Primary teachers’ experience of a physical education professional development programme (original) (raw)
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Health Education Journal, 2011
Objective: This study sought to investigate teachers' perceptions of a physical activity-related professional development intervention. Design: Interview-based qualitative approach founded on the interpretive paradigm. Setting: Purposive selection of one high-rated independent, and one low-rated public primary school from Auckland, New Zealand. Method: A qualitative approach was used, incorporating a questionnaire used for purposive sampling and a total of eighteen semi-structured interviews with six teachers from two primary schools. Results: Participants highly valued the inclusion of all teachers in onsite professional development and felt supported by a strong, positive organizational culture. Conclusion: Participant teachers believed physical activity played an important role within the school setting, and recognized their role in the provision of opportunities for their students. However, they did not necessarily feel confident and competent to facilitate opportunities. A specific professional development intervention was introduced as one form of support to address this need. Teachers valued first-hand experience of professional development and reported particular enjoyment if they participated alongside their colleagues.
2017
The aim of this study was to explore Cypriot primary school teachers' views on and experiences of effective and ineffective Physical Education Continuing Professional Development (PE-CPD) provision. Extensive qualitative data were collected to ensure a deep understanding of the issues from the perspectives of Cypriot teachers. Methods used were an open-ended survey distributed to all public primary schools, and interviews and focus groups with teachers and CPD providers. The survey was sent to all primary school teachers responsible for PE in Cyprus. In addition, fifteen teachers were identified as individual case studies, key CPD providers were interviewed, and a focus group comprising three CPD providers and three case study teachers was conducted to generate shared dialogue. The data indicate that from the perspective of these teachers in Cyprus, there is a widespread failure of PE-CPD to meet their learning needs. Yet, in contrast to much of the negative data that reinforces...
Primary physical education, coaches and continuing professional development
Sport, Education and Society, 2011
Physical education (PE) in primary schools has traditionally been taught by qualified primary teachers. More recently, some teaching of PE in primary schools has been undertaken by coaches (mostly football coaches) (Sports coach UK, 2004, 2007a). These coaches hold national governing body awards, but do not hold teaching qualifications. Thus, coaches may not be adequately prepared to teach PE in curriculum time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of a group of community based football coaches working in primary schools of the impact of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme on their ability to undertake 'specified work' to cover PE in primary schools. The programme focused on four areas identified as important to enable coaches to cover specified work: short and medium term planning; pedagogy; knowledge of the curriculum; and reflection. Results showed that for the majority of coaches the CPD programme had made them more aware of the importance of these four areas and had helped to develop their knowledge and ability to put this into practice in covering planning, preparation and assessment time. However, further input is still required to develop coaches' knowledge and understanding in all four areas, but especially their curriculum knowledge, as well as their ability to put these into practice consistently. These findings are discussed in relation to the implications of employing coaches to cover the teaching of PE in primary schools and, if employed, what CPD coaches need to develop the necessary knowledge, skill and understanding for covering specified work in schools.
Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 2019
Introduction: Despite increases in research and implementation, physical literacy continues to be largely misinterpreted by practitioners. The purpose of this study was to devise, implement, and evaluate a professional development program that works in a primary school environment to enhance their knowledge and operationalization of physical literacy. Methods: Following a 3-month needs assessment phase, data were collected from structured observations, reflections, and semistructured interviews with the teachers, before, during, and after an introductory workshop and 6-month physical literacy intervention. Thematic analysis was used to evaluate perceptions of program effectiveness. Results: The needs assessment phase identified notable differences between teachers’ classroom and physical education practice. Results of the physical literacy workshop and intervention detailed an increase in teachers’ knowledge of, and operationalization of, physical literacy. Discussion/Conclusions: A...
2018
Teachers have a crucial role in fulfilling quality education. In this regard, their education, competences and motivation are the key factors for successful implementation of PHE curriculum and realization of PHE process. This paper analyses two important aspects closely related with PHE teacher’s effectiveness: the possibilities for professional development and possibilities to extend their competences in teaching PHE at elementary level in primary education. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in teachers opinions regarded years of their working experience upon the issues related with continuous education, opportunities for professional development and possibilities to extend their competences in co- operational teaching with classroom teachers. The study was realized on a sample of 40 PHE specialists that deliver PHE from 6th to 9th grade in 15 primary schools in Republic of Macedonia. Differences between groups were determined using chi – square test. The re...
Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 2012
Background: Research on primary physical education (PE) in England and other countries has shown that it is an aspect of the curriculum that has suffered from sparse initial teacher training (ITT). As a consequence of 'insufficient' time spent on PE in ITT (PE-ITT), primary teachers often have low levels of confidence and competence with respect to teaching the subject. Evidence also points to inadequacies in traditional forms of professional development in PE (PE-CPD), leading to calls for more effective ways of developing teachers' competence to deliver high quality PE. Purpose: To explore primary school teachers' experiences of PE during ITT, the PE context in their schools prior to them engaging in a national PE-CPD programme, and teachers' perceptions of the immediate and longer-term effects of this programme. Setting and participants: Primary school teachers in five Local Education Authorities in England. Research design and data collection: A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches were adopted, including: pre-course audits, course evaluations, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The pre-course audits captured information about the teachers' experiences of PE-ITT and the PE context in their schools views prior to them engaging in the CPD. The course evaluations focused on initial impressions of the PE-CPD, and the focus groups and interviews captured the teachers' perceptions of its longer-term effects. Findings: For up to half of the teachers, their PE-ITT was 'insufficient' in terms of the time dedicated to it and the breadth of coverage of the subject. The PE-CPD programme, which was designed in the light of 'insufficient' PE-ITT, did demonstrate some features of effective CPD in that it was considered relevant to classroom practice and partially addressed a few of their many needs (especially in relation to content ideas and inclusive practice). However, its effectiveness was limited due to: its short time span and minimal engagement with teachers; a heavy reliance on resources; and the absence of follow-up support. In addition, it did not adequately address known areas of development for primary PE (such as medium to long-term planning and assessment) and was challenged in meeting the diverse needs of primary teachers of 5-11 year olds. Furthermore, inadequate PE time and reduced opportunities to teach PE in some schools limited implementation of learning from the PE-CPD. Conclusions: In summary, the findings of this study confirmed that PE-ITT continues to be 'insufficient' for many primary teachers and that the PE-CPD in question was not, and could never have been, the panacea for the inherent issues within and predicament of primary PE. In effect, PE-CPD programmes of limited duration and engagement with teachers, a heavy reliance on resources, and no planned follow-up support could not hope to compensate for long-term systemic weaknesses such as inadequate primary PE-ITT. These might be more effectively addressed through professional development programmes which engage teachers and their colleagues in long-term collaborative endeavours that support transformative practice.
Chapter 8: Professional Development of Teachers in Physical Education—Where Are We Now?
Journal of Teaching in Physical Education
We welcomed and have learned from the opportunity to read and respond to the seven chapters in this monograph, although neither of us is a physical education practitioner or researcher. Both of us were competitive athletes-Heather, a Golden Gloves boxer and now a boxing coach, and Steve, a college football player and wrestler-and one of us is the child of a physical education teacher. Both of us are philosophers of education by training, versed in a Western philosophic tradition with strong roots in Classical Athenian educational values that integrate body, mind, and spirit.