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…
The involvement of autistic children in early childhood education
Research on the involvement of autistic children in daily activities in inclusive early childhood education is scarce. In Finland, all children, including autistic children, under the age of seven (before basic education) are entitled to participate in early childhood education and care. Children also attend compulsory, free-of-charge pre-primary education during the year before their basic education begins. Furthermore, attending early childhood education and care is not dependent whether a child requires day care because of their parents’ work. Autistic children attend early childhood education in inclusive day care centres. Thus, in this study, we examined the involvement of autistic chi…