Matthew D. Curtner-Smith

The Occupational Socialization of a First-Year Physical Education Teacher with a Teaching Orientation

The research reported in this paper examined how one American universitys physical education teacher education (PETE) program influenced the perspectives and practices of a first-year high school teacher named Ed (a pseudonym). In addition, it explored how this influence was mediated by Eds biography and entry into the workforce. Lawsons [(1983) Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 2, pp. 3-16; (1983) Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 3, pp. 3-15] hypotheses on physical education teacher socialization guided data collection and analysis. Data were collected though journal writing, formal and informal interviews, and document analysis. They were analyzed using constant comparison and analytic induction. Key findings were that features of Eds biography led to the formation of a teaching orientation which, in turn, facilitated his full induction by his PETE program. Consequently, on entering the workforce, Ed was determined to teach as he had been trained even in the face of some serious situational constraints.

Influence of occupational socialization on beginning teachers’ interpretation and delivery of sport education

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which newly qualified teachers employed the Sport Education (SE) model. In addition, we attempted to discover factors that led to and facilitated beginning teachers employing the model and those that did not. Participants were six American and four British beginning teachers. Data were collected by formally interviewing each teacher. Analysis procedures employed were analytic induction and constant comparison. Occupational socialization was the theoretical framework that guided data collection and analysis procedures. The results indicated that teachers interpreted and delivered SE in one of three different ways: full version, watered down version and cafeteria style. Moreover, the teachers’ acculturation, professional socialization and organizational socialization largely explained why teachers interpreted and delivered SE as they did.

Learning to Teach Sport Education: Misunderstandings, Pedagogical Difficulties, and Resistance

This study used cognitive developmental theory to analyze how teachers learn to teach sport education. Two groups of undergraduate pre-service teachers were studied, one group during their secondary methods and corresponding field-teaching courses, the other during an independent teaching course. Data were collected through ethnographic observations and interviews, and analyzed using constant comparison. Findings revealed that the teachers encountered three pitfalls in learning to teach sport education. First, group one teachers struggled with the tactical instruction in sport education and, in response, retreated to the safety of decontextualized skill drills or non-instructional games. Second, group one teachers, in their descriptions of future pedagogical intentions, expressed resistance, for a number of reasons, to incorporating most of the unique characteristics of sport education into their future secondary classrooms. Third, group two teachers misunderstood the role of skill development in sport education. The discussion centers on mechanisms of knowledge acquisition related to learning sport education, and recommendations for teacher educators and future research.

A Practical Approach to Monitoring Recovery: Development of a Perceived Recovery Status Scale

Laurent, CM, Green, JM, Bishop, PA, Sjökvist, J, Schumacker, RE, Richardson, MT, and Curtner-Smith, M. A practical approach to monitoring recovery: development of a perceived recovery status scale. J Strength Cond Res 25(3): 620-628, 2011-The aim of this study was to develop and test the practical utility of a perceived recovery status (PRS) scale. Sixteen volunteers (8 men, 8 women) performed 4 bouts of high-intensity intermittent sprint exercise. After completion of the baseline trial, in a repeated-measures design, subjects were given variable counterbalanced recovery periods of 24, 48, and 72 hours whereupon they repeated an identical intermittent exercise protocol. After a warm-up period, but before beginning each subsequent bout of intermittent sprinting, each individual provided their perceived level of recovery with a newly developed PRS scale. Similar to perceived exertion during exercise, PRS was based on subjective feelings. The utility of the PRS scale was assessed by measuring the level of agreement of an individuals perceived recovery relative to their performance during the exercise bout. Perceived recovery status and change (both positive and negative) in sprint performance during multiple bouts of repeated sprint exercise were moderately negative correlated (r = −0.63). Additionally, subjects were able to accurately assess level of recovery using the PRS scale indicated by correspondence with negative and positive changes in total sprint time relative to their previous session. The ability to detect changes in performance using a noninvasive psychobiological tool to identify differences in performance was independent of other psychological and physiological markers measured during testing, because there were no differences (p > 0.05) among ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate, blood lactate concentration, or session RPE values among any of the performance trials. Although further study is needed, current results indicate a subjective approach may be an effective means for assessing recovery from day to day, at least under similar conditions.

