Data from the validation of model implementation was reported at 50% (14 studies). Regarding checklist-2, no study reported the assessment of all five components of fidelity of implementation. More than 90% reported information about program adherence to intervention components (model features, lesson plans, learning tasks and teacher/students’ behaviors) and duration. Less than 50% of the studies reported information related to program differentiation (41.1%), delivery quality (35.2%) and participant responsiveness (11.7%). Conclusion Model fidelity remains a prominent theme in cooperative learning research in physical education. Findings, at least as captured in this study, indicated a notable lack of attention to and reporting of model fidelity in this research area. It is highly recommended to report information on model fidelity to enhance its validity with trustworthy guidelines. Therefore, documenting meaningful information about model fidelity is required to bridge the gap between planning and delivery. Additional research is needed to gain a better understanding of how the model is delivered.

ABSTRACTBackground: One of the key questions of physical education teacher educators (PETE) programmes refers to whether future teachers are prepared to build knowledge and skills to feel self-efficacious in teaching physical education (PE). This issue concerns the instructional model of teaching used to help PE pre-service teachers to master both pedagogical knowledge and motor skills. According to this twofold challenge, the direct instruction (DI) is mainly used for pre-service teacher training. Beyond this traditional model, other instructional models as cooperative learning (CL) approach arise in the initial PE teacher education. Nevertheless, surrounding attempts at innovation, little information related to the instructor’s role. Under the social cognitive perspective of self-efficacy and instructional competency building, more information is currently expected with regard to the strategies the instructor uses to scaffold the mastery of skills for PE pre-service teachers’ effective teaching.Purpose: The purpose of this article is to consider whether PE pre-service teachers are trained during short training sessions aimed to discover new physical activities. We examine the influence of a scaffolding procedure (CLS design) on PE pre-service teachers’ knowledge, skills and self-efficacy in comparison to a CL and a DI experience. This leads to consider to what extent this instructional support provided by the instructor would help pre-service teachers to perceive themselves as self-efficacious to teach contents in PE.Participants and design: After a pre-test, sixty-nine PE pre-service teachers were randomly assigned to one of the three following conditions: CL (14 males and 7 females); CLS (20 males and 8 females) or direct instruction condition (DI; 12 males and 8 females). For the training session a selected CL procedure (Jigsaw) [Aronson, Elliot, and Shelley Patnoe. 1997. The Jigsaw Classroom: Building Cooperation in the Classroom. 2nd ed. Wokingham: Addison-Wesley Educational]) was used to split CL and CLS participants into mixed-sex teams, whereas DI participants practiced the same exercises in dyads. According to the training conditions, the same instructor provided different information to participants along the three 2-hour instructional sessions with regard to: (a) warm-up (DI), (b) CL organization (CL), and (c) scaffolding integrated into a CL implementation (CLS).Data collection: A Pre-test/post-test design was used to consider PE pre-service teacher’s motor skill, knowledge for practice, and self-efficacy improvements. The post-test also examined participants’ pedagogical knowledge.Findings: The results showed that the participants in the three conditions progressed on performance, knowledge for practice, knowledge for teaching, and self-efficacy. Although no difference was found in self-efficacy between the three training conditions over time, significant differences appeared on pedagogical knowledge or/and motor skills with an advantage for the CL and CLS participants, respectively.Conclusion: Although short training sessions dedicated to discovering new sports stay problematic for teacher professional development, implementing CL pre-service teacher training designs would be a relevant alternative. Instructional knowledge would be developed mainly when they have explicitly access to information concerning the teacher intervention. Nevertheless, such a scaffolding procedure integrated into CL training designs would need to be applied repeatedly to various physical activities to have an impact on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy.

