Leadership Style, Machiavellianism and Fair Play at the School: Interaction of Instructors and Students in Physical Education

Abstract

In this study, correlations among physical education instructors' leadership style and students' fair play behaviors and Machiavellian tactics were examined. The sample consisted of 292 students (151 males, 141 females) of 10-15 years old from primary and secondary schools. Three types of questionnaires were completed during physical education courses. Statistically significant differences were observed in perceived instructors' leadership style (more "autocratic" style toward male students and "democratic" toward female), antisocial behaviors by male students and pro-social behaviors by the female ones and Machiavellianism by male students. It has been found that the students of the 5 th class of primary school are especially susceptible to see autocratic leadership style on their instructors and to perceive more gamesmanship, cheating, and Machiavellianism on themselves. However, the students of the 3 rd class of secondary school tend to see more democratic leadership style on their instructors and to believe that they present more convention and respectfulness to their teammates. Perceived instructors' autocratic leadership style was negatively related to students' prosocial fair play behaviors, while it was positively related to students' antisocial fair play behaviors and Machiavellian tactics. Moreover, leadership style could significantly predict the variables of students' fair play behaviors and Machiavellianism. Three particular profiles have been proposed: the "bad and controlled student", the "respectful and weak student" and the "typical autocratic instructor". Thus, both academic and practical added value is expected to have been produced by the particular research.

The Role of School Activities in Highlighting the Characteristics of Talent Among Primary School Students

“…Students believe that they learn best in an active classroom (Chang, 2013). Furthermore, the school environment also helps students build social skills, promote character development, and establish interpersonal relationships; While academic activities help students maximize their abilities, non-academic activities instill in students an overall sense of responsibility (Starbuck and Webster, 1991;Bardas and Bekiari, 2019;Haney, and Bissonnette, 2011;Chang, 2013).…”

“…The division of school activities into academic and non-academic does not mean that the class becomes vacant upon completion of extracurricular activities (Bardas and Bekiari, 2019). The concept of cocurricular activities transcends these limits.…”

“…• Physical activities: such as walking, exercise, jump rope, cycling, skating, engaging in indoor dance parties, swimming, gardening, cutting, and outdoor group games such as basketball or soccer. Teachers can also arrange aerobic lessons for their students (Starbuck and Webster, 1991;Bardas and Bekiari, 2019). The goal is to enhance students' cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength, as well as enhance body flexibility.…”