Date of Award

Summer 2021

Publication Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.H.K.

Department

Kinesiology

Keywords

Skill development, Teachers, Teaching styles, Motor skills

Supervisor

S. Scharoun Benson

Supervisor

L. Parker

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Physical education (PE) programs are uniquely situated to promote the development of motor skills during childhood. When children do not receive appropriate instructions during motor skill development, they are likely to experience motor delays. Nevertheless, the relationship between Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) and teaching styles in PE has remained relatively unexplored in previous research. The present study explored teacher perceptions of FMS through a mixed-methods approach. Participants were a mix of preservice, specialist, and general primary school teachers with varying levels of PE experience. Surveys were used to assess self-reported use of the spectrum of teaching styles among PE teachers. Subsequent interviews were conducted to explore perceptions of how FMS are taught within primary school PE. Results demonstrated that, regardless of teacher population, in a PE context there is a preference for explicit teaching strategies, characterized by a collaborative approach to teaching and learning. Taken together, the findings provide further evidence for an understanding of teaching styles used to teach FMS during primary school PE, and a need to explore different types of PE teachers.

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