Teaching perspectives of pre-service physical education teachers: the Shanghai experience

Abstract

Background: In the physical education (PE) domain, teachers are given the freedom to make important educational decisions. Because of the common assumption that the decisions teachers make are based on a set of educational perspectives, a considerable number of studies have addressed the importance of studying the thinking and beliefs of PE teachers on teaching. However, it is revealed that only a limited amount of works on the perspective or teaching beliefs of pre-service PE teachers has been conducted.Chinese context: In 2002, comprehensive PE curriculum reform was conducted in China. The reform focused on the evolution of PE from sport skill-related objectives to fitness, health, cognitive, and affective outcomes. Many local Chinese studies suggest that the teaching perspectives of PE teachers should be aligned with these new objectives to implement the new PE curriculum effectively. However, evidence-based studies on the teaching perspectives of Chinese PE teachers are lacking.Purpose: This study focuses on PE teacher education (PETE) students in Shanghai, China and has the following aims: (i) to examine the teaching perspectives of PETE students, (ii) to explore the differences in teaching perspectives based on demographic differences (i.e. gender, year in school, participation in a teaching practicum), and (iii) to examine the correlations among five teaching perspectives of PETE students.Method: A survey-based study design was employed. The participants were 349 PETE students (185 males, 164 females) from two universities in Shanghai China. The Teaching Perspective Inventory was adopted to assess five teaching perspectives of PETE students. Surveys were distributed by PE faculty in each of their classes in the two universities. Descriptive statistics were used to describe five teaching perspectives and teaching beliefs of PETE students (what they believe about instructing or teaching), intentions (what they try to accomplish), and their action (what they do within their classrooms). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to examine the main effects of PETE student demographics on their teaching perspectives. A bivariate correlational procedure was used to test the relationships among five teaching perspectives.Findings: PETE students clearly exhibited a common pattern of a single dominant teaching perspective. They highlighted the importance of the subject matter, but focused less on changes in society and learner's thinking. These findings are incongruent with recent trends and innovation in the Chinese PE curriculum. Furthermore, the findings indicate significant differences in some perspectives by gender and years in school. However, no significant effects on field-based practicum experience were observed. Finally, significant positive correlations were observed among most of the five teaching perspectives, which indicate that a comprehensive consideration of the five perspectives in the teacher education program is necessary.