Health and Physical Education Commons^™

What We Know, What We Do And What We Could Do: Creating An Understanding Of The Delivery Of Health Education In Lower Secondary Government Schools In Western Australia, Donna M. Barwood, Christine Cunningham, Dawn Penney

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper focuses on the delivery of health education (HE) as a subject in lower secondary government schools in Western Australia (WA). It explores timetabling and staffing associated with HE and the issues arising from resourcing arrangements. This paper stems from of a study that investigated the prioritising of HE, which at that time, was timetabled as a separate, disciplined-based subject belonging to the Health and Physical Education (HPE) learning area. Insights from the study raise questions as to the qualifications of some teachers delivering HE and whether schools and universities in WA give HE the attention that it arguably …

Preliminary Efficacy And Feasibility Of Embedding High Intensity Interval Training Into The School Day: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, S. A. Costigan, N. Eather, R. C. Plotnikoff, Dennis Taaffe, E. Pollock, S. G. Kennedy, D. R. Lubans

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Current physical activity and fitness levels among adolescents are low, increasing the risk of chronic disease. Although the efficacy of high intensity interval training (HIIT) for improving metabolic health is now well established, it is not known if this type of activity can be effective to improve adolescent health. The primary aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of embedding HIIT into the school day. A 3-arm pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted in one secondary school in Newcastle, Australia. Participants (n = 65; mean age = 15.8(0.6) years) were randomized into one of three conditions: …

A Healthy Dose Of Race? White Students’ And Teachers’ Unintentional Brushes With Whiteness, Samantha Schulz, Jennifer Fane

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on efforts by three Australian academics to develop students’ sociocultural awareness (in particular, their racial literacy) during a time of mounting pressure on teacher educators to narrow and standardise their approaches. The field of health education provides a vehicle for research; however, it is not the paper’s central foci. Of key concern is the development of a critical disposition in students – a disposition geared toward teaching for social equity. Learning of this nature transcends topic domains, and therefore allows for collaboration between academics in different parts of teacher education. Specifically, the paper focuses upon ‘whiteness’ and …

School-Community Links : Taking Cricket In Sport Education Beyond Bell Times, Adrian Lister

Theses : Honours

The aim of this study is to provide an in-depth analysis of several schools and their attempts to forge school-community links with local clubs during a season of SEPEP Cricket. This research complements ongoing research of the SEPEP curriculum model by focusing on the type of school-community links possible during a season of SEPEP Cricket. Teachers suggested a range of school-community link strategies that sought to increase the participation of students in community sporting programs through links developed with school sport and physical education programs. Adopting quantitative and qualitative research methods, mainly survey and interview data collection procedures, the perceptions …

Hpe Teachers' Collection Of Information On Student Physical Activity Levels, S. A. Tonkin

Theses : Honours

This exploratory study sought to identify whether Health and Physical Education (HPE) Heads of Department (HODs) used a process of reflection to identify students' physical activity levels in compulsory general HPE (years 8-1 0) at secondary schools in the northern metropolitan suburbs of Perth. This study used a questionnaire, administered by research assistants, to learn what teachers believe students should be taught about physical activity. It utilised the Pollard & Tann (1993) reflective teaching process to determine if teachers collected written information on students' physical activity levels. It asked whether they analysed, evaluated, reflected, planed, made provision and acted on …

Adolescents And Sport : A Case Study Of Boys' Drop-Out From Basketball, P. N. A. Jelovsek

Theses : Honours

This thesis was designed to acquire comprehensible awareness of specific drop-out cases from basketball, specifically adolescent boys between the ages of twelve and fifteen, at Cockburn Basketball Stadium and hence abate the incidence of adolescent drop-out. My intention was to uncover what happened to these adolescents and what led them to decide to stop playing basketball. I also wished to ascertain what meaning these adolescents ascribed to the events that occurred whilst playing which led them to decide to stop playing. The Cockburn Basketball Association had 190-plus junior teams in semester 1, 1996 and only 86 junior teams in semester …

Factors Affecting The Non-Selection Of Year Eleven Physical Education Studies By Female Students In A Rural Western Australian High School, Fiona Cameron

