Preservice classroom teachers’ perspectives on a comprehensive school physical activity programme

The purpose of this dissertation was to integrate the expectancy-value model of achievement choice and self-efficacy theory among middle school students, with the goal of better understanding students’ motivational beliefs and the factors that influence these beliefs. Three quantitative studies were conducted to address this purpose. In study 1, the expectancy-value model constructs (expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values) and self-efficacy theory constructs (self-efficacy and outcome expectancy) were measured in a sample of 225 students and were used to predict students’ in-class activity levels during a 2-week follow-up. Results of path analyses yielded that the hypothesized model fit the data well. Specially, self-efficacy had the greatest effect on activity levels followed by subjective task values. Expectancy-related beliefs and outcome expectancy indirectly predicted activity levels via self-efficacy. The overall variances in self-efficacy and in-class activity levels explained by the model were 54% and 23%, respectively. Study 2 investigated how students’ motivation toward physical education changed over the course of one school year among 206 students, and how grade and gender affected motivation. The results highlight that, self-efficacy and subjective task values were significant predictors of students’ intention for future participation in physical education across cohorts. This