The Secondary School Curriculum: Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the perspective of teachers and students within the same secondary schools on the physical education (PE) curriculum offered. Method: Semistructured interviews with secondary school PE teachers and a focus group with their students were conducted within a large school district located on the east coast of the United States. The collaborative qualitative analysis procedures suggested by Richards and Hemphill were used. Results: Three main themes were identified: (a) fitness with two subthemes of (i) what fitness means and (ii) fitness in PE, (b) the PE curriculum, and (c) curriculum decisions. Discussion/Conclusion: Teachers discussed wanting students to be active and improve their cardiovascular fitness and, from their own account and that of their students, acknowledged “rolling the ball out” so that students could play and not be bothered with drills and learning tasks. This lack of instruction, unfortunately, left low-skilled students more vulnerable.

The association of perceived mattering and emotions with physical educator teacher resilience

“…In some ways, this is not surprising as the uncertainty and pressure a teacher feels when anxious (Frenzel, 2014) would leave them less psychological capacity to cope with issues that arise. Recent research shows a bleak trend for PE teachers related to a lack of administrative support, limited equipment, and oversized classes (Banville et al, 2022), which create challenging contexts for even the most resilient teachers. These difficulties will continue to challenge teachers' perceived mattering and increase negative experiences.…”

“…Teachers report limited resources related to equipment needed for offering quality PE, large classes across a variety of school settings, and consistent, implicit and explicit organizational structures that downplay the importance of PE and physical educators as professionals (Gaudreault et al, 2017; Richards et al, 2018b). For example, PE teachers report feeling little support from administrators, isolation, and low relevance in relation to the school mission (Banville et al, 2022; Richards et al, 2017). These perceptions are problematic as teachers can internalize marginal beliefs, whereby they begin to believe they are not making meaningful contributions to student learning, which may lead to reduced effectiveness (e.g.…”