Secondary School Physical Education Teachers Research Articles

Professional development experiences of physical education teachers in Botswana: epistemological implications

Studies conducted outside Africa show that professional development experiences of physical education (PE) teachers are shaped by the manner in which PE is situated (and stereotyped) in the school system. Given the contested nature of teacher development, it is important to continually explore the phenomenon in different national contexts. Accordingly, this study examines the contextual issues impinging on the professional development experiences of PE teachers in Botswana, and how the teachers interpret these experiences in relation to their professional identity. Data were generated through focus groups and semi‐structured interviews with 35 secondary school PE teachers and 12 college lecturers. Findings reveal a number of themes connected to inequities in teacher development. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of epistemology in shaping teacher development interventions.

Practice of the Beginning Secondary School Physical Education Teachers

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese.
 The purpose of the study was to investigate the practice of teaching of beginning secondary school physical education teachers. The problems and the factors that confronted the teachers in their first year of work were examined. Thirteen physical education graduates of the Hong Kong Institute of Education in 2005 teaching in secondary schools were purposely invited to participate in the study. Qualitative data were collected by a combination of techniques: passive participant observation, formal and informal interviews, document analysis, and journal writing. Constant comparison and analytic induction were used to organize and categorize the data. Data generated helped to understand the confrontations faced and the influence of the workplace factors on the practices of beginning teachers. Results indicated that the teachers adjusted their practices according to their school contextual conditions during their first year of teaching. The common practices of teaching were a) instructional approach, b) lesson preparation, c) contents, and d) classroom management. The workplace impact was mainly come from their students, administrators, and work responsibilities. The participants also employed socializing strategies in order to survive in schools. Findings of the study hold implications for the development and preparation of physical education teachers with respect to the influence of organizational socialization.
 本研究目的是探討新任中學體育老師的教學工作。同時亦檢視新任教師任教時所遇到的困難及影響其教學工作的因素。十三位新任中學體育老師參與是次研究。透過被動參與式觀察、正式及非正式訪問、老師反思日誌及文件分析等方法收集數據。然後以持續比較法分析資料。結果顯示影響教師教學工作因素包括學生、校內管理人員及教師工作量。教師調整教學方式及採取社會化生存策略以配合學校需要。此等結果給予體育教師發展及培訓多方面啟示。

California Secondary School Physical Education Teachers’ Attitudes Toward the Mandated Use of the Fitnessgram

This study aimed to determine how California secondary physical education teachers perceive the state mandated youth fitness testing for the 5th, 7th, and 9th grades using Fitnessgram. The participants were secondary school physical education teachers (N = 323). A previously validated attitudinal instrument (Keating & Silverman, 2004a) was used to collect the data. The means and standard deviations for each attitude subdomain and the overall attitudes were computed. MANOVA and ANOVA were employed to test the differences in attitudes by demographic and profession-related variables. Teachers’ overall attitudes toward the Fitnessgram were slightly higher than a neutral attitude, indicating slightly positive attitudes on a 7-point Likert scale (M = 4.47, SD = 1.06). The mean scores for the attitude subdomain of cognitive (i.e., usefulness of fitness test results) and the affective (i.e., enjoyment of implementing fitness tests, and enjoyment of using fitness test results) components were 4.25 (SD = 1.38), 4.90 (SD = 1.15), and 4.39 (SD = 1.17), respectively. The data from the study suggested that teachers marginally agreed that the test results were useful and that they somewhat enjoyed implementing the test. Class size and student grade levels taught were important profession-related variables to consider regarding teacher attitudes toward the Fitnessgram.

중등체육교사의 수업 걱정거리 분석

The purpose of this study was to analysis of concerns in the calss of secondary school physical education teachers. The instrument for data collection was an open questionnaire in which physical education teacher`s class concerns consisted of questions regarding class plan and class management, class evaluation as identified by McBride(1993). The questionnaire`s validity was evaluated by a panel of experts. 120 subjects were selected from several middle schools in Seoul by the cluster sampling method. Among these selected subjects, 100 responded, and data analyzed by inductive category analysis method. The following results were obtained: Firstly, physical education teacher`s difficult in the class plan consisted of evlation, facility, class content, and student`s attitude. Secondly, physical education teacher`s difficult in the instruction consisted of student`s attitude, student`s gender, class content, class environment, and student`s control. Thirdly, physical education teacher`s difficult in the evaltion consisted of confusion of evlation, student`s gender, student`s attitude, and class environment.