Urban Teachersí Use of Productive and Reproductive Teaching Styles Within the Confines of the National Curriculum for Physical Education

The main purpose of this study was to describe the teaching styles employed by a sample of 18 teachers working in an urban setting under the conditions of the first revision of the National Curriculum for Physical Education. A second purpose was to compare the teaching styles used by this urban sample of teachers with those employed by a rural sample we had studied previously. Two lessons taught by each teacher to pupils in Years 7, 8, or 9 during one summer term were videotaped and coded with the Instrument for Identifying Teaching Styles, a systematic observation instrument designed to record the percentages of time in which teachers employ each of eight teaching styles. Descriptive statistics were computed across all 36 lessons and for lessons on striking/fielding games, track and field events, and tennis. Independent t-tests were used to compare the teaching styles used by the urban sample of teachers in the present study and those used by the rural sample previously studied. Results indicated that the teachers in the present study spent most of their time using direct styles of teaching. Their pattern of teaching style use was very similar to that of the rural teachers observed in the earlier study. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed.

Teachersí Value Orientations and Their Compatibility with the National Curriculum for Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to describe a sample of English physical education teachers’ value orientations for curricular decision making and to assess their compatibility with the National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE). In addition, the impact of gender, experience and activity background on teachers’ value orientations was examined. The revised Value Orientation Inventory was used to collect data from 64 teachers working in the south-west of England. Descriptive statistics were computed for each of five value orientations. The numbers and percentages of teachers who demonstrated high, neutral and low priorities for each value orientation were also computed. One-way analysis of variance tests was used to make comparisonsbetween the scores for gender, experience and activity background groups. Product–moment correlation coefficients were computed to determine the relationships between value orientations. Results indicated that this sample of teachers had a number of different priorities other than teaching the subject matter of physical education. This finding suggested that the focus of recent NCPE policy texts may not be compatible with the values of many teachers. There were no significant differences based on gender or experience. Teachers with a traditional activity background placed a higher priority on social responsibility, while teachers with a non-traditional or eclectic activity background placed a higher priority on learning process. In addition, correlational data suggested that teachers with high priorities for self-actualization and socialresponsibility may find it particularly difficult to deliver NCPE in congruence with the latestofficial policy.

Influence of the Motivational Climate in Physical Education on Sixth Grade Pupilsí Goal Orientations

The primary purpose of the study was to ascertain whether manipulating the motivational climate of physical education units would influence sixth grade pupils’ goal orientations. A secondary purpose was to assess the influence of the motivational climate on the goal orientations of boys and girls. Twenty-seven girls and 45 boys were randomly assigned to a control group or one of two experimental groups. Experimental groups were taught modified field hockey within an ego- or task-involving climate. Pupils’ goal orientations were measured before and after instruction with the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire. Group gender test analysis of variance tests indicated that the two experimental treatments had the expected influence on pupils’ goal orientations but that there were no differential effects on male and female pupils.

Health-related fitness in sport education and multi-activity teaching

To date, studies examining the Sport Education (SE) model have largely focused on gains in sporting performance and/or psychosocial development. The purpose of this study was to compare the health-related fitness benefits for pupils participating in SE and traditional multi-activity (MA) units of instruction. Participants were two preservice teachers (PTs) who team/turn-taught 10-lesson SE and MA units to middle school pupils during an early field experience. All lessons were videotaped and coded with the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT). Descriptive data on pupil activity, lesson context, and teacher behavior for the SE and MA units were then compared by employing separate multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests, with analysis of variance (ANOVA) follow-ups if necessary, or, where appropriate, visual inspection. Results indicated that pupils in the MA unit spent slightly more than the recommended 50% of lesson time in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) while the pupils in the SE unit did not approach this level. PTs allocated little time for fitness activity or instruction and spent little time promoting or demonstrating fitness in either unit. Statistical tests were non-significant for health-related variables; however, trends in the data suggested that pupils were likely to participate in MVPA more often and more likely to learn directly about health and fitness in the MA unit. Possible reasons for these findings are explored.

Influence of Biography, Teacher Education, and Entry into the Workforce on the Perspectives and Practices of First‐Year Elementary School Physical Education Teachers

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of one universitys core physical education teacher education (PETE) programme on the perspectives and practices of two first‐year elementary school physical education teachers and to examine how this influence was mediated by the teachers’ biographies and entry into the workforce. Data collection techniques employed were passive participant observation, formal and informal interviewing, document analysis, and journal writing. Data were analyzed using constant comparison and analytic induction. Results indicated that despite receiving poor quality physical education themselves and entering PETE with coaching orientations, these teachers attempted to innovate the physical education programmes at their schools.

THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLIMATE ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT

This paper describes the Physical Education Climate Assessment Instrument designed for systematic observation and to quantify variables associated with different types of objective motivational climates created by teachers and coaches in physical education and sports practices. The theoretical framework which guided the development is outlined with recording procedures and methods by which data can be summarized. In addition, estimates of validity, reliability, and feasibility are reported.