Effects of Situated Game Teaching Through Set Plays on Soccer Tactical Knowledge Among Turkish Secondary School Students

Purpose: This study was to examine the effects of a curricular model named Situated Game Teaching through Set Plays (SGTSP) on secondary students’ tactical knowledge in a 10-lesson soccer unit. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with a repeated measure was used to examine the effectiveness of the SGTSP model in comparison with a technique-focused approach. Participants’ perceptions of SGTSP were collected through reflection journals throughout the unit. A convenient sample of 27 sixth graders from two classes participated in this study. Data were collected from a tactical knowledge test and reflection journals. A 3 × 2 × 2 factorial analysis of variance with a repeated measure was conducted to analyze the data. Responses to reflection journals were analyzed by deductive analysis and constant comparison. Results: Participants’ tactical knowledge in the SGTSP condition improved significantly more than those in the comparison condition over time. Conclusions: The findings provided evidence supporting the effectiveness of the SGTSP model on developing students’ tactical knowledge as compared to a technique-focused approach.

Teachers’ Engagement With Professional Development to Support Implementation of Meaningful Physical Education

Purpose: The purposes of this research were to design a professional development (PD) initiative to introduce teachers to a pedagogical innovation—the Meaningful Physical Education (PE) approach—and to understand their experiences of the PD process. Method: Twelve PE teachers in Canada engaged in an ongoing PD initiative, designed around characteristics of effective PD, across two school years as they learned about and implemented Meaningful PE. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Findings: This research showed that teachers valued a community of practice and modeling when learning to implement Meaningful PE. While teachers were mostly favorable to the PD design, there were several tensions between ideal and realistic forms of PD. Discussion: This research offers support for several characteristics of effective PD to support teachers’ implementation of a novel pedagogical approach and highlights the need to balance tensions in providing forms of PD that are both effective and practical.

Examining Role Stress, Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Exhaustion, and Affective Commitment Among Secondary Physical Educators

Research on the psychological outcomes of physical education teachers’ perceptions of their work environments and variables that support adaptive coping processes is needed. Purpose: This study examined the relationships among role stress, emotional intelligence, emotional exhaustion (EE), and affective commitment among secondary physical educators in the United States (N = 246). Method: Using participants from a national database, variables were analyzed using multivariate analyses of covariances and structural modeling. Results: Urban teachers reported more role ambiguity than those working in other contexts. Role stress partially predicted emotional intelligence, whereas emotional intelligence predicted EE negatively and affective commitment positively. Role ambiguity influenced EE directly and indirectly through emotional intelligence. Role conflict and overload showed only direct relations. Conclusion: Emotional intelligence may buffer negative effects of role stress on EE while enhancing affective commitment by reappraising stress in manageable ways. Enhancing emotional intelligence may promote adaptive emotional responses.

Utilizing Guided Discovery to Promote Transfer of Responsibility Values in Young Children

Purpose: In a Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) program, Hellison noted that transferring responsibility values to areas beyond the gym was the most important aspect of a responsibility-based program. The purpose of this study was to examine how the use of guided discovery strategies in a TPSR program impacts and promotes how elementary students construct meaning and action related to responsibility values. Method: The participants were 12 second and third graders who attended an underserved public elementary school and were part of an after-school program. In the TPSR program, participants engaged in cooperative activities and researcher-led discussions, using the guided discovery teaching style, to promote transfer of life skills. Results: The findings indicate that the students better understood the meaning of responsible behaviors following an 8-week TPSR after-school program that included a heavy dose of the guided discovery teaching style. This, in turn, suggests that the guided discovery teaching style served to stimulate the transfer of these responsibility behaviors beyond the program. Discussion and Conclusion: Transfer is challenging to facilitate. Having a program that uses the scaffolded approach of guided discovery may be a key component in transferring responsible behaviors to areas outside of a physical activity program.

