From Theory to Practice: Discovering the educational benefits of Sport Education in a UK primary

school

Jennifer Wall Keynote AddressAssociation of Physical Educators of Quebec,

Annual Conference, November 2006McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Acknowledgements

This presentation is the outcome of a long term, collaborative project. Team members include:

Rob Jarram and Sue Kirk (Mountfields Lodge School, Loughborough)

David Kirk and Toni O’Donovan (Leeds Met Carnegie)

Ann MacPhail (University of Limerick)Louisa Webb (Loughborough University)

Video clip

A teacher talks about the educational benefits of Sport Education for her Year 5 class

Pictures

Of Sport Education in action, highlighting modified game forms, the Gala Day, team affiliation, celebrating success

Sport Education Origins

Developed by Daryl Siedentop and colleagues at the Ohio State University, 1980s

Introduced and developed by Siedentop doctoral students in New Zealand (eg. Grant) and Australia (eg. Alexander) in 1990s

Introduced and developed by second generation Siedentop student in UK (Kinchin) and colleagues

Educational rationale for Sport Education

Sport education has as its main goal, “to educate students to be players in the fullest sense, and to help them develop as competent, literate and enthusiastic sportspeople” (Siedentop, 1994, p.4).

Values behind this rationale

Sport education aims to contribute to a “sound, sane and humane sport culture”, fostering “sport in all its forms for all people”

Sport can be a vehicle for children’s educational development

Sport should primarily be of benefit to the participants

Sport should be accessible to all, regardless of race, class, disability and gender

Key learning outcomes

A competent sports person: is someone who has developed skills and strategies to the extent that he or she can participate successfully in a game.

A literate sports person: is someone who understands and is knowledgeable about the rules, traditions, and values associated with a specific sport, and one who can also distinguish between good and bad sport practices.

An enthusiastic sports person: is someone who plays and behaves in ways that preserve, protect and enhance the sport culture.

Subject matter of Sport Education The subject matter is ….. Sport The key characteristics of sport

– Seasons– Affiliation– Roles– Formal competition– Culminating event– Record keeping– Festivity

Seasons

In sport– Are long enough to allow for a significant

experience– Encompass practice, competition and

(usually) a culminating event In Sport Education

– Typically consist of 10+ lessons

– Provide students with time to learn

Affiliation

In sport– Occurs through team membership over time, leading

to identification and a sense of belonging In Sport Education

– Students remain in the same mixed-ability team (‘persisting group’) for the course of the season

– Students learn to work through social-interactive issues with team-mates, and this experience forms a basis for personal growth

Roles

In sport, there are… In Sport Education, students are:

– Players– Timekeepers– Scorekeepers– Equipment officers– Referees– Sports Panel members– Coach & etc

Formal competition

In sport– Round-robins, league schedules, cup competitions

In Sport Education– A competition schedule is set early to allow teams

time and incentives to prepare– As the season progresses, competition-specific

practice increases– Competition is never elimination type (eg. cup)

Culminating event

In sport– Eg. play-offs, grand-finals, etc. to provide a

climax to a season In Sport Education

– Inclusive, non-elimination style finals (such as rugby 7s cup, plate, bowl, etc.)

– One day swimming gala, athletics meeting

Record keeping

In sport– Many forms, set standards, develop

traditions In Sport Education

– Simple or complex depending on age– Provide feedback– Establish traditions– Set standards for future

Festivity

In sport– Special occasions such as finals– A celebration

In Sport Education– Festivity can occur throughout a season; eg.

team colours, team names, team chants– Awards and prizes at culminating event such

as ‘best and fairest’; most improved player; best referee; most improved team

Developmentally appropriate competition The down-side of competition

– Win at all costs– Cheating– Disrespecting your opponent

Sport Education promotes appropriate competition– Play hard but fair– Honour your opponent– Accept when the contest is over, it is over

Modifying the sport

Use small-sided games– Developmentally appropriate to the learner/s

Create friendly playing conditions– Smaller balls, softer balls, shorter equipment, easier

to hit targets, safe environment Games of short duration

– Focuses intensity and assists concentration– Allows more participation by more players

Does the model work?

