Background/Purpose A course in exercise physiology is a fundamental component of physical education teacher education, especially in physical fitness and exercise programming. Some have called into question the applicability of such courses citing concerns over little emphasis on developmental physiology (Karper, 1997) and class composition with multiple majors (Bulger et al., 2000). Furthermore, tests of fitness knowledge show relatively low scores in physical educators (Miller & Housner, 1998). The purpose of the current study was to examine developmental fitness-related knowledge and the extent to which students apply such concepts during their student teaching experience in physical education.
Method A 27-item survey was constructed including questions concerning pediatric fitness knowledge and application of fitness principles during student teaching. Towards the end of student teaching, students were sent an email with a link to the electronic survey. The protocol was approved by the university Institutional Review Board.
Analysis/Results Data was analyzed descriptively through a tally of frequencies and percentages. Over the course of four semesters, 40 students completed the survey for a return rate of 23%. The score for the fitness knowledge portion of the survey was 73.3%. Students performed well on fitness assessment items, but struggled with exercise programming for children. The majority of students were involved in fitness assessment and exercise programming during student teaching. However their perception of preparedness to engage in these activities was stronger for the upper grade levels compared to elementary school.
Conclusions Students could use more information on developmental aspects of exercise programming.
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