The provision of advanced specialized content knowledge (SCK) that facilitates in-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is one aspect of physical education (PE) worth attention. To some extent, instructional models for training PE teachers on PCK implementation have been studied internationally. Cooperative learning (CL) is rarely reported in China, where direct instruction (DI) is commonly used to assist PE teachers. This study fills in the gaps and investigates whether PE in-service teachers receive proper training during short sessions to improve their PCK. We examined the effect of scaffolding procedures on in-service PE teachers’ PCK, skills, and self-efficacy compared to CL and DI. Hence, the question arose as to whether this support training provided by the instructor would assist in-service teachers in their perception of their efficacy as PE teachers. We deliberately selected 72 in-service PE teachers from twelve middle schools in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China (23, 22, and 27 teachers for CL with scaffolding, CL, and DI conditions, respectively). CL and CLS participants were divided into mixed-sex teams using the CL procedure (Jigsaw) during the training session, while DI participants practiced the same training session in tandem. Pre- and post-tests were used to measure PE in-service teachers’ SCK, skills, and self-efficacy improvements. Additionally, PCK was also examined in the post-test. The mean scores for teaching self-efficacy, performance, and knowledge of practice for all three training conditions (CLS, CL, and DI) were similar at baseline. These parameters significantly differed between the three groups at the pre- and post-test. Post hoc tests revealed that participants in CLS programs improved their performance scores more from pre-test to post-test than participants in DI programs. Among CLS and CL participants, post hoc analyses indicated that their scores improved more significantly than those of DI participants between the pre- and post-tests. The correlation analysis showed positive correlations between post-test performance, PCK, and teaching self-efficacy in each condition. Direct access to teacher intervention information would be the key to developing instructional knowledge. CL training designs should incorporate scaffolding to help in-service teachers develop self-efficacy through physical activities.

Background: A number of studies have contemplated aspects of cooperative learning that might emerge from a unit of sport education [Dyson, B., L. L. Griffin, and P. Hastie. 2004. “Sport Education, Tactical Games, and Cooperative Learning: Theoretical and Pedagogical Considerations.” Quest 56 (2): 226–240; Dyson, B. P., N. R. Linehan, and P. A. Hastie. 2010. “The Ecology of Cooperative Learning in Elementary Physical Education Classes.” Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 29 (2): 113–130]. None to date, however, has looked empirically at the influence sport education may have on individual team member accountability and other critical elements of cooperative learning. Purpose: The aim of this study was to present evidence that cooperative learning (or at least its critical elements) is a potential side effect of using sport education. Participants and settings: A total of 90 students (47 boys, 43 girls, 12.42 ± .56 years), enrolled in the same high school in Spain agreed to participate in the study. The school administration randomly distributed the students among four different year eight classes, and the research team randomly allocated two classes to the experimental group (n = 48), and two (n = 42) to the control (comparison) group. The experiment was conducted in a non-manipulated (i.e. intact) educational context. Prior to the mid-term break, both study groups experienced the same Football learning unit conducted using sport education. After the break, both groups experienced a Basketball learning unit. However, the teacher continued to use sport education with the experimental group (group A) and adopted a traditional instructional approach with the comparison group (group B). Therefore, students in group A experienced 24 consecutive sport education lessons, while those in group B experienced 12 sport education lessons followed by 12 traditional lessons. Research design: The study followed a pre-test, post-test, quasi-experimental, comparison group design. Data collection: All participants completed a previously designed and validated cooperative learning questionnaire. Data analysis: The statistical package SPSS (version 22.0) was used. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. Findings: Results showed that group A enhanced their perceptions of Interpersonal Skills, Group Processing, Positive Interdependence, Promotive Interaction, Individual Accountability, and Global Cooperation significantly more than group B. Conclusions: Cooperative learning (or at least its critical elements including global cooperation) is a side effect of using sport education. As Casey and Quennerstedt [2020. “Cooperative Learning in Physical Education Encountering Dewey’s Educational Theory.” European Physical Education Review] argued, cooperation is not learnt but is practiced over successive lessons and units. Given the real-world importance of cooperative learning and given calls to broaden the pedagogical experiences of young people [Metzler, M. W. 2011. Instructional Models for Physical Education. 3rd ed. Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway], it seems important to have different approaches to help young people become more cooperative.

