The positive impact of an in-service training program in the prevention and management of indiscipline in secondary school physical education in the Maghreb region

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ABSTRACT Background The management of indisciplined behavior (IB) is a sensitive aspect of teaching which, in no time at all, can destructure the learning climate during instruction. It often challenges teachers’ sense of teaching effectiveness. IB is frequently associated to a reduction in the effective time devoted to learning, as well as a compelling need on the part of teachers to restore a healthy learning climate. Purpose The aim of this study is to assess the impact of a long-term in-service training program (A total of 60 h divided between 24 h of theoretical training and 36 h of practical training) of IB management aimed at high school Maghrebi PE teachers entering the profession on the frequency of IB and on the number of episodes of impaired pedagogical continuity. Participants and context The study was based on Sieber's (2001, Comment Gérer L’indiscipline en Classe: Gérer L’indiscipline Auprès D’élèves Hyperactif Oppositionnels et Provocateurs. Fribourg: Edition universitaire de Fribourg) model of behavior management. A quasi-experimental longitudinal protocol with repeated measures was conducted. Thirty PE beginning teachers (M age = 354.4 ± 9.0 months; M experience = 22.5 ± 0.7 months) from Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco participated in the study on a voluntary basis. The participants were evenly divided in two groups: experimental (ExpGr), and control (ContGr) while assuring an equal representation of each context in both groups. A total of 829 high school students (M age = 13.15 ± 0.35) were filmed in the study, 452 (54.6%) of them were males. The average size of the groups was 27.63 ± 2.39 students. All groups were involved in team sports activities. Data collection and analysis The data was collected on three occasions (T1: beginning of the year; T2: middle of the year; T3: end of the year) using two synchronized digital cameras placed in opposite corners, one of which was connected to a wireless microphone. Ninety lessons were filmed. They were analyzed by three trained (A total of 40 hours divided between 10 hours of theory and 30 hours of hands-on practice, aimed at mastering observation techniques and getting used to the experimental protocol) analysts using a delayed video observation strategy and an observation grid derived from Sieber’s (2001, Comment Gérer L’indiscipline en Classe: Gérer L’indiscipline Auprès D’élèves Hyperactif Oppositionnels et Provocateurs. Fribourg: Edition universitaire de Fribourg) model. An acceptable degree of fidelity (85% to 89%) among coders was obtained. Non parametric statistical techniques (Kruskal–Wallis test (K), Mann–Whitney (U) test, Friedman (Q) test and the Dunn-Bonferroni post-hoc-test (Howel, D. C. 2008. Méthodes statistiques en sciences humaines. (2ème éd), De Boeck Université.)) were used in order to measure differences within and between groups. Results Teachers in the ExpGr benefited from the long-term in-service training program offered to them. They gradually modified their teaching practices in such a way as to reduce the frequency of IB at different moments of the PE lessons as well as episodes of pedagogical fractures during the PE lessons they led. These downward changes were significantly different from those observed in the ContGr. Conclusion An in-service training program in the prevention and management of indiscipline can foster the professional development of Maghrebian PE teachers. It can be envisaged as a course of action that makes it possible to circumvent the problem of PE teachers’ lack of formal professional training in classroom management during initial teacher training. Since participants began active teaching more than three years after graduation (M professionnal inactivity = 40,3 ± 0.3), those results also raise questions about the conditions of professional teacher integration in Maghrebian countries, and the potential obsolescence of competencies and skills that may have started in relation to prolonged professional inactivity.