Classroom teachers’ and administrators’ views of teaching health and physical education

Abstract

Teacher efficacy influences what and how they teach. This may be particularly important to consider in Aotearoa New Zealand contexts where primary classroom teachers teach health and physical education and use physical activity breaks with little training. It remains unclear how classroom teachers perceive this role and how to better support them. The purpose of this study was to investigate classroom teachers’ and administrators’ views of teaching health and physical education, including physical activity behaviours, in primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. Participants were 10 teachers and three administrators from two schools selected as a purposive sample. Data were collected through formal interviews, field notes, and photographs, and were analysed using inductive analysis and constant comparison. The findings are shared using four themes: (a) support for physical activity breaks; (b) support for curriculum content in health and physical education and ‘Kiwi’ sport culture; (c) teachers’ influence level; and (d) school environment. Overall, teachers and administrators felt very efficacious in their roles of creating healthy and active schools. These teachers also appeared to be confused regarding the difference between physical education, sport, and physical activity. They did feel, however, that instructional self-efficacy could be improved through enhanced content and pedagogy taught in teacher education programmes, and increased opportunities for professional learning and development. Potentially, this could lead to more time spent teaching the health and physical education content as well as a greater focus on the national curriculum for health and physical education being taught in Aotearoa New Zealand.

‘It’s not a priority’: Australian generalist classroom teacher experiences of teaching the Health Education component of Health and Physical Education

“…However, participant references to curriculum alignment and "follow up" lessons were rare. These omissions align with concerns identified by others (Banville et al, 2020;Sperka & Enright, 2018;Thorburn, 2020) about the ability of external providers, particularly those who are not trained teachers, to teach to curriculum directives for teaching, learning, and assessment.…”

“…This mixed methods study investigates primary school classroom teachers' experiences and perceptions of HPE in their schools, and specifically, who is responsible for delivering the HPE curriculum. This study extends on existing research by Freak and Miller (2017) and Hyndman (2017) who investigated generalist pre-service teacher perceptions of HPE, and the work of Banville et al (2020) who examined classroom teachers' and administrators' views of teaching HPE, but with explicit attention on experiences and perceptions of HE. Concerning this study, the Tasmanian Department of Children and Young People (formerly the Department of Education), who oversee all government schools in the state, has expressed a commitment to wellbeing (Department of Education, 2021) further supporting the need for quality HPE.…”

“…In addition to increased collaboration with HPE specialists, our data pointed to classroom teachers requiring more professional learning opportunities to improve their competence and confidence to teach HE. The literature suggests teacher professional learning opportunities for HPE appear limited (Banville et al, 2020;Morgan & Hansen, 2008). Our participants described restricted opportunities for health-specific content and pedagogy development in their teacher training as well as a lack of HE professional learning opportunities for teachers in schools.…”

“…While external provider knowledge is often assumed by teachers as being superior to their own (Williams & Macdonald, 2015), these programs are typically not provided by trained teachers, and many only enable tenuous, if any, link to student attainment of AC:HPE Achievement Standards. Concerns about external provider knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy, skills, qualifications, and using a "oneoff" method of delivery rather than a structured program have also been recognised (Banville et al, 2020;Thorburn, 2020). While external providers delivering HPE may possess sought-after knowledge and skills, it is vital that the associated student learning experiences address the outcomes, content, and assessment articulated through the curriculum (Sperka & Enright, 2018).…”

Hacia el diseño de Vida Saludable, un nuevo programa de estudios para la educación básica en México

“…deporte y actividad física) y percibieron como necesario reforzar el aprendizaje y desarrollo profesional en estos temas. 42 Además, las pautas mundiales de la EPS estipulan que el diseño del plan de estudios considere a las partes interesadas clave, 36 mientras que en Vida Saludable no hubo participación de docentes ni estudiantes, lo que suma limitaciones en su futura implementación y efectividad.…”