Background This article focuses on the assessment of health education (HE) in physical education (PE). PE is one of the school disciplines that can contribute substantially to educational actions in HE (Kirk, D. 2018. “Physical Education-as-Health Promotion: Recent Developments and Futures Issues.” Education and Health 36 (3): 70–75). However, studies conducted on PE teachers’ practices indicate that assessment in HE is challenging, even though it is mandatory in Quebec schools (Bezeau, D., S. Turcotte, S. Beaudoin, and J. Grenier. 2020. “Health Education Assessment Practices Used by Physical Education and Health Teachers in a Collaborative Action Research.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 25 (4): 379–393). Few studies have focused on the assessment practices of PE teachers in HE, resulting in a limited amount of empirical data being currently available (Georgakis, S., and R. Wilson. 2012. “Australian Physical Education and School Sport: An Exploration Into Contemporary Assessment.” Asian Journal of Exercise & Sports Science 9 (1): 37–52). A well-planned assessment in which pupils are involved promotes their learning and makes them accountable for their own health (Leirhaug, P. E., and C. Annerstedt. 2016. “Assessing with new Eyes? Assessment for Learning in Norwegian Physical Education.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 21 (6): 616–631). It is necessary to investigate PE teachers’ assessment practices in HE to improve the current scientific knowledge on the subject and to better understand the main challenges they face. Objectives This article addresses three research objectives that aim to determine: 1) assessment practices as reported by PE teachers who assess in HE, 2) the reasons given by PE teachers who do not assess in HE for not doing so, and 3) the perceived contribution of PE teachers to the development of pupils’ autonomy in health and well-being. Method 223 elementary school (pupils: 5–11 years old) PE teachers from Quebec (Canada) answered a questionnaire including five closed-ended and two open-ended questions specific to assessment practices in HE. A quantitative analysis of the data from the five open-ended questions was carried out using descriptive statistics in addition to a Kruskall-Wallis rank analysis (Howell, D. C. 2008. Méthodes statistiques en sciences humaines. De Boeck) with a Mann–Whitney post-hoc test (α < .05; Siegel, S., and N. J. Castellan Jr. 1988. Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Mcgrawhill). These analyses were conducted using five independent variables: 1) gender, 2) teaching experience, 3) number of schools where they teach, 4) contract status, and 5) socioeconomic background of the school. Also, the Goodman-Kruskall's G coefficient was used to analyze statistical associations between items. A qualitative analysis of the data from the two open-ended questions was carried out following (L’Écuyer, R. 1990. Méthodologie de l’analyse développementale de contenu : méthode GPS et concept de soi. Presses de l’Université du Québec) steps of inductive content analysis. Findings A large majority of the participants claimed to assess in HE (84.9%). They also mentioned respecting the official programs (87.7%), building tools to assess in HE (87.4%), assessing pupils’ progress (84.4%) and having an impact on their pupils’ autonomy in matters of health (74.9%). Those participants who worked in multiple schools assessed more in the short term (U = 2426, p = .028). Finally, those who did not assess HE (15.1%) mentioned a lack of feasibility and a lack of resources. Conclusion This study contributes to the scientific literature by focusing on an area for which there are few empirical studies and which represents a challenge for practical settings. The results show that a large majority of PE teachers assess in HE, while some face challenges that lead them to not assess this competency at all, even though it is mandatory. Based on these findings, we believe it is important to work with PE teachers to lessen the impact of these challenges on their assessment practices to help pupils’ learning.

Background: Physical education (PE) teachers in practically all countries are expected to help their students develop movement capability. To achieve this objective, teachers need certain knowledge and competencies. The question of how PE teachers should develop their capacities to achieve this task has received only limited research attention. Aim: The broad objective of this paper is to contribute to the literature on how PE teachers can develop knowledge and competencies in the area of movement capability related to students’ learning. The specific aim is to identify aspects of the design of instruction in physical education that enhance teachers’ actor-oriented transfer of movement pedagogy knowledge, during a collaborative professional development intervention. Method: The study is an analysis of three conducted learning studies in PE at upper secondary schools in Sweden. The studies involved seven PE teachers from two different schools. Our empirical material consists of (a) notes from team meetings (n = 14), (b) lesson plans (n = 9), (c) video-recorded and transcribed lessons (n = 9), and (d) results of students’ learning outcomes (n = 9). Findings: PE teachers’ analysis of their own teaching sequences in teams supported their actor-oriented transfer of movement pedagogy knowledge, which developed their abilities to further elaborate their instruction in new teaching situations. Moreover, teachers gained insights into how to further develop the quality of instructional design as expansions of earlier experiences. Lastly, a relationship between PE teachers’ actor-oriented transfer and students’ increased learning of movements was found. Conclusion: Our conclusion is that collaborative professional development for PE teachers, which supports actor-oriented transfer, should be offered to enhance teachers’ movement pedagogy knowledge.