Over 60 published, peer-reviewed studies of Sport Education since early 1980s, 25 since 1995.

Mostly use qualitative methods (interviews, naturalistic observation, children’s drawings); a few used quantitative methods (questionnaires; tests); or mixed methods

Most studies have taken the form of ‘teaching experiments’

Reviews

Kinchin, G. (2006) Sport Education, in Kirk, D. et al (Eds) Handbook of Physical Education. London: Sage

Wallhead, T. & O’Sullivan, M. (2005) Sport Education: physical education for the new millenium? Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 19(2), 181-210.

Kirk, D. and Kinchin, G. (2003) Situated learning as a theoretical framework for Sport Education. European Physical Education Review 9(3), 221-235.

Research findings 1 – Motor Skill Development

Students’ skills and play improved more with SE than with their previous curriculum programme (Alexander, Taggart and Thorpe, 1996; Grant, 1992)

Teachers were sceptical of the development of motor skills as an outcome of SE (Alexander, 1994; Alexander, Taggart and Medland, 1993)

Skill development noted with lower skilled girls (Carlson, 1995)

Practice time increased (Pope & Grant, 1996)

Research findings 2 – Tactical Awareness Students became interested in game tactics as

the season progressed (Grant, 1992) No differences found between SE and traditional

approach (Ormond et al, 1995) Significant improvement in team game play

performance (Hastie, 1998a) Cognitive outcomes such as better student

understanding of rules and strategies were evident (Alexander et al., 1996; Clarke & Quill, 2003)

Research findings 3 – Physical Activity/Fitness

Few studies on fitness outcomes Only 50% of teachers believe SE was an

effective model for promoting physical activity (Alexander & Luckman, 2001)

Both high and low skilled students averaged greater than 50% moderate-to-vigorous

physical activity during SE lesson time (Hastie and Trost, 2002)

Research findings 4 – Personal and Social Development

Students develop qualities such as leadership, teamwork, peer support and active pursuit of socially responsible and equitable participation (Alexander et al., 1996)

Increased level of interaction and cooperation between students (Hastie & Sharpe, 1999)

Developed social responsibility and trust through the persistent group (Hastie & Buchanan, 2000)

Research findings 5 – Student attitudes Development of teacher and student

enthusiasm (Siedentop, 1994) Higher level of student engagement due to

inbuilt accountability systems (Hastie, 2000; Wallhead & Ntoumanis, 2004)

Team affiliation was attractive to students, who made investments in their persisting groups (MacPhail et al, 2004; Bennet & Hastie, 1997; Hastie & Carlson, 1998)

Research findings 6 – problematising SE Peer leadership is problematic in terms of content

knowledge development and securing equitable participation (Hastie, 2000)

SE challenged social hierarchies among students to provide opportunities to transform PE cultures (O’Donovan, 2003; Brunton, 2003)

Opportunities for and resistance to teaching about social justice (Kinchin & O’Sullivan, 2003; Ennis et al, 1998) and potential for inclusivity (Kinchin, 2001)

High compatibility between students’ conceptions of sport and experiences of SE showing possibility of transfer of learning (MacPhail et al, 2003)

Mountfields Lodge Primary SchoolLoughborough

Description of Mountfields

Average of 30 pupils per class Approximately 530 pupils on role 2 playing fields and one tarmac courtyard Number of teachers involved – 6 teachers, 5

class + 1 specialist Project began in school year 1999/2000, has

been running for 6 years due to openness of school to be involved in innovation and a supportive head teacher

Factors Shaping Mountfields’ Sport Education

Y6 – modified floorball game Y5 - modified netball game Inclusion for all – disability and

behaviour Sports unfamiliar (no football)/ new to

children Important to have all weather playing

areas, influencing sport selection Available equipment key factor

Video Clips

The year 5 (netball/ basketball) and year 6 (floorball) games in action

The Mountfields Year 5 Sport Education Season 2005-6

Season week Content 0 Pre-season unit of Teaching Games for Understanding (12 lessons) 1 Teachers observed and assessed ability of students in small games. 2 Further teacher observation and assessment of students and formation

of mixed ability teams 3 Meeting with all students to explain and discuss SE.

