Socialization Into Teaching Physical Education – Acculturative Formation of Perceived Strengths
1. IntroductionIt is common that physical education (PE) in primary schools is taught by generalist class teachers. They have been found to possess strong socially constructed beliefs about teaching and their teaching competencies already before they enter formal teacher preparation. These beliefs act as filters when acquiring and interpreting new information thus influencing what is learned during the formal teacher preparation (Capel & Katene, 2000; Curtner-Smith, 2001; Doolittle, Dodds, & Placek, 1993; Hutchinson, 1993; Lawson, 1983; Lortie, 1975; Matanin & Collier, 2003; Pajares, 1992; Placek, Dodds, Doolittle, Portman, Ratliffe & Pinkham, 1995; Randall & Maeda, 2010; Richardson, 2003).…
The Relationships between Pre-Service Primary Teachers’ Teaching and Instructing/Coaching Orientations, and Their Perceived Strengths in Teaching Physical Education at the Primary Level
Abstract. This study explored if the orientations towards instructing/coaching in physical activities (PA) and teaching physical education (PE) affect the perceived strengths in teaching PE at the primary level (PSTPEs). The orientations were considered as socializing factors into teaching PE. In this study, the perceived strengths were divided into discipline - and pupil - focused strengths. Online questionnaire was used to collect the data from 386 first year pre - service primary teachers before their first PE course of formal teacher education, to expose the acculturative influences of the orientations. Cross tabulation and logistic regression were used to analyze the relationships. The…
Associations of muscular fitness and body composition in children
Purpose: To examine the associations between muscular fitness (MF) and body composition. Method: MF was assessed with three tests of FitnessGram test battery. Total body fat percentage (BF%), abdominal fat percentage (AF%) and fat-free mass (FFM) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The IOTF body mass index (BMI) cut-offs were used to define healthy weight, overweight, and obesity. Results: MF was inversely associated with BF% and AF%. The children in the moderate and high MF groups had significantly lower BF% and AF% compared with the children in the low MF group within the same BMI category. After adjusting for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), BMI and sex, the differen…