This paper uses a narrative approach in the form of a fictional dialogue between a physical education teacher educator (PETE) and an enquiring physical education teacher (EPET) in order to both contextualise the problem posed by Almond, that Teaching Games for Understanding-Game Sense (TGfU-GS) has been better accepted in academia than in the ‘natural setting’ of physical education (PE) teaching, and to intentionally provoke change about how TGfU-GS is positioned as a highly conceptualised ‘instructional model’ for games and sport teaching. Drawing on research by Green that PE teachers operate from ‘everyday philosophies’ and not necessarily from highly conceptualised curriculum or pedagogical models, this paper proceeds from the premise that competing descriptions of PE teaching found in the literature and its applications are problematic to the PE teacher because teachers do not necessarily see or want to see the same boundaries between pedagogical models as researchers do as theory generators. It is argued, that the tension suggested by Almond exists in part because of contextual and operational differences leading to each viewing the teaching of PE differently. The EPET is concerned about the praxis of teaching that is theoretically informed by pedagogical knowledge and made real through the experience of teaching; whereas, to the PETE, PE is viewed with a more nuanced interpretation of the complex, non-linear dynamics of the classroom, nature of learning and the need for theoretical informed practice. However, some similarities exist between the EPET and PETE which revolves around bringing order to the essentially unpredictable learning environment by adapting the environmental and task characteristics so that learning may occur. Consequently, we argue that the tension between the EPET and PETE is inevitable because each privilege certain ‘everyday philosophies’ about the design and enactment of PE teaching.

The Tactical Games Model (TGM) is summarized as a physical education model where the emphasis is on developing the underlying core components of games and sports to develop the tactical and per-formance skills of participants, known as game performance (Metzler, 2011). The Sport Education Model (SEM) is a physical education model structured and sequenced in a league-based format to provide students with a realistic feeling of being part of a sports team and to gain an un-derstanding of all aspects of competitive organized sport. Evidence to support the SEM successfully developing game performance skills is lim-ited and inconsistent (Farias et al., 2015). The purpose of the study was to investigate the game performance of pre-service physical education teachers in two different instructional models, SEM and TGM, from pre-test to post-test. Forty-six male (n = 32) and female (n = 14) par-ticipants took part in either a SEM or TGM Team Handball Unit. Each unit consisted of 10 lessons planned and implemented by the instructor. The game performance components Adjust, Support, and Passing were examined by the researchers using the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (Oslin et al., 1998) through four-minute observations in a small-sided game situation at pre-test and post-test. No significant (p &gt; .05) interaction was found between SEM and TGM instructional models over time for game performance variables. No significant (p &gt; .05) difference was found in game performance between SEM and TGM instructional models. A statistically significant (p &lt; .05) main effect was found for time, such that game performance scores increased from pre-test to post-test for both SEM and TGM instructional mod-els. Based on the findings of the current study, both SEM and TGM instructional models may increase game performance when instructed with fidelity. The results could be explained through understanding the connection the SEM and Situated Learning Theory (Lave &amp; Wenger, 1991) and/or team cohesion. The results have practical implications for physical educators, and directions for future research are discussed.

