Sport education (SE) has been touted as a model particularly conducive to realizing affective objectives. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the influence of a training programme on one preservice physical education (PE) teacher's ability to promote moral and sporting behaviour in SE. The participants in the study were the teacher, Alex, and the 75 middle school students he taught within two 20-lesson SE Ultimate Frisbee seasons. The theories of structural development and social learning guided data collection and analysis. Data were collected with nine qualitative methods and reduced to themes by employing analytic induction and constant comparison. Many of the students in the study had been socialized into norms of sporting participation that were mostly negative and believed that it was acceptable to behave in an unfair and unsporting manner. During the course of the two seasons, Alex managed to get many of them to question this thinking and to engage in positive sporting behaviours. That he did not change the thinking or behaviours of some highly skilled students, and that the behaviours of other students of similar skill level regressed once the seasons became more competitive, illustrated how powerful the negative influences of the institution of organized youth and school sport can be.
Sport education (SE) is considered to be an excellent medium through which to develop students’ concepts of moral and sporting behavior. Previous research, however, indicates that teachers interpret SE differently, depending on their occupational socialization, which may hinder their fostering of these constructs. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which Lindsey, a coaching-oriented preservice teacher, promoted or negated moral and sporting behavior while teaching middle school girls within two 18-lesson SE seasons. The theoretical perspectives guiding the study were social learning theory and structural development theory. Data were collected using eight qualitative techniques. Data were reduced to key themes by employing analytic induction and constant comparison. The majority of the girls began the study at the preconventional level of moral development with limited understanding of moral and sporting behavior. Many girls did not improve during the course of the SE seasons, although a few displayed understanding at, and acted in accordance with, the postconventional level of moral development. Lindsey struggled to influence her students’ sporting and moral behavior because her previous socialization had resulted in her holding similar beliefs. In addition, her moderate coaching orientation led to her delivering a conservative, watered-down version of SE. Consequently, she did little to change the core cognitive structures guiding her students’ views. While SE offers opportunities for teachers to promote and develop sporting and moral behavior, this is not automatic and, as illustrated in this study, using the model may have a negative impact on students.
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