Opportunities and constraints in online physical education

doi:10.35189/dpeskj.2021.60.3.2

Abstract

Abstract. In this difficult pandemic period, the imminent changes have mainly affected physical activity and particularly physical education lessons at all education levels. This is a reality for both urban and rural schools. While the transmission of information through the online environment is done without too many obstacles in other purely theoretical teaching activities, in physical education, the transmission and acquisition of knowledge but especially evaluation have been and are still affected. In this paper, we aimed to identify the main constraints in conducting online physical education lessons from the subjective point of view of students, parents and teachers. We also set out to make a comparison between the views of urban and rural actors. The assessed period was from March to December 2020, when the activity took place only online due to the “red code”. The survey was carried out between December 7-18, the last school week of the year. The conclusion showed that parents, teachers and students had different opinions on the main difficulties encountered during this period. Students’responses mainly highlighted their poor knowledge of using educational platforms, inappropriate space for practical activities and lack of connection devices. Parents’ responses focused on both their impossibility of supervising children and reduced possibilities of supporting them due to lack of knowledge or time. From the perspective of teachers, we identified their impossibility of actively monitoring students’ health and problems related to the verification of compliance with labour protection rules during practice.

Highlights

In this difficult pandemic period, the imminent have mainly affected practical activity and school physical education in both rural and urban areas
Aktop and Karahan (2012) state: “In service training activities for PE teachers concerning the new curriculum and new teaching approaches and methods should be done more frequently” (p. 1913). Following this line, during the period in which the state of emergency and subsequently the state of alert were declared in Romania, pre-university and university students were able to continue their studies in the online environment according to Order no. 4135 of 21.04.2020 issued by the MEC (Ministry of Education and Research)
Regarding school physical education and generally physical activities (PA), we agree with Gobbi et al (2020): “It is probably needed to consider the COVID-19 pandemic as an ‘opportunity’ to restore the role of PE in youths’ lives, with regards to the promotion of PA” (p. 12)

Summary

Introduction

In this difficult pandemic period, the imminent have mainly affected practical activity and school physical education in both rural and urban areas. While the transmission of information through the online environment is done without too many obstacles in other purely theoretical teaching activities, in physical education, the transmission and acquisition of knowledge but especially evaluation have been and are still affected. Killian et al (2021) highlight that “Distance learning is something many physical educators never thought they would have to do, given the practical and philosophical contradictions inherent in teaching and learning movement-based content through a computer” 4135 of 21.04.2020 issued by the MEC (Ministry of Education and Research). In these difficult periods, Romanian education went through various episodes of other legislative regulations by which the above ministry tried to guide the course of educational actors

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Conclusion