The ‘Perfect’ Senior (VCE) Secondary Physical Education Teacher: Student Perceptions of Teacher-related Factors that Influence Academic Performance

Abstract

Improving student academic performance in seniorsecondary education increases student opportunities for employment, training and further education. The aim of this research was to identify students', completing the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Physical Education, perceptions of teacher-related factors that influence subject specific academic performance. Unit 3 and 4 VCE Physical Education students (n = 23) from three government secondary schools and one independent secondary school in Victoria, Australia completed poster annotations identifying their perception of the 'perfect' VCE Physical Education teacher. The de-identified data from the posters were transcribed verbatim, coded and analysed using NVivo software to explore student perceptions of teacherrelated factors that influence academic performance. Emergent themes from the poster annotations suggested that student's perceptions of the 'perfect' VCE Physical Education teacher included the teacher-related factors of knowledge (of subject matter), verbal ability, caring, enthusiasm and teacher accessibility.

Perceived Social-Ecological Barriers of Generalist Pre-Service Teachers towards Teaching Physical Education: Findings from the GET-PE study

“…It has also been revealed that children's enjoyment of being active is significantly lower in cooler months, suggesting that PE facilities can be required to prevent such weather barriers (Hyndman et al, 2015). If specific equipment or facilities are not readily available according to weather conditions, teachers can usually innovate with alternative spaces (Hattie, 2003;Mowling et al, 2004;Stronge, 2007;Whittle et al, 2015), yet facilities to support teaching during the extremes of weather is indeed a barrier. Investigation of nearby facilities to schools could be a solution to support school PE program against weather barriers.…”

“…The future availability of development opportunities were identified around the latest health issues/statistics, increasing knowledge bases around PE teaching ideas, anatomy/physiological components, technology and of course the broader themes of barriers revealed in the study. Such professional opportunities are important for PE teachers, as a diverse range of teaching styles to facilitate quality PE classes can ensure students' learning of concepts across a range of contexts are catered for (Whittle;Hattie, 2009;Grieve, 2010;Stronge et al, 2011;Pill, Harvey & Hyndman, 2017). Interestingly, as the generalist PSTs within the GET-PE study had yet to experience full-time teaching in schools, there was an absence of concerns relating to a crowded curriculum or timetabling compared to studies of in-service primary teachers (Morgan & Hansen, 2008).…”

“…Since the work of Bronfenbrenner a range of social-ecological model frameworks have been formulated to understand human behaviour and experiences within the contexts of physical education, health education, outdoor education and coaching (Wattchow et al, 2013). The barriers to teaching PE for generalist PSTs can be partly explained by the SEM framework which can be used to provide a conceptual framework to analyse, explore and understand the multiple factors that influence teacher behaviours at the intrapersonal (individual), interpersonal (social), physical environment and policy levels (Elder et al, 2007;Hyndman, Benson, & Telford, 2014;Whittle, Telford, & Benson, 2015). The intrapersonal level consists of genetic characteristics, psychological influences (Stokols, 1992), learning histories (Hovell et al 2009), behaviours, intentions and expectations (Glass and McAtee 2006).…”

“…The SEM framework is described as a 'personal-environment' fit by providing an understanding of the multiple levels of influence that can affect teachers' behaviour that can be used to broadly analyse educational problems in a given setting (e.g. school teaching) (O'Connor, Alfrey, & Payne, 2012;Wattchow et al, 2013;Whittle et al, 2015). The SEM framework allows the broad influences on teacher behaviour to be comprehensively understood in order to develop and implement more effective teaching solutions and programs that address multiple levels of influence for lasting behavioural effects (O'Connor et al, 2012;Wattchow et al, 2013).…”

Improving the Computational Thinking Pedagogical Capabilities of School Teachers

“…Multiple studies have shown that teachers have a profound effect on student learning (Whittle, Telford, & Benson, 2015) and different teaching strategies will affect the student achievement (Schroeder et al, 2007). In general, educators have divided teaching strategies into two main types, i.e., teacher-centred and student-centred.…”