Background and Aim: Over the past three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, both the external sports environment for youth physical exercise and the national education policy landscape have undergone significant changes. In light of these developments and to align with physical education instruction in the next era, ensuring high-quality physical education, and promoting the physical fitness of young individuals, this study aims to construct a physical education instructional model “CISSO” (collaborate, input, school, student, output) to better regulate and optimize the process of physical education learning management and improving the quality of learning management. Methods: This study was future research conducted with phase 1 exploring the problem by reviewing literature and 5 experts through Semi-structured interviews, the PESTEL model, and the SIPOC model to analyze influencing factors, to drat physical education instructional concept model; phase 2 by questionnaires and modified Delphi to construct physical education instructional model “CISSO”; phase 3 connoisseurship to determine and evaluate the rationality of the CISSO model. Results: The CISSO Model contains factors of Collaborate, Input, School, Student, and Output such as: (1) Collaborate: a collaborative educational approach guided by the government, led by schools, and supported by social organizations and families. (2) Input: The key to governing school physical education management is to take more measures to increase comprehensive "Input" in school physical education learning. (3) School: The CISSO model places a significant emphasis on aligning with the Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition), and revolves around key components such as "learning, practicing, competing, and evaluation," resulting in a new and cohesive state of physical education. (4) Student: accentuates the subjectivity of students, with a pronounced focus on fostering their psychological development through sports education, thereby progressively instilling positive exercise routines. (5) Output: It holds the promise of driving improvements in students' physical abilities and fostering a greater sense of contentment among parents with the school's physical education initiatives. Conclusion: By implementing the CISSO model, educators and policymakers can gain a deeper understanding of the intricacies involved in managing physical education during the next era of education. The findings from this study will aid in making informed and wise decisions, enabling the formulation of effective strategies to optimize the learning experience of students in this dynamic educational landscape.

In this study, which aims to determine the levels of physical education and sports teachers' organizing out-of-school learning, the survey model was used. The participant group of the study consists of 399 physical education and sports teachers working in Eskişehir and Kütahya. Demographic information form and "Out of School Learning Regulation Scale" (Bolat &amp; Köroğlu, 2020) were used as data collection tools. The data were evaluated by independent samples T-test and one-way analysis of variance after normality analysis. The results of the data analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the sample group according to gender, years of professional service, extracurricular activity level of teachers and in-service training seminar variables. On the other hand, it turned into decided that physical education and sports teachers had high tiers of out-of-school learning to know and organize out-of-school learning getting to know (114,08±30,7). According to the results of the research, it can be said that the reason why physical education and sports teachers' levels of organizing out-of-school learning environments are high is that the nature of physical education and sports course includes activities that emphasize learning by doing and experiencing, which contributes positively to teachers' competencies in organizing out-of-school learning.

Many have examined game-based instructional models, though few have examined the effects of the Tactical Games Model (TGM) on secondary-aged students. Therefore, this study examined the effects TGM has on secondary students’ physical activity (PA) and gameplay performance (GPP) in three secondary schools. Physical education teachers (N = 3) were trained extensively on the TGM; they then implemented 10 TGM lessons derived from the Tactical Games Approach textbook (Mitchell, Oslin, & Griffin, 2013) to secondary students (N = 123). Pedometers and Team Sports Assessment Procedure (TSAP) were used to measure students’ PA levels and pre- and post-GPP, respectively. Fidelity was determined by Metzler’s (2005) benchmarks for TGM and measured that teachers implemented TGM the majority of the time (93.5%). A one-way ANOVA and subsequent post hoc analysis found a significant difference between the average number of steps students took across all lessons for Teacher 1 (soccer; M = 60.7, SD = 17.5) and Teacher 2 (football; M = 55.8, SD = 20.0); Teacher 3 (handball) was not significantly different (M = 55.2, SD = 20.0). An independent t test examined step counts between gender, and repeated measures t tests examined GPP pre- and posttest scores. Secondary-aged females averaged significantly higher steps (M = 61.3, SD = 14.1) than secondary-aged males (M = 51.6, SD = 11.1). All GPP pre- and postmeasures were significantly different (p < 0.01) and indicated a significant improvement in GPP. TGM generated positive physical effects on secondary students. Although students were slightly missing the recommended 50% of class time in moderate to vigorous PA, the quality of moderate to vigorous PA or physical education learning indices should be considered. Subscribe to TPE

