The study of declarative and procedural knowledge makes it possible to ascertain what cognitive processes are like during motor learning. This study aimed to compare, according to the methodology, gender and experience (football practise), and the levels of declarative and procedural knowledge after the implementation of two intervention programmes on school football including one based on the tactics learning and the other on the technique learning. A total of 41 students in the 5th year of primary education from a state school from Spain, distributed in two class groups, participated in the study. Each class group participated in a different intervention programme. The sample of subjects was equal (tactical programme (n = 20) and technical programme (n = 21)). A panel of 13 experts validated both programmes. Levels of knowledge were measured using the Tactical Knowledge Assessment test in football. A descriptive analysis was performed to characterise the sample. Moreover, a t-test for independent samples, a t-test for related samples, and a 2 × 2 ANOVA (analysis of variance) were performed to compare the levels of knowledge between the pre-test and the post-test, according to the methodology, gender, and experience of the students. Results indicate that both intervention programmes induced higher levels of declarative and procedural knowledge in the post-test. Similarly, there were no significant differences with regard to the applied methodology. This fact is due to the heterogeneous character of the class groups with gender and experience showing effects on the levels of knowledge. The boys possessed greater experience and a higher level of knowledge compared to the girls.

Analysing declarative and procedural knowledge in sport makes it possible to evaluate the students’ acquisitions in the learning process. This study aimed to compare the acquisition of declarative and procedural knowledge after the implementation of several intervention programmes in school basketball, according to the methodology and prior experience of the students. A total of 55 students from the sixth year of primary education took part in the study, distributed into three groups. Each group participated in a different intervention programme: tactical games approach (TGA), direct instruction (DI) or service teacher’s basketball unit (STBU). The level of knowledge was measured using the Test of Declarative and Procedural Knowledge in Basketball (TDPKB). A descriptive analysis was performed to determine the participants’ characteristics. A factorial ANOVA was subsequently applied in two phases (pre-test and post-test) for independent samples to compare the level of knowledge among the different groups, and a t-test for related samples was performed to compare the pre–post knowledge level within each group. Then, a factorial ANOVA and a test of repeated measures were carried out to determine the effect of the methodology and experience on the students’ knowledge. The results indicate that the TGA, DI and STBU intervention programmes induced improvements in the levels of declarative and procedural knowledge in all the groups, with the students who participated in the TGA programme achieving higher levels of declarative knowledge. Finally, the effect of the absence of practical experience was identified as a determining factor for improvement. The students who had not previously practised basketball achieved higher levels of knowledge with the TGA intervention programme.

Research on Sports Pedagogy necessitates studying the knowledge possessed by pre-service teachers (PSTs) and its application in the planning of sports in school. The main objectives of this study were to consider if PSTs really apply their beliefs when planning their didactic units, and to analyse time management and its influence on external load in invasion sports. Eighteen PSTs were interviewed and 899 learning tasks were coded using the Integral Analysis System of Training Tasks. Three groups of pedagogical variables (type of task, game phase and game situation), organisational variables related to time and the external load were analysed. A descriptive analysis was made of the contents of the interviews, on the use of the pedagogical variables and on those used in the learning tasks. Application exercises were set by 50.70% of the tasks and 44.30% were without opposition. This did not coincide with teachers’ beliefs, as they did not show a clear choice of ideal type of task and indicated that individual game situations with opposition were preferable. A descriptive analysis was also made of the organisational variables according to the planned sport. Inferential analysis using the Kruskal-Wallis H test and pairwise multiple comparisons showed differences in the motor commitment and external load of the task*time depending on the type of invasion sport (p < 0.05). Time management conditioned the motor commitment and task load.

The methodology used by the teacher in Physical Education sessions conditions the physical fitness of the students, since the design of the tasks determines the physical and physiological demands to which they are exposed. This study aimed to quantify and compare, according to the teaching methodology and students’ previous experience, the external (eTL) and internal (iTL) load resulting from the application of three intervention programmes that follow different teaching methodologies to teach school basketball: the Tactical Games Approach (TGA), Direct Instruction (DI) and Service Teacher’s Basketball Unit (STBU). The Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPEs) recorded in the assessments (pre-test/post-test) were also studied. A total of 49 students, aged 11 to 12 and divided into three class groups, from the sixth grade of primary education at a state school in Spain, participated in the study. Teaching–learning programs were randomly assigned to student groups. All the sessions were monitored with inertial devices that made it possible to record physical activity and convert the information into kinematic parameters. The results indicated that during the sessions, the students who followed the TGA method recorded higher values of eTL (player load; DI = 4.92, TGA = 6.95, STBU = 2.99) and iTL (mean heart rate; DI = 142.94, TGA = 157.12, STBU = 143.98). In addition, during the evaluation tests, they presented heart rate levels similar to those obtained by the students in the other programmes. However, they spent more time doing high-intensity activity, working longer in the running (DI = 3.42, TGA = 11.26, STBU = 8.32) and sprinting speed ranges (DI = 0.00, TGA = 0.12, STBU = 0.11), and presenting better physical fitness. During the assessments, students with no prior basketball experience showed higher levels of top speed; experienced students had higher levels of heart rate. The TGA method favours the physical condition and health of primary education students, which is why this method is recommended when planning Physical Education sessions.

