The current situation of physical education according to teachers: A qualitative study with teachers from the Region of Murcia

Abstract

ResumenEl objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la situación actual de la educación física según su profesorado. Los datos de esta investigación procedieron de entrevistas semiestructuradas realizadas a 29 docentes de educación física pertenecientes a centros de secundaria de la Región de Murcia. Los resultados del estudio indican que el profesorado manifiesta vocación por su profesión y cree en las indispensables aportaciones de su asignatura al curriculum escolar, aunque destaca su contribución a la salud por encima de otros aspectos más relacionados con la educación del alumnado. Gran parte del profesorado opina que la educación física sigue estando catalogada como una asignatura "maría", aunque algunos reconocen que el estatus de la materia está mejorando en los últimos tiempos. Los docentes piensan que el buen hacer profesional de su colectivo es la principal vía de mejora del estatus de la asignatura. La mayor parte del profesorado considera que la asignatura debería tener mayor carga horaria, lo que contrasta con la práctica de algunos profesionales que acaban impartiendo siempre los mismos contenidos. La información ofrecida en este artículo puede ser de interés para identificar estrategias que favorezcan la mejora del estatus de la educación física.Palabras clave: Escuela, curriculum, investigación cualitativa, profesorado. AbstractThe objective of this study was to analyse the current status of physical education according to physical education teachers. The research data came from semi-structured interviews conducted with 29 physical education teachers belonging to secondary schools from the Region of Murcia (Spain). The results of this study highlight that physical education teachers declare their vocation for their profession and believe in the indispensable role that physical education plays in the school curriculum, although they stress its contributions to health over other aspects that are more related to students' education. Many teachers think physical education is still considered an 'easy subject', even though some of them recognise the status of the subject has improved in last years. The teachers think their good professional practice is the main way to increase the status of physical education. The majority of the participants believe that physical education needs a greater hourly load, something which contrasts with the fact that some teachers continually teach the same contents. The information of this article may be of interest for the identification of strategies to improve the status of physical education.

Motor coordination and academic performance in primary school students

“…Although the size of the effect of the differences found is low (d ≤ .03 in all variables), probably due to the number of participants in the study, the results found should not be downplayed. The existence of a positive link between motor coordination and academic competence could be a reason to strength the role of the VOLUME --| ISSUE -| 2020 | 9 physical education area among the educational community, as well as to raise the teacher's status (Albarracín et al, 2014 ;Cañadas et al, 2014); having even observed a positive effect of physical education sessions on other executive functions related to academic performance such as attention (Aguayo-Berrios et al, 2018;Schmidt et al, 2015) and concentration (Chen et al, 2017). Along these same lines, randomized control studies have shown the need to increase the number of teaching hours, as well as the level of intensity of the sessions (Ardoy et al, 2010(Ardoy et al, , 2014; while other research underscores the need to incorporate active breaks during the school day to improve cognitive and attention performance (Domínguez-Sánchez et al, 2018;Schmidt et al, 2016).…”

“…In this sense, one of the subjects that generates the greatest controversy is physical education (Cañadas et al, 2015). Although some educational policies have been aimed at reducing the number of teaching hours, the results of various studies support the importance of this subject in the integral training of students, since it favours cognitive and academic performance (Ardoy et al, 2014); provides the necessary opportunities for the fulfilment of the premises for a healthy physical activity (Albarracín, Moreno & Beltrán, 2014), which contributes to combat the high prevalence of obesity (Ardoy et al, 2010); and allows during the school day that certain brain circuits affected by the fatigue of academic tasks are replenished, enhancing cognitive functions, thereby improving academic performance (Aguayo-Berrios, Latorre-Román, Salas-Sánchez & Pantoja, 2018; Domínguez-Sánchez, Alarcón-Malagón, García-Flórez & Velandia-Guillén, 2018). Other studies have analysed the influence of the sociocultural environment, concluding that the best academic evaluations were found in families with a high economic and cultural level (Córdoba, García, Luengo, Vizuete & Feu, 2012); although other works have not found differences in this regard and have reported the importance within the lifestyle of physical activity, dietary intake and micronutrient status (Desai, Kurpad, Chomitz & Thomas, 2015).…”

Effects on Motivation and Implicit Beliefs about Self ability using the Sports Education Model and the Traditional Style in Secondary Education

“…The application of the self-determination theory on school contexts affirms that it is fundamental that the teacher encourages an environment of motivation because the teacher is considered a social component of great relevance who intervenes in motivation directly [10]. When the teacher shows a style that is controlling and dictatorial, students feel rejected and unmotivated [24].…”

“…Therefore, in the first place, to increase adherence to practicing physical activities regularly, the teacher has to ensure that students achieve effective and satisfactory implicit beliefs about their abilities [8,9]. The role the teacher plays is key to promoting motivation towards physical activities [10,11] because a good motivational relationship between the teacher and the student has a positive effect on the student's academic performance [12]. Additionally, the type of methodology used should also be considered because it will also affect learning.…”