The importance of information technology guiding the development of physical education is reflected in every field of physical education curriculum and teaching. However, due to China's late start in this field, the relevant literature is relatively confusion, lack of systematic arrangement and summary, which is not conducive to future research. The purpose of this study was to provide reference for further research in this field, and to lay a theoretical foundation for improving the level of physical education curriculum and teaching in our schools and the formation of students' good physical and mental health. In this scoping review study, we used the following keywords: “information technology”, AND “physical education curriculum” AND “physical education teaching” AND/OR “applications” for the literature search via the CNKI. Through the method of literature and content analysis, this paper mainly analyzes the current situation and problems of the application of information technology in physical education curriculum and teaching. At present, especially in rural areas, the construction of extracurricular exercise information platform in schools in China still has great limitations and imperfections. In addition, part of the physical exercise APP is not perfect, people in the physical exercise is easy to be misled, resulting in sports injury. China's physical education teaching management covers a lot of content, the lack of school talents, the implementation is relatively difficult. The integration of information technology and physical education teaching methods has been a hot topic since the 1980s today. However, schools in China have not shown good results in the implementation, and teachers' teaching ideas, teaching creativity and professional knowledge are the main restraining factors. The mainly factors that affect the construction of online physical education curriculum and teaching resources in China include low utilization rate of the platform, weak computer ability of teachers, weak innovation ability, backward thinking, and unclear objectives of the platform construction. The development of information technology accelerates the reform of physical education. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the nature and goal of physical education curriculum, and give full play to the role of information technology in curriculum construction and teaching under the guidance of advanced educational science theory. At the same time, the government, schools and society should coordinate efforts to address these problems.

Physical inactivity is today big problem with significant related health, economic and social consequences. To eliminate crises in well-being, education and equality, sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity UNESCO during MINEPS VII, held in 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan, adopted new global initiative "Fit for Life". This global project is focused on: - Driving Sustainable Development in and through Sport - Youth Accelerator Programme - Sport and Gender Equality Game Plan - Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls in Sport - Impact Investment in Sport - Using Data to Drive Impact - Sustainability of major Sport Events - Quality Physical Education Policies and Practices To achieve the goal of people to be more active due the recommendations of WHO from 2018 will require to implement a combination of effective policy actions organised around these strategic areas: creating an active society; creating active environments; creating active lives and creating active systems. These four strategic areas influence creating of important subsystem and it is "Active school". Active school is school giving many opportunities for children and youth to be physically active in school environment. Active school open opportunities to be active before school, during school day and after school. Quality Physical Education as a part of Active school is influenced by internal and external factors. One of factors is implementation of new approaches in physical education teaching. Tandem teaching is a form of management of the teaching process in which the process is conducted simultaneously by two educators, and which is implemented mainly in the first years of elementary school. In physical education, it can be the general class teacher in cooperation with PE teacher or coach. Both are actively involved in teaching and have clearly divided competences. Examples of tandem teaching in Slovakia are projects "Modules" and "Coaches in School", programs implemented in Slovak primary schools in the 1st, 2nd and 3th grades from the 2020/2021 school year. The programs, made up of varied movement activities from various sports, creates a relationship with movement activity and the student acquires basic movement habits. The programs are under the auspices of the Slovak government's representative for youth and sports and the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the SR. In the 2022/2023 school year 192 schools, 29 533 children, and 192 trained coaches were involved in the program "Coaches in School" and 595 schools, 2748 classes and 52 212 children in program "Modules". To better known effects of these programs it was realize also their scientific evaluation. We present basic results of pilot studies during first two years of implementation of project "Coaches in School" in praxis. The results of the pilot study carried out in the 2020/2021 school year show very positive responses from children. The participants of the study were 177 children (100 girls, 78 boys; 1st grade - 94, 2nd grade - 83) at three primary schools in Bratislava, where the project and tandem teaching was implemented during half a year. The results showed that at the end of the pilot evaluation, the number of children who ranked physical education among the three most popular school subjects increased, and the number of children who liked physical education more than at the beginning of the monitoring also increased. The interim results monitored during the 2021/2022 school year, when the project was already fully underway, showed how the coaches and classroom general teachers themselves perceive the project. The participants of the study in this case were 29 coaches and 136 general class teachers in the 1st grade of primary schools who were involved in the project. Almost 80% of the class teachers rated the project as excellent, 82% of them rated the teaching content prepared by the coaches as extremely attractive for children, and 81% of the teachers would welcome such a teaching model to continue. The coaches stated that 14% of female teachers were actively involved in teaching in every lesson and 73% in most lessons. The majority of both groups also stated that they perceived an improvement in children's physical literacy, while the coaches perceived it a little more intensively. Conclusion To increase quality physical education teaching in schools it is necessary to start implementing new approaches, especially in primary schools, where physical education is thought by general teachers. Tandem teaching is one of the ways how to manage teaching of physical education to highest quality and research and experiences show positive impact to children's attitudes to physical activity and its positive evaluation also by general class teachers and parents. The study is supported by VEGA Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the SR with number 1/0213/23 and title "Tandem Teaching of Physical and Sports Education in Primary School and its Impact to Motor, Cognitive and Emotional Development of Pupils".

