Developing sport-specific techniques is one of sport education's objectives (Siedentop et al., 2004). But few studies have examined the accomplishment of that objective. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of a sport education season on students' motor skill performances.
Method
An urban middle school (MS) and a junior high (JH) school from a school corporation in the Midwestern United States provided the study's setting. As part of a PEP grant, the physical education teachers in these schools participated in a two-day sport education workshop. Also, teachers were provided with reprints and texts related to sport education and as sample lesson plans for integration within a season. The teachers then developed and taught volleyball lessons to their students using the sport-education model. The MS season had 21 lessons and used 3-on-3 games, while the JH season had 15 lessons and used regulation games.
Students were videorecorded before and after the unit while playing a five-minute game of “Keep it Alive.” Two observers were trained to analyze the videorecordings using the 4 category, the 3-point rubric described in the South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Project volleyball assessment. The four categories were as follows: (1) form of the forearm and overhead passes; (2) whether a playable ball (effective play) resulted from the hit; (3) communication with group members; and (4) movement to the ball. Thirty percent of the students at each grade level were randomly selected to be analyzed (MS = 66; JH = 64). The observers obtained a minimum level of 80% interobserver agreement with an expert prior to coding.
Analysis/Results
Due to differences between the two schools' volleyball seasons, the data were analyzed separately by school and time. Repeated-measures MANOVA (on the 4 categories) and repeated-measures ANOVA (on total score) were employed. Significant interactions for total score, form, and communication were found, with JH students improving more over time than MS students. Main effects for time were found for total score, form, effective play, communication, and movement, with all subjects improving pre- to post-season on all variables.
Conclusions
This study's results suggest sport education could impact students' motor-skill competencies, particularly at the JH level. At the very least, students' motor skill levels did not decline, even though students spent time in roles and activities other than playing.