Background/Purpose Throughout the past few decades, the debate regarding the importance of physical education has intensified. Perceptions about the value of physical education are influential in determining the amount of time and resources allocated to one's program (Mitchell & Earls, 1987). While some research has been conducted examining the perceptions of students, parents (Tannehill, Romar, O'Sullivan, England, & Rosenberg, 1994), preservice teachers (Xiang, Lowry, & McBride, 2002), and administrators (Bias, 2011), little research has been conducted on classroom teachers' perceptions of physical education. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine how physical education is perceived by current classroom teachers.
Method Faculty (N = 45) from five elementary and secondary schools located in the Midwestern U.S. completed on online survey that examined their perceptions of physical education. The survey consisted of demographic, Likert-scale, and open-ended questions.
Analysis/Results Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic and Likert-scale data that were gathered from individual participants, while constant comparative techniques were used to analyze responses from the open-ended question. Results indicated that, overall, classroom teachers have positive perceptions of physical education. Ninety-eight percent of respondents felt physical education was an important component of the curriculum, while 100% felt it should be a required component of the curriculum. Similarly, 86% of participants felt physical education was just as important as other academic subjects.
Conclusions Results indicate classroom teachers have positive perceptions of physical education. This support will help physical educators as they continue to advocate for the importance of physical education in elementary and secondary schools.
See more of: Research Consortium