Introduction: Physical literacy (PL) is a concept that, in recent years, has earned notoriety within the field of physical education and has become a focus point in schools with physical education and sports programs. Physical education lessons represent an ideal setting for fostering and developing physical literacy, and the teacher plays an essential role in its development. The physical education teachers' choices during the lesson influence what students learn and whether the objective of physical literacy is achieved. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the understanding and perception of PL among Romanian physical education and sport teachers. Material and method: The participants in this study were 169 physical education and sport teachers (42% female and 58% male) from Romania, most of them from the western part of the country (86,39%). This study was conducted using the questionnaire survey method. A questionnaire that assessed the teachers’ understanding and perception towards physical literacy was applied. The collected data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Results: The main results indicate that there is a positive and moderate correlation between the understanding and perception of PL among Romanian physical education and sport teachers (ρ = .454, p &lt;0.001). Conclusions: It is concluded that the understanding and perception of the concept of PA are positively associated, which highlights the need for teachers to be informed about PA in order to optimize the teaching process.

Instead of ‘the frenetic rush’ to find effective models of continuing professional development (CPD) that will ‘work’, Armour et al. (2017, What is ‘effective’ CPD for contemporary physical education teachers? A Deweyan framework. Sport, Education and Society, 22(7), 799–811. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2015.1083000) suggest rethinking the nature of effective CPD by drawing on the work of John Dewey, and particularly his notion of education as growth. Against this backdrop, the study evaluated three physical education (PE) teachers’ engagement with a prolonged transformative CPD initiative using participatory action research (PAR) to implement Cooperative Learning. More specifically, the study posed two research questions: ‘How do three PE teachers experience their engagement with a prolonged CPD initiative using PAR?’, and ‘How do their experiences facilitate and/or obstruct development and growth?’ I, the first author, took the role of facilitator, supporting the teachers throughout their journeys. The study draws on data from interviews with the teachers conducted at four points through their journey, from nine professional development workshops and from about 100 pages of my reflective diary. On analysing the data, we identified four themes relevant to understanding the teachers’ journeys: ‘PAR as an educative CPD experience’; ‘experiencing Cooperative Learning as something that “works” – and “costs”’; ‘reconstruction of mis-educative experiences’; and ‘further development and growth’. We found that the tension between previous experiences of teaching PE and new experiences of teaching through Cooperative Learning challenged the teachers’ established knowledge and practices. However, not all experiences were equally educative, and some restricted possibilities for further development and growth. We found that the teachers’ journeys beyond the pedagogical intervention developed along different paths, making the project both educative and non-educative. We acknowledge that education must be understood as a complex endeavour (Quennerstedt, 2019, Physical education and the art of teaching: Transformative learning and teaching in physical education and sports pedagogy. Sport, Education and Society, 24(6), 611–623. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2019.1574731), making the directions of teachers’ learning journeys hard to predict.