Health-related fitness in sport education and multi-activity teaching

Abstract

To date, studies examining the Sport Education (SE) model have largely focused on gains in sporting performance and/or psychosocial development. The purpose of this study was to compare the health-related fitness benefits for pupils participating in SE and traditional multi-activity (MA) units of instruction. Participants were two preservice teachers (PTs) who team/turn-taught 10-lesson SE and MA units to middle school pupils during an early field experience. All lessons were videotaped and coded with the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT). Descriptive data on pupil activity, lesson context, and teacher behavior for the SE and MA units were then compared by employing separate multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests, with analysis of variance (ANOVA) follow-ups if necessary, or, where appropriate, visual inspection. Results indicated that pupils in the MA unit spent slightly more than the recommended 50% of lesson time in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) while the pupils in the SE unit did not approach this level. PTs allocated little time for fitness activity or instruction and spent little time promoting or demonstrating fitness in either unit. Statistical tests were non-significant for health-related variables; however, trends in the data suggested that pupils were likely to participate in MVPA more often and more likely to learn directly about health and fitness in the MA unit. Possible reasons for these findings are explored.

Keywords:

• Health-related fitness
• Multi-activity model
• Sport education

Notes

Hastie and Trost (2002) made changes to the activities and structures in the SE unit taught in their study in order to limit inactivity. In our view, this kind of action can be counterproductive in that it may detract from the authenticity of sport.