Influence of a physical education teacher’s disability on middle school pupils’ learning and perceptions of teacher competence

Abstract

Limited research has investigated the problems encountered by physical education teachers who have disabilities and instruct able-bodied pupils. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a physical education teacher’s disability on middle school pupils’ perceptions of the teacher’s competence and their learning. Participants were 201 7th and 8th grade pupils (age range 12 to 16 years). They were randomly assigned to watch one of two videotaped swimming lessons. These lessons were identical except that in the first lesson the teacher taught from a wheelchair (WCL) while in the second she was able-bodied (ABL). Immediately following the watching of their assigned lesson, pupils completed a questionnaire asking them about their perceptions of the teacher’s competence and an examination over lesson content. Inferential statistical tests revealed that there were no significant differences in the perception and examination scores of those pupils who viewed the WCL and the ABL. These results provide further support for a sociological explanation of how and why pupils of different ages respond to and learn from physical education teachers with a disability.

Effect of a physical education teacher's disability on high school pupils' learning and perceptions of teacher competence

“…Recall that the elementary pupils in the initial study of the series (Bryant and Curtner-Smith 2008) learned significantly more from the teacher when she was in a wheelchair, while learning among the middle school pupils in the second study (Bryant and Curtner-Smith 2007) was similar regardless of whether they watched the WCL or the ABL. In contrast, in the present study, pupils who watched the ABL learned significantly more about the techniques of swimming than pupils who watched the WCL.…”

“…The second study (Bryant and Curtner-Smith 2007) was a replication of the first except that middle school pupils were now the participants. Results indicated no significant differences between the content examination and perception scores of those pupils who observed the teacher when she taught from a wheelchair and when she appeared able-bodied.…”

“…In the first study (Bryant and Curtner-Smith 2008), a group of elementary pupils who observed a videotape of a physical education lesson taught by a teacher in a wheelchair (i.e., she gave the appearance of possessing a disability) scored significantly higher on part of an examination of the content taught in the lesson that was concerned with swimming technique than a second group of pupils who watched a videotape of the same teacher teaching the same subject matter without the wheelchair (i.e., she gave the appearance of being able-bodied). In addition, data trends suggested that elementary pupils perceived the teacher more positively when she taught from the wheelchair.The second study (Bryant and Curtner-Smith 2007) was a replication of the first except that middle school pupils were now the participants. Results indicated no significant differences between the content examination and perception scores of those pupils who observed the teacher when she taught from a wheelchair and when she appeared able-bodied.…”

Influence of a physical education teacher’s perceived age on high school pupils’ perceptions of effectiveness and learning

“…Replicating the protocol used by Bryant and Curtner-Smith (2009a), a 20-minute lesson on the techniques and strategies of front crawl was designed for high school pupils able to swim but with limited experience of doing so. In congruence with Bryant and Curtner-Smith’s (2009b) rationale, swimming was chosen as the subject matter because it was technical in nature and had the potential to hold the pupils’ interest since it was unlikely that they had experienced formal swimming instruction prior to the study. The lesson included the following elements: (a) warm-up; (b) drills and practices designed to improve front crawl body position, breathing, leg-kick, arm pull, and full stroke; and (c) a closure during which pupils were questioned about the techniques and strategies covered in the lesson.…”

“…Prior to and during data collection, we employed several methods to establish that the YAL and MAL were similar, of high instructional quality, and credible in terms of being taught by an apparently younger and older teacher. Following Bryant and Curtner-Smith (2009b), the similarity of the YAL and MAL was evaluated by coding both filmed lessons with three forms of systematic observation. First, the films were coded with the Physical Education Teacher Assessment Instrument (PETAI; Phillips et al, 1986) for the percentage of time the first author used five instructional and five managerial behaviors and the percentage of time in which the pupils engaged in skill learning.…”