The value profile of physical education teachers in Taiwan, ROC

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the educational value orientations of physical education teachers in Taiwan, and the relationships of gender, teaching experience, grade level, and the locations in which they work. Value orientations were measured with the Value Orientation Inventory-2, which was translated into complicated Chinese for this study. Participants (N=353) were recruited via stratified random sampling from the population of physical education teachers in Taiwan; 152 participants had one high-priority value orientation and a smaller number (n=76) had more than one high-priority value orientation. Other physical education teachers (n=124) had one or more low-priority value orientations. Taiwanese physical educators possess multiple, diverse value orientations and the largest percentage of strong value orientation scores was for the value orientation of learning process. The specific characteristics of Taiwanese physical educators include: (a) more males prioritizing disciplinary mastery and learning process, but more females prioritizing social responsibility; (b) more experienced teachers prioritizing learning process; (c) more elementary school teachers prioritizing social responsibility; and (d) more rural teachers prioritizing disciplinary mastery and learning process. Both the culture and the curriculum goals of physical education contribute to the differences of value orientations. Thus, Taiwanese physical educators emphasize self-control, self-concept, and social responsibility to achieve the coordination of body and spirit in their practices.