Students informed of teams and encouraged to discuss and agree a team name. Introduction of portfolios and team display boards.

4 - 6 Pre-season training - teacher lead. Students encouraged to practice the role of reporter, warm-up officer, scorekeeper and equipment officer while also being an active playing member of the team.

7 - 9 Continuation of pre-season training. The student coach of each team now leads the sessions and not the teacher. Play 3v3 within teams.

10 - 13 Round robin formal competition (5v5). Team tee shirts designed and printed.

14 - 15 Sessions cancelled due to bad weather. Time spent concentrating on team display board and portfolio work.

16 Festival Day. All teams played one match (5v5) to decide their finishing position. Medals awarded to all students as well as the winning team, most improved team and most improved performer.

Affliation: Mountfields’ selection process Teams selected by teachers from pre

season activities Size of teams determined by number of

pupils in year Teams consist of pupils from all classes Transfers only as a last resort Had to make 1 change (‘transfer’) in

year 5 – parental intervention

Y5 Sport Education Team Names 2005-2006

A -Blue LighteningB – Tigers TerrorC – Lightening StarsD – Golden JaguarsE – Swinging StingersF – Racing StripesG – The VolcanoesH – Diving DolphinsI – Dare DevilsJ – Mad Monkeys

Formal competition: Mountfields’ league

Round robin competition of 10 teams per age group – results recorded in league ladder

Points Vs Goals – encourage scoring over winning

Difficulty of running league around annual school events

Team coach led skills practices – differences in yr 5 to yr 6 (area for improvement)

Competition: Promoting positive competition at Mountfields

Inclusion/ mixed ability teams Impact of peer regulation – referee and sports

panel (Yr 6 only) Most valuable player – all teams vote for most

effective member from every other team (area for improvement)

Fair play – best and fairest Elements of sportsmanship – e.g. cheer at end

of game, encourage appreciation of officials

Festivity and culminating Event: Mountfields’ Gala Day

Celebration of a whole year achievement

Team affiliation through team logo and t-shirts

Get parents involved – informal reporting process

Banners Trophies - rewards

Match (1) Group 4 Devils v IncrediblesTime Keep: Maxine Scorer: Davinia Match (2) Group 3 Kool Kids v Seven SportiesTime Keep: Tian Ren Scorer: Matei Match (3) Group 2 Sneaky Snakes v No-NamersTime Keep: Leah Scorer: Liam Match (4) Group 1 Chocolate Mooses v Invincible DragonsTime Keep: Stuart Scorer: KeeleyMatch (5) GRAND FINAL Cup Climbing Koalas v Tiger SharksTime Keep: William Scorer: Davki

Roles

Year 5 roles Team representative Warm up officer Coach Reporter Timer Scorer

Year 6 roles Team manager Coach Reporter Statistician Scorer timer Referee Sports panel member

Video Clips

The children talk about their roles in Sport Education, including referee, portfoilio manager, reporter, timekeeper, sports panel member

Pictures

Of timekeeper, warmup officer and referee in action

Year 6 Sport EducationDuty Team Responsibilities

Collect portfolios and hand out to teamsCollect all kit and bibs ( Sticks, goals, balls)

Set out kit in courts before matches beginCollect whistles and stop watches

Hand out whistles and to all team referees during warm upProvide score sheets and pencils for scorers

Collect all kit at the end of the day and return to appropriate placesReturn all portfolios

Portfolios Depository for all documents

Match reports Team organisation Keep track of player

involvement Form of teacher

assessment Pupils allowed to add

extra documents – e.g. fact file, section divider, tactics board

Cross curricular activities in Mountfields

LiteracyArt and design CitizenshipICTMaths

Teacher’s experiences of educational benefits

Cross curricular - HelenLiterate sports people – MattTeam building - Vanessa Inclusivity and progression - David

Video clips

The teachers talk about the educational benefits of Sport Education, including cross-curricular learning, literate sports people, team building, inclusion and progression

Conclusion

Sport Education can deliver valuable educational benefits to all children

Educationally sound way to provide children with an introduction to sport

Requires a supportive school environment, committed and able teachers

Benchmarks and authentic Sport Education Researchers can help