Would introducing a Sport Education model improve participation rates with year 9 classes in PE? – BR
Historically, KS3 Physical Education has been taught through a skill based approach, where pupils would be taught skills in isolation before performing them in a game scenario.
Sport Education is a games based model, where pupils have the opportunity to mimic a sporting season. Using this model pupils become part of a team which is constant throughout the unit. As part of this team pupils are allocated different roles, such as coach, time keeper, scorer, umpire, statistician, fair play coordinator, media reporter etc. During lessons, the majority of time is spent in game play whilst others perform their ‘duty roles’ (umpire/scorer etc).
I will teach two of my year 9 groups through the Sport Education model and 1 year 9 group through the traditional skills based approach. A comparison on participation levels of the three groups can then be made.
My Observations
- Enjoyment – Pupils enjoyment was evident in the groups that used the Sport Education model. Pupils enjoyed playing games and learning through game play. The group following the skills based approach were constantly asking to play and had lower engagement levels than others.
- Skill level – Pupils skill level in the skills based approach developed faster than that of the Sport Education model. However, the transfer of these skills into game situations/scenarios was difficult with many pupils failing to do so. The pupils following the sport education model were able to perform skills in game scenarios, however, the accuracy of these skills were not as consistent.
- Rules and regulations – pupils following the Sport Education model progressed rapidly in their ability to read a game. Their knowledge on the rules and regulations was sufficient enough to be able to umpire/referee a game by the end of the unit. Pupils following the skills based approach were at loss when put into small sided games and needed teacher direction in order to play, thus affecting their enjoyment levels.
- Participation levels – There is evidently higher participation levels in the two classes that followed the sport education model. This is shown in the registers. Below I have summarised the amount of times a pupil has been excused or forgotten to bring kit across all three classes. It is important to note that the number of non-participants is not individual pupils; it is a collative number of non-doers on a lesson by lesson basis.
| Class | No in class | Approach | Number of non-participation occasions since Sep 1st | Average number of non-participants per lesson |
| 9X2 | 36 | Skills based | 59 occasions | 3.9 |
| 9Y1 | 29 | Sport Education | 31 occasions | 2 |
| 9Y2 | 31 | Sport Education | 11 occasions | 1.2 |
As shown in the table above, on average an extra 2 pupils are non-participants per lesson in the group that followed the skills based approach.
- Pupils surveyed – The majority of pupils across all three classes were surveyed with the findings shown below:
- Pupils across all three classes prefer game play to learning skills through drills.
- Pupils following the Sport Education model felt confident in performing almost all roles in PE, whereas the pupils following the sport education model did not.
- Pupils following the sport education model found that game play didn’t affect their participation levels.
- Pupils following the skills approach noted that they would prefer game play
Below are quotes written by pupils in the pupil surveys?
Sport education classes
“Because I can learn different rules”
“Because in a game you always have a job to do and you can be competitive with other teams”
“When we play we get the real feel of the game”
“Because I feel like I know the game better”
“Because you get to try every role”
“We are still learning but in a more fun way”
Skills approach class
‘Because drills get boring and when you play a game you learn new things’
‘It sticks in my head when we do drills’
‘Drills are boring and doing the same thing all the time’
‘Because it can be fun and exciting but not enough games’
My Conclusions
It is evident that the majority of pupils following the Sport Education model enjoy the way they are taught. It is also evident that the pupils following the skills based approach would like more game play in order to make the lesson ‘more fun’. There is a difference in participation levels of both approaches, with the sport education approach having much larger participation levels than the skills based approach. However, it is also noted that a number of non-participant occasions came from swimming lessons. I will continue with the sport education approach with the two classes who are currently undertaking the module. I will also begin a sport education unit with the group who have been following the skills based approach. I can then note if there is a difference in their participation levels and whether the change would be due to the approach of the lesson or other external factors.