Pre-service teacher perceptions of teaching health education online

Abstract

PurposeThe forced shift to online teaching delivery during COVID-19 suppression measures in 2020 was a complex challenge for Australian teachers. Teachers were given very little time to prepare online content and very little professional development to teach online. Their experiences prompted discussion about the abilities of pre-service teachers (PST) to adapt content to online delivery if another pandemic occurred while they were teaching in the future.Design/methodology/approachPST majoring in Health and Physical Education were required to adapt a 4-weeks high school health education unit for online delivery. This study analysed data from PST personal reflections and focus groups to gain a better understanding of their perceptions about teaching health education online and their confidence to adapt tasks and activities from face-to-face delivery or develop unique online tasks.FindingsPST reported varied confidence and competence to plan for and engage in online health education teaching. PST were concerned about student learning and engagement online, and unsure how to best differentiate activities to ensure all student could meet the intended outcomes.Originality/valueLittle is known about the confidence and competence of PST to deliver fully online school health education. It is important to know more about this phenomenon to inform teacher education and teacher professional development to ensure teachers are better prepared for online delivery in the future.

The curriculum took a back seat to huff and puff: Teaching high school health and physical education during Covid-19

“…While participants stated that many students’ online engagement levels were comparable to their face-to-face engagement levels, consistent with previous research (e.g. Cruickshank and Mainsbridge, 2021 ; Tai et al, 2019 ) they perceived a strong link between student engagement and student learning. Teachers stated that the variation in engagement, combined with the variation in access to teachers (for students online/offline vs. face-to-face) resulted in a substantial disparity between the progress and development of different students.…”

“…According to Namli and Yucekaya (2021) , the accumulation of a multitude of factors over a short period of time had an immediate but lasting impression on HPE teachers, in many cases contributing to a lack of desire and demotivation towards their profession, and low job satisfaction. It is probable that concerns about the health and wellbeing of their students, establishing and maintaining a connection with students, and social impacts on students were at the forefront of many HPE teachers’ thoughts ( Cruickshank and Mainsbridge, 2021 ; Gillespie, 2005 ). Teaching and learning online are very different from that of a face-to-face environment, particularly with respect to communication, interaction, and professional relationships ( Stone and Springer, 2019 ).…”