Values-Based Physical Education and Teacher Education in South Africa

Abstract

This qualitative research presents PE (Physical Education) teacher training workshops (TTW) which were developed and evaluated through the teachers’ feedback and reflections. Its goal was to create a PE programme enriched with the values of Olympism and Ubuntuism based on the idea that values-based education offers an investment in individual and societal improvement by implementing a values framework. Participatory action research was used to determine how data was collected, analysed, and presented on an ongoing, cyclical basis. The theoretical perspectives of the experiential learning theory and the cooperative learning theory were applied to teaching PE during the in-service physical education TTW. Ten PE teachers from five schools in the Tshwane District of South Africa participated as they best informed the research question and enhanced their understanding of the phenomenon under study. The TTW assisted in building and supporting PE pedagogical knowledge as teachers critically reflected on the diversity and inclusivity of their PE class context. An examination of the wide variety of teaching strategies, specifically used during teachable moments, that were employed throughout this study could be linked to the clarification of the values of Olympism and Ubuntuism. This research developed material for PE, which underpins the set of values of Olympism and Ubuntuism as core values that were modeled by teachers and guided their work. The TTW in a values-based PE programme builds and supports the teachers’ pedagogical knowledge to plan, deliver and access quality PE. Participatory action research and its reflective practice positively influenced the teachers' PE practice as it assisted the researchers and the participating teachers in a collective, self-reflective, inquiry.