Football performance requires beginning learners to develop both technical skills and tactical awareness. The aim of this study was to examine and contrast the differences in the learning of football across two different teaching methodologies. A total of 35 students, distributed in two class-groups at the fifth-grade level of primary education participated in the study. Each class group participated in just one of the intervention programs (tactical program, n = 17; technical program, n = 18). The Instrument for the Measurement of Learning and Performance in Football was used to evaluate each student’s actions and in relation to specific performance indicators. For each one of the play actions analyzed, the Performance Index of Decision-Making, the Performance Index of Technical Execution, and the Performance Index of Final Results were calculated and these scores were summed to generate the Total Performance Index. The differences in technical and tactical learning between the class-groups were calculated using the Total Performance Index. For this assessment, various statistical tests were used: the Mann–Whitney’s U and the Wilcoxon’s T (for the non-parametric variables) and the T-test for Independent Samples, as well as the T-test for Related Samples (for the parametric variables). Likewise, a 2 × 2 ANOVA was conducted to determine whether the students’ previous experience had an effect on the level of learning. The results indicated improvements with both intervention programs; however, the tactical program provided a higher level of learning than the technical program between the assessment tests. The experience of the students had an effect on the play actions of dribbling the ball and in marking the player without the ball. Physical education teachers are recommended to implement comprehensive methods for technical and tactical football teaching at school.

Physical education teachers need valid, low-cost, subjective techniques as an alternative to high-cost new technologies to monitor students’ intensity monitoring. This study aimed to investigate the correlations between both objective and subjective external (eTL) and internal (iTL) intensities. A total of 95 primary education students participated in this study. In this regard, 40 played soccer, and 55 performed basketball tasks, recording a total of 3956 units of analysis. The intensities caused by the different soccer and basketball tasks were measured using objective techniques (inertial devices and heart rate monitors) and subjective techniques (a sheet of task analysis and ratings of perceived exertion). Matrix scatter plots were made to show the values of two variables for a dataset. In this regard, adjustment lines were plotted to determine the trend of the correlations. Then, Spearman’s correlation was calculated to measure the association between two variables. Despite the low correlation levels obtained, the main results showed significant positive correlations between the intensities. This means that the high intensity values recorded by objective techniques also implied high intensity values recorded by subjective techniques, and vice versa. Negative correlations (r Rho = −0.19; p = 0.00) were only found between the following eTL variables: task eTL per minute (subjective technique) and player load per minute (objective technique). This negative correlation occurred when students played in the same 3 vs. 3 game situation without variability in subjective eTL (M ± SD, 28.00 ± 0.00). Therefore, subjective eTL and iTL techniques could be proposed as a suitable alternative for planning and monitoring the intensities supported by students in physical education classes. Moreover, these subjective techniques are easy to use in schools.

The teacher’s didactic intervention also requires knowledge and control of learning tasks’ workloads. The objectives of the study were as follows: (i) to quantify the subjective external load-eTL of tasks framed in didactic units designed by in-service teachers; and (ii) to analyze the differences in the subjective eTL according to the game situation and the game space. A total of 306 learning tasks designed by seven in-service teachers (five men and two women), with more than 10 years of teaching practice, were analyzed. These tasks were coded through the Integral System for Training Task Analysis (SIATE, acronym in Spanish). The interobserver reliability of the coded variables obtained a considerable concordance (MKfree > 0.70). The results indicated that there were significant differences in the subjective eTL according to the game situation and game space. The situations of small-sided games in numerical equality or inequality and full games, in medium spaces or large spaces, presented a higher subjective eTL and therefore the highest physiological and motor demands on students. The inclusion of attacking or defending players and an adequate selection of the game space indicated the importance of planning and organizing learning tasks.

The satisfaction of basic psychological needs leads students to engage in a sport modality on their own initiative. In the Spanish public educational system, mixed and heterogeneous, the gender and sport experience of students influence the teaching and motivation of invasion sports. This study investigated whether students’ gender and sport experience, and model influence the psychological variables (basic psychological needs and sport adherence) when teaching school soccer and basketball. Furthermore, correlations were calculated between these psychological variables. The study involved 165 fifth and sixth grade students (Mage, 11.27 ± 0.68 years old) from several Spanish state schools in the same autonomous community. A non-random convenience sample was used. The needs for autonomy, perceived competence and social relationships were measured using the Basic Psychological Needs in Physical Exercise Scale. Sport adherence was measured using the Measure of Intentionality to be Physically Active. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Cronbach’s Alpha, Average Variance Extracted and Composite Reliability were used to analyze the psychometric properties of the scales. Descriptive and inferential analyses were obtained after performing a Mixed Linear Model and a Bonferroni Post Hoc. There were significant differences in the autonomy need according to the students’ gender (boys > girls). In addition, boys who learned with the TGA model scored significantly higher than girls on this need. Attending to sport adherence, there were significant differences in favor of experienced students. Likewise, a regression analysis (structural equation model) revealed that the autonomy need showed low association with sport adherence. Higher perceived competence (β = 0.52) and social relationships (β = 0.36) were associated with greater adherence to sport (R2 = 0.65). Teachers’ Knowledge and proper managing basic psychological needs will have educational, social and health benefits, as it will increase the likelihood of physical activity in and out of school.