Theses : Honours

This study of year eleven female students at a rural Western Australian high school, focused firstly on why students were choosing not to enrol in Physical Education Studies (PES) and secondly what students believed would improve student enrolment. A two-stage qualitative research approach was utilised. The first stage involved creating a school profile and conducting a survey of 71 year eleven females. The second stage involved a three-step process of interviewing three year eleven females who were selected on the basis of not enrolling in PES and their responses on the survey slips. Findings suggested that the major factors effecting …

Understanding My Work : Reflections On Implementing A Season Of Sepep, Kevin Black

Theses : Honours

Implementing new curriculum models for the first time can be difficult for teachers, especially those recently graduated. This study captured some of these challenges and difficulties, and the substantial rewards, through recording the teacher's reactions and reflections as he implemented his first season of SEPEP. The perceptions of the students involved in the season were recorded as a way of validating the teacher's reflections. SEPEP is a student centered physical education program which seeks to capture the positive aspects of community sport, and allows students the opportunity to be involved as players, in team roles such as captain, coach and …

Physical Activity : Strategies For School Communities : Based On Strategies Developed During The Be Active School & Community Project 1995-1998, K. Richards, A. Watt, K. Alexander, S. Sharp

Research outputs pre 2011

The Be Active School and Community Project (BASC) operated in approximately 30 WA primary and secondary schools each year from August 1995 until December 1998 (three years). BASC was a Healthway funded project, promoting the National Heart Foundation's Be Active Everyday message. Under the direction of a Management Committee, two project officers worked with the broad aim of increasing the physical activity rates of children at school and in the local community.

A Descriptive Analysis Of Motor Learning Contexts Within A Netball Season Of Sport Education, Kirsten Scott

Theses : Honours

Time spent successfully engaged in motor skill activity has been found to have a high correlation with skill learning and achievement (Metzler, 1989). This study describes the different activities and key behaviours in which students are engaged and which ones provide opportunities to make motor skill responses. These key behaviours are described as they occur within a year eight netball class incorporating the sport education curriculum model. Selected students were observed in the natural setting to determine how their time was spent in a sport education unit. The method incorporated systematic observation, checklist recording and the use of interviews in …

Boys' Participation In Junior Secondary School Physical Education And Sport, Lynn Embrey, M. Drummond

Research outputs pre 2011

According to social lore, boys are meant to be good at Physical Education and sport. There is, however, increasing evidence to the contrary and it is now essential to consider why boys drop out of Physical Education and sport. There has been a good deal of research and subsequent literature detailing the plight of girls' involvement in Physical Education and sport. However, a dearth of literature and research exists where boys Physical Education and sport are concerned. Out of research comes practical implementation strategies that can be adopted by teachers to create a more favourable learning environment. Extensive research on …

Increasing The Participation Of Girls In Physical Education : The Identification Of Factors Influencing Enjoyment And Nonenjoyment Of Physical Education In A Selected Primary School, Grant R. Collins

Theses : Honours

This study focuses on the issue of girls' participation in physical education. One important aspect of participation is the enjoyment level of students. By identifying why girls enjoy and do not enjoy physical education, appropriate adjustments could be made within physical education to increase the participation level of girls. Fifteen Year 7 students from one class within a metropolitan independent school took part in the study. It was descriptive-analytic in nature and used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. A short questionnaire was used to categorise students into those who enjoyed physical education, those with divided perceptions of enjoyment in …

Reasons Given By Year 9 Girls For The Non-Selection Of Outdoor Education In A Selected Government School, Janene Walton

Theses : Honours

This study focuses on the reasons why fewer girls than boys are selecting outdoor education units in Year 9 in a selected government secondary school in Perth, Western Australia. Outdoor education has attracted increasing enrolments across all years since units were introduced at lower school level in 1987. However the percentage of girls enrolling has declined over the same period. The participation rate for Years 9 to 12 has consistently been about two times greater for boys than for girls. The study utilised group interviews as a means of data collection to document the girls' reasons for not selecting Outdoor …

Student Attitudes To Their Roles And Responsibilities Within A Sport Education Curriculum Model In Physical Education, A. Sadler

