Initial physical education students’ beliefs about sport teaching

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the beliefs of undergraduates about the strategies for teaching sports at the beginning of their Bachelors degree in Physical Education at a public university in Southern Brazil. A qualitative, descriptive and interpretive research approach was adopted through multiple case studies. Eight bachelor students in Physical Education participated in the study. To collect the data, we used a combination of structured and semi-structured interview procedures, systematic observation, and memory stimulation. Content analysis was used from categories determined a priori. The results indicated that the students have beliefs that favor strategies focused on analytical learning tasks, verbal management interventions, prescriptive pedagogical feedbacks, and positive evaluations. These beliefs were developed mainly through personal practical experiences in competitive sports as well as through observation of coaches or teachers and verbal orientations received from coaches and peers. The undergraduates’ beliefs about teaching strategies represent a particular conceptual model, with structures similar to directive teaching models. Thus, we conclude that the prolonged contact of the undergraduates with various learning situations in sports contributed to the memorization of concepts, values, and teaching behaviors, which enabled and conditioned the construction of one own model of teaching sports.

Keywords

• Beliefs
• Teaching
• Sports