Prevalence and Sources of Burnout in Singapore Secondary School Physical Education Teachers

Physical education teachers have received little attention in the literature on burnout. This study assessed the burnout levels of secondary school physical education teachers in Singapore and identified some specific work conditions related to burnout. The Work Environment (WE) questionnaire (Fejgin, Ephraty, & Ben-Sira, 1995), administered to 74 Singapore physical education teachers, measured the relationship between burnout and four theoretical dimensions: psychological (PD), structural-physical (SPD), social (SD), and bureaucratic (BD). The level of burnout was assessed by a burnout inventory compiled by Pines and Aronson (1981). A bivariate correlation established the relationship between burnout and the four dimensions. Multiple regression determined the relationship between burnout and the demographic data. It was found that physical education teachers in Singapore experienced only moderate levels of burnout. They perceived BD, PD, and SD to be significant contributors. However, there was no significant relationship between the demographic data (age, gender, race, marital status, position, years of teaching, and educational level) and burnout among teachers.

The Recruitment of Secondary School Physical Education Teachers in England: A Gendered Perspective?

The current UK government’s concern with social inclusion in many aspects of educational policy has generated much professional debate amongst teachers in terms of what the new policy directives will mean for their practice. While this has highlighted the need to respond to pupils’ diverse learning needs, little has been said in respect of the recruitment of secondary school teachers within an all-inclusive framework. Under the provisions of the UK Education Reform Act (1988), governing bodies have increased responsibilities for all aspects of staffing, including appointments and promotion and have a legislative obligation with regard to equal opportunities both as a provider of services and as an employer. This article focuses on the recruitment of secondary school physical education (PE) teachers. Specifically, the research investigates gendered dimensions of this and assesses the extent to which secondary school employers in England use socially constructed perceptions of gender as a basis to advertise for PE staff. The article contends that secondary schools are restricting employment opportunities for male and female teachers through the vocabulary used in national advertisements and thus perpetuating gender divisions within PE.

Studies on Teaching and Learning Behavior on the Academic Learning Time (ALT-PE) in Physical Education Classes in Japan

The ALT-PE, developed as a means of analyzing the instruction of physical education by Siedentop et al., has been defined as being the percentage of class time during which students are effectively and successfully engaged into physical education content activities.The present study was designed (a) to compare the case of Japanese students with the case of American and Canadian students reported from the preceding investigations (Metzler, Godbout et al.), evaluated by the ALT-PE, and (b) to investigate relationships between three major ALT variables and setting of classes. Subjects were 20 secondary school physical education teachers, and their regular classes were observed according to the ALT-PE observational procedure. In addition, all teachers were requested to draw up the teaching sheets on above lessons. Students were asked to present a composition on their impression of the class activities.The ALT-PE of Japanese students ranged from 27.7% to 87.2%, with a mean value of 62.4%. These value was significantly higher than those of American and Canadian students.When the results obtained through the ALT-PE observational procedure were discussed in relation to the analysis of the teaching sheets and the composition of students, most of the high and low ranking classes on the ALT-PE (the high-ranking classes: 82.6-87.2%, the lowranking classes: 27.7-53.6%) taught under a systematic sequence in whole-class learning. However, the activities of instruction in the high-ranking classes were characterized by that teachers persuaded efficiently their students into learning toward their aims. In the lowranking classes, teacher's directions on movement patterns were emphasized, or teacher's behavior became a noninterference. On the other hand, most of the medium-ranking classes (the ALT-PE of 58.6-79.8%) were instructed under a problem-solving method in subgroups. If some categories about “students management” and “talking with fellow students” were set appropriately in the observational recording system, the averages of ALT-PE in the medium-ranking classes would increase.From these results were concluded that the relationships between the ALT-PE and setting of classes in physical education are more closed, and that the increase in ALT-PE from baseline of 60% might show that students are effectively and successfully engaged into physical education content activities.

Academic Learning Time in Elementary and Secondary Physical Education Classes

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine how much academic learning time is experienced by elementary and secondary school students during regular physical education classes (ALT-PE) and to investigate three major ALT variables, that is, time devoted to specific content areas, learner engaged time with relevant material, and student's success rate. Subjects were 30 elementary and 31 secondary school physical education teachers; all had two of their regular classes observed according to the ALT-PE observational procedure developed by Siedentop and his colleagues. Group average results were found to be consistent over time, but individual data showed very little stability. The ALT-PE mean results were 31.3% and 36.5% respectively for the elementary and secondary school level and were significantly different. From 19% to 34% of the class period was spent, on the average, in other than P.E. content activities. When class groups, as a whole, were involved in P.E. content activities, students, considered individually, were effectively engaged in those activities 50% of the time. The non-success rate of the students was found to be quite low (10% approximately) and, therefore, did not contribute greatly to decreasing the ALT-PE figures. It was felt that a better management of the student's involvement during P.E. content activities might contribute to increasing significantly the percentage of student academic learning time in a given class period.