Theses : Honours

Sport education is one of the six curriculum models in physical education described by Siedentop, Mand and Taggart (1986). Sport education is a student centered curriculum model whereby students take on the specific roles of management board of control, captain/coach, first aid officer, advertising/publicity officer as well as player. It is the social interaction of students within these roles that is the key to the potential success of the model. Research suggests that many students have unfavourable attitudes towards the dominant curriculum model currently being used in physical education in most Western Australian schools, while on the other hand, many …

The Effect Of A Direct Instruction Motor Development Program On The Catching Performance Of Pre-Primary Children, Matt Osborne

Theses : Honours

The number of pre-school programs and children attending pre-schools has been rapidly increasing in recent years. The emphasis placed on instruction in physical education and the benefits to be derived from such instruction at the pre-school level have not been directly addressed in the literature. This study examined the effects of a six week direct instruction motor development program on the quantitative and qualitative development of the fundamental motor skill of catching. The participants were four and five year old children who attended a government pre-school attached to a metropolitan primary school. Two children of high gross motor ability and …

Sharing Teachers' Stories Of Sport Education : A Summary Of Findings From The 1994 National Sepep Trials, Andrew Medland, Stephen Thorpe, Ken Alexander, Andrew Taggart

Research outputs pre 2011

Sport Education is an innovative curriculum model, increasingly used as a component of upper primary and secondary school physical education programs and exhibiting many parallels with community junior sport. Within normally scheduled physical education lessons, mixed ability teams are formed at the start of a 20 session (approximately) competitive "season".

In addition to the aim of helping students learn to become good players, Sport Education encourages students to fulfil other roles such as umpiring, acting as a team coach, manager or captain, serving on a sports management board or duty team and working as a publicity officer/journalist. As students assume …

Influences On Outdoor Education Teachers' Content Selection, S. D. Thorpe

Theses : Honours

This study sought to identify what teachers perceive to be the major factors influencing their selection of content in outdoor education formal curricula in two Western Australian government senior high schools. The study uses comparative and descriptive measures, including a documentary analysis comparing Ministry of Education and school formal curricula. This analysis initially identified discrepancies with content selection, prompting the investigation, through interviewing, of teachers' perceptions of their causes. From the perceptions investigated, five categories of factors were identified: Time, cost; expertise; needs; and resources. These categories were integrated to form a substantive theory for influences on content selection by …

A Descriptive Process Analysis And Comparison Of Game Modifications In Junior Netball And Basketball, Andrew Watt

Theses : Honours

The amount of time participants spend successfully engaged with skill content has been found to have a high correlation with skill learning and achievement. For children to learn motor skills it is clear that they must be provided with sufficient opportunities to exhibit skill responses, during practice and game sessions. For this to occur, activities must be designed to cater for the developmental requirements of the children, whilst maintaining high levels of active involvement for all participants. In response to these needs, basketball and netball associations have employed modifications to game structures. This study provides a descriptive analysis of junior …

Attitudes Of Girls And Boys Towards Compulsory Physical Education In A Selected Government Secondary School, Mileva Pirot

Theses : Honours

This study investigated the attitudes of 175 lower secondary school students towards compulsory physical education and how these attitudes differed by year level and sex. The students were selected from a metropolitan government secondary school. A modified version of the Wear Attitude Inventory was used as the research instrument. A two-way ANOVA was applied to analyse the data for the following sub-groups: Year 8 females, Year 8 males, Year 9 females, Year 9 males, Year 10 females, and Year 10 males. The ANOVA compared the mean scores on the Wear Attitude Inventory for each sub-group. The results indicated that although …

Fitness Levels Of Children From Seven To Twelve Years At A Government Primary School In Western Australia, Susan Mccarrey

Theses : Honours

A School Development Plan is a process by which a school can function and develop school-based curricula. Performance indicators should be established for all subject and administrative areas within the school. These indicators need to be assessed and evaluated by the use of a Management Information System (MIS) designed to suit each area of the school. To establish performance criteria and a MIS in physical education, it is important to determine the level at which the children are performing. This study was designed to assess the fitness levels of all children aged 7 to 12 years attending a selected school …