The curricular physical education in the primary school – analyse a context of teaching

The curricular physical education in the primary school – analyse a context of teaching

ABSTRACT

Our study aims at a better understanding on the reality of teaching of Physical Education (PE) in the 1st. cycle of basic education (6 to 10 years old) in the Autonomous Region of the Azores. In this qualitative study, a case studies, it was applied a structured interview at six teachers of PE of one basic school, and we tried to know the most important aspects of their working lives, individually and in group, to better understand their conceptions and their perspectives on the teaching of physical education to children.

Because of the fact that there is a gradual increase in a sedentary lifestyle and difficulty of socialization, the physical education should have a unique place in the basic or elementary education, by the quality and diversity of practice opportunities in physical and motor activities. The data analysed reveals that will be necessary to have best conditions of space, equipment and materials in this schools for teaching some sports; to select activities tailored for our students to increase their motivations and capacities; prepare progressions for that the learning take place; give time for the learning; and have a open attitude to reflect with peers about curricular activities, tasks and learning strategies.

Introduction

Our study aims at a better understanding on the reality of teaching of Physical Education (PE) in the 1st. cycle of basic education (6 to 10 years old) in the Autonomous Region of the Azores. In this qualitative study, a case studies, it was applied a structured interview at six teachers of PE of one basic school, and we tried to know the most important aspects of their working lives, individually and in group, to better understand their conceptions and their perspectives on the teaching of physical education to children.

Because of the fact that there is a gradual increase in a sedentary lifestyle and difficulty of socialization, the physical education should have a unique place in the basic or elementary education, by the quality and diversity of practice opportunities in physical and motor activities. The data analysed reveals that will be necessary to have best conditions of space, equipment and materials in this schools for teaching some sports; to select activities tailored for our students to increase their motivations and capacities; prepare progressions for that the learning take place; give time for the learning; and have a open attitude to reflect with peers about curricular activities, tasks and learning strategies.

Methods

This study of qualitative nature, enrolls on the modality in the case study and aims to examine the PE in the primary school (1stCBE) of a Integrated Basic School (EBICM) in the context of the year 2008. For the sample, we had just the collaboration of 6 Physical Education Teachers who where teaching the area to the 1stCBE in the schools belonging to the EBICM to whom a fictitious name was attributed (Table 1).

Table 1. Distribution of PE teachers of the 1stCBE through the different schools – EBICM

Table 1. The curricular physical education in the primary school – analyse a context of teaching

Contenido disponible en el CD Colección Congresos nº 16

Table 2. General indicators on the interview script to the teachers of PE in the 1st CBE in EBICM

Table 2. The curricular physical education in the primary school – analyse a context of teaching

Contenido disponible en el CD Colección Congresos nº 16

It was applied a structured interview (Table 2) at six PE teachers belonging to the EBICM and the content of the interviews that had taken place with was analyzed. Those teachers revealed aspects of high importance in their professional and individual life as well as in group, in order to acquire knowledge on their conceptions and perspectives on the teaching of PE to the 1stCBE in the context of the analyzed school as well as the importance of reflecting on the teaching in order to improve their professional development. A content analysis was performed from selected transcripts.

Results and Discussion

Because the spontaneous motor activity of children are bound to decrease, held either in games played in the street or in the playground, there is a gradual increase in a sedentary lifestyle and difficulty of socialization. PE will have a unique place, both by the quality and diversity of practice opportunities in physical and motor activities in the current education. According to the perspective of these teachers, the following difficulties were identified in the teaching of PE to the 1st CEB, such as:

1. a inadequate formation as the little training they have appropriate to the needs of children of this level of education;

2. the poor conditions of space, equipment and materials in this schools for teaching the sports in PE;

3. Contact to a kind of life experiences and habits of children that forwards them to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle.

On the first item, the opinion of all teachers interviewed was that they did not have an adequate formation for the children of the 1st CBE, visible when a teacher quantifies the own preparation:

“(…) from one to five in two“ (Teacher Celso)

The totality of interviewed considered the existence of a direct relation between the contents teaching in their classes and the contents present in their sport practices.

“A lot. In the first aspect because they are certain modalities, certain motor tasks I use in the training and use later in the 1st Cycle. (…) (Teacher Júlio).

Neves (2007:117) comments that in the 1st CBE the teachers do not have an equal perception of the potentialities in the development learning the PE class existing clear and diverse connections with the practice of physical and sport activities. In the second item, it was clear that there is lack of quality in the equipment, places and materials in schools for the teaching of PE are the main problems and difficulties in the teaching of PE in the 1st CBE in the region, either by the lack and by the inadequate state of the installations for the practice of PE. According to one of the teachers:

“(…) The schools when were built were not adapted to PE. Although one of the schools is already well equipped, most of them do not have an interior space of their own, and most of the times not even the exterior space has condition.“ (Teacher Júlio)

Also the insufficiency and lack of quality of the existing material and equipment was one of the bottlenecks of the capability of teaching, one argue that:

“In the first cycle the main difficulties are mainly (…) on all schools about material.” (Teacher Celso)

Finally, we are before a kind of life experiences and habits on the children that forward them to the growing sedentary way. The school appears to have a reinforced role, transforming itself in a true space of opportunities to delineate the balanced development of our citizens. The PE teachers are aware of that importance from this area to children development as they show in the following remarks:

“(…) They are children that almost don’t move themselves. Many parents may not have the availability” (Teacher Gonçalo)

To overcome part of those difficulties, the PE teachers identified several solutions:

1. Adequate planning to the motivation and capacity of the children;

2. Give adequate time and progressions adjusted to the processing of learning;

3. Take an open attitude to reflect with peers about curricular activities, tasks and learning strategies.

To Condessa (2003: 49) the environment on the practical classes in PE, when compared to the existing environment in a conventional classroom, appropriated to its multiple domains of learning objectives (psychomotor, cognitive and social-affective) is usually complex and dynamic. The heterogeneous competences and motivations presented by part of the several students that are part of the class, has caused the need to give relevance to the management and organization of the teaching process – imperative analysis points in the determination of the quality of teaching. This idea is present in the following transcript:

“I aim from class to class modify the exercises make some innovation.” (Teacher Júlio)

In the second side, one can have the perspective of a teaching practice in full articulation with the more specific and articulated activity blocks of competences to learn in the 2nd CEB, where a preference for sport initiation is presence, as other interviewed teachers refer:

“We transpose a part of the 2nd cycle to the 1st cycle.” (Teacher Daniel)

In this study, the totality of the teachers consider important the creation of reflection moments in order to create conscience of behaviours and attitudes, as stated by the following commentary:

“We are always learning and the reflection with other colleagues helps us to improve our capabilities. I believe that the reflection is important in order no to close ourselves.” (Teacher Celso)

Conclusions:

In general, the data collected and analysed reveals probable that the characteristics and roles of the teachers should have to shape in order to face the diversity and needs that they face each other on their activity. We presume that with this qualitative research a consolidation has been made on the introspection in PE professionals, providing them moments of reflection on their practices in order to guide them to the optimization of their performance.