Predictors of Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Teaching Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in General Physical Education

Purpose: This research was undertaken to examine predictors of physical education (PE) teachers’ attitudes toward teaching students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in general PE. Method: In-service PE teachers (n = 151) in Hong Kong completed a multi-section survey measuring demographic variables, attitudes, self-esteem, and intrapersonal and interpersonal mindfulness. Survey data were mainly analyzed through multiple regression analyses. Results: The results showed that special education-related coursework and self-esteem were positive predictors of attitudes. However, they were no longer a significant predictor after mindfulness was entered into the regression model while both types of mindfulness positively predicted attitudes. Discussion/Conclusion: Self-esteem as well as intrapersonal and interpersonal mindfulness play an important role in predicting PE teachers’ attitudes toward teaching students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Related training components may be included in the professional development programs for improving PE teachers’ attitudes.

Dancing Queer Tango: An Experience of Queer Pedagogy in PESTE

Purpose: The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, and queer/questioning students normally occupy a marginalized and at-risk position in classes and especially in physical education. In this paper, the authors explore the ways in which queer tango can contribute to counteracting heteronormativity and opening up students to new interactions and identifications through the performance of different gender performances in Physical Education and Sport Tertiary Education. Method: A queer tango session was carried out with 111 university students (91 men and 19 women aged 19–22 years). Data were obtained from interviews, video records, and open questionnaires about the practice. Results: The findings reveal that the performance of dance roles that are contrary to the heteronormative order reinforced both heteronormativity and queer embodiments in Physical Education and Sport Tertiary Education. Conclusion: An isolated activity is not enough, and more queer pedagogical practices should be introduced in order to make meaningful changes to mainstream students’ ideology and behaviors.

A Review of Fidelity of Implementation in Intervention Research Published in JTPE and RQES

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review and evaluate the quality of fidelity of implementation (FOI) reported in experimental research in physical education pedagogy published in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education using a five-component conceptual framework. Methods: Thirty-five intervention studies were coded using a five-item FOI checklist with indicators. For each of the five items, frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results: Authors of intervention studies reported components of FOI including (a) 35 studies assessing program adherence, (b) eight studies assessing dosage/program durations, (c) 30 studies assessing program delivery quality, (d) eight studies assessing participant responses to program interventions, and (e) 19 studies assessing program differentiation. The most frequently reported FOI components were program adherence, program delivery quality, and program differentiation. Conclusions: Researchers have begun to realize the critical importance of FOI in intervention research. Most researchers selected certain FOI components to assess and report at their own discretion. Researchers may need to pay more attention to FOI. The five-component conceptual framework is one method for doing this assessment.

Preparing Preservice Teachers via Teaching Methods Courses: A Literature Review

Purpose: To review past research on teaching methods courses with preservice physical education teachers and preservice elementary classroom teachers. Method: This study was guided by the 2017 National Standards for Initial Physical Education Teacher Education. A thorough literature search was conducted using online databases, and a total of 28 articles were selected for review. Results: About two thirds of the reviewed studies were related to elementary methods courses, and 10.7% of the studies were quantitative. Perceptions and confidence in teaching physical education were the focus of studies for preservice elementary classroom teachers, while pedagogical knowledge development and restructuring was the primary emphasis for preservice physical education teachers via elementary methods course. Research on the secondary methods course yielded no salient themes. Conclusions: Research on the topic has been incongruent with the national standards. More experimental and quantitative studies are needed in the future.

The Association Between Pupil-Related Psychological Factors and Academic Achievement in Physical Education

Purpose: Physical education (PE) teachers’ assessments are often based on continuous observations of pupils. As certain psychological factors may mediate pupils’ learning behaviors relevant to the PE context, they may also influence academic achievement in PE. Thus, this study’s aim was to explore the association between pupil-related psychological factors and academic achievement in PE. Methods: Eighty-nine boys and 111 girls (12–16 years old) in lower secondary school participated in this study, responding to a questionnaire containing previously validated scales measuring pupils’ grit, mindset, self-perceptions, and situational motivation. The pupils’ final grade in PE was collected at the end of the school year. Results: A multiple regression model significantly explained 33% of the variance in grade. The self-perception domains—scholastic competence, athletic competence, and physical appearance—acted as unique predictors, explaining a small portion of the variance in academic achievement. Discussion/conclusion: These results support the importance of positive self-perceptions in relation to academic achievement in PE.