Pre-Service Primary Physical Education Teacher Education

Investigating preservice classroom teachers’ practices and views about teaching physical education lessons: An exploratory case study

“…As far as PE content courses are concerned, these can make an influential contribution to PCTs’ knowledge, which in turn can positively impact prospective teachers’ teaching quality (Ashy and Humphries, 2000; Ní Chróinín and O’Sullivan, 2016). Given that the study findings are not unrelated to the PE specialization courses that the PCTs attended, and having in mind that in most undergraduate programs, PCTs are usually exposed to just one initial course which addresses both the content and pedagogy of elementary PE (Curtner-Smith, 2007; Fletcher and Mandigo, 2012; Tsangaridou and Kyriakides, 2018), teacher education programs could include a PE specialization approach in their courses.…”

“…The PE teaching effectiveness of classroom teachers, however, is often at the heart of global criticism with scholars underlining insufficient teacher preparation as one of the main reasons contributing to classroom teachers’ difficulty in delivering quality PE lessons (Fletcher and Mandigo, 2012; Graber et al, 2008; Tsangaridou, 2012). Specifically, time allocation and the depth of PE content knowledge provided within the initial education of classroom teachers are the most important impediments, as in most undergraduate programs, preservice classroom teachers (PCTs) are usually exposed to only one initial course which addresses both the content and pedagogy of elementary PE (Curtner-Smith, 2007; Fletcher and Mandigo, 2012; Tsangaridou and Kyriakides, 2018).…”

“…A closer examination of this work leads to five major observations. First, the majority of the studies emphasize the importance of integrating meaningful, well-designed, and supervised teaching experiences with coursework (Humphries and Ashy, 2006; Ní Chróinín and O’Sullivan, 2016; O’Sullivan, 2003; Tsangaridou and Kyriakides, 2018; Xiang et al, 2002). Second, offering preservice teachers the opportunity to participate in well-designed methods and content initial teacher education courses can help them feel more competent and confident in delivering the emphasized PE curriculum areas (Ashy and Humphries, 2000; Chedzoy, 2000; Curtner-Smith, 2007; Freak and Miller, 2017; Humphries and Ashy, 2006; Ní Chróinín and O’Sullivan, 2016).…”

“…We envision that the present study can contribute to the existing body of studies in at least two ways. First, as noted above, what seems to be absent from the literature are descriptions of the teaching practices of PCTs during their field placement (Fletcher and Mandigo, 2012; Ní Chróinín et al, 2018; Tsangaridou, 2012; Tsangaridou and Kyriakides, 2018); the present case study attempts to address this gap by focusing on a group of PCTs with a PE specialization. Second, this study is one of the few that combines two approaches to investigate PCTs’ teaching practices.…”

Preservice classroom teachers’ views and experiences of teaching physical education: Does taking a physical education specialization matter?

“…They also mentioned that the outdoor PE facilities and resources in the schools in which they were placed were moderate to adequate. They largely consisted of a soccer field and one or two open-air basketball courts that also served as volleyball, handball, and multi-activity grounds, similar to the majority of elementary schools in Cyprus (Tsangaridou and Kyriakides, 2018). The PCTs planned their lessons after consulting with their cooperating teachers, taking into consideration the curriculum, students, and available resources.…”