Physical Education Teachers as Reflective Practitioners and Action Researchers in Their Work

Abstract

Physical education classes are peculiar in their character in comparison to classes of other school subjects since they are not taught in a classroom. However, it certainly does not mean that physical education teachers should not reflect on their practical work or analyse it. This process of reflective thinking represents a particular challenge and responsibility for physical education teachers. Therefore, the goal of this research is to determine the way in which they approach this issue, i.e. whether physical education teachers are reflective practitioners and action researchers. The paper used a descriptive method and scaling technique, as well as a Likert type scale (FVAI) scales, designed for the purpose of this research, which examined the teachers' attitudes about physical education in the context of reflexive practice and action research. The survey was conducted on a sample of 405 respondents in relation to independent variables of the type of school (primary and secondary) and years of service (0-10; 11-20; over 20 years of work experience). This research has shown that teachers are partially informed about action research and its application, whereas they highly value all the aspects of reflective teaching. This research contributes to the affirmation of action research since reflection and action are linked in physical education teaching by means of a continuous, unbroken line which further encourages teachers to reflect on their own practice. Teachers who are reflective practitioners are simultaneously action researchers. This research has proven the existence of a statistically significant connection between the reflectivity components of physical education teachers and the stage of education (school) in which they teach and years of teaching experience, p<0.05.

Competences of Physical Education Teachers in Education Supported by Digital Technology

“…The history of action research in physical education is not long, but it offers great opportunities, because it implies that physical education teachers review their actions in order to improve their work. Teacher reflection deals with re-examining the values and procedures that they represent and use in physical activity and sports, with the purpose of solving problems and improving their practice (Bodsworth and Goodyear, 2017;Maksimović and Osmanović, 2018).…”

Feedback Use and Perceptions of Physical Education Pre-Service Teachers

“…Providing feedback to students during physical education (PE) is considered to be an essential teacher behavior influencing time on task, participation, and student motivation as well as skill acquisition. The provision of feedback to learners has been studied extensively in motor learning and skill acquisition as well as discussed widely in pedagogy literature (Maksimović, & Osmanović, 2018;Rink, 2020). Although feedback is perceived as important to learning in PE, studies have rarely described teachers who actually provide feedback, so we have limited practical understanding of the use of feedback in PE.…”

Possible Models of Integration of Preschool Mathematics and Physical Education

“…In order to accomplish this, they have to continually improve their own knowledge and reflect on their own practice (Momčilović & Momčilović, 2016). The moment teachers start reflecting on their own teaching practice, they become reflective practitioners (Maksimović & Osmanović, 2018).…”