Exploring Practice-Based Professional Development Program on Primary School Teachers' Knowledge of Teaching Fundamental Motor Skills

Date

2024-05-13

Author

Taş, Hakan
Hürmeriç Altunsöz, Irmak
Timmermans, Anneke
Hartman, Esther

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Physical education (PE) has many health benefits and development for students. However, the quality of teaching PE in primary school has been discussed by researchers (Griggs, 2007). For instance, primary school teachers have a lack of knowledge about the curriculum (Decorby et al., 2005). Additionally, PE literature is dominated by research about secondary school teachers (Parker et al., 2022). Objective: The aim of the study was to understand (1) how the practice-based professional development program (PBPD) develops primary school teachers' (a) knowledge about fundamental movement skills (FMS), (b) changes attitudes while teaching FMS, (2) to analyze how the facilitator's involvement in PBPD is associated with teachers’ FMS knowledge, implementation in physical education and games class in a practice-based professional development program?" Methods: A ten-week PBPD program was applied with the participation of 16 primary school teachers selected by means of convenience sampling. The first five weeks consisted of meetings regarding FMS theory and practice. The second five weeks were to support all teachers one by one in their physical education lessons. The data was gathered by using semi-structured interviews with all teachers at the end of the program. Results: A thematic analysis showed two themes which are 1) “the role of facilitator” and 2) “empowering teachers” with two sub-themes from teachers’ perspective. Based on the first theme, teachers learned in the PBPD how to teach FMS, they increased the literacy of the curriculum and material used in PE. Teachers changed their attitudes positively toward PE classes and they integrated the learned skills into PE lessons. Based on the second theme, the facilitator played a significant role in the program by providing feedback, scaffolding teachers in the practice, and helping teachers to make all these theories apply to the practice. Conclusion: The qualitative results showed that 10-week PBPD developed primary school teachers’ self-reported FMS knowledge and their attitudes. In addition, teachers learned how to connect the curriculum, material, and FMS. Moreover, the facilitator had a positive impact while supporting teachers during the program on and off-site. This research contributes to the understanding of how program design for the quality of teaching PE for primary school teachers. This study was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye.

Subject Keywords

professional development, elementary school teachers, ongoing support

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/110787

Collections

Department of Physical Education and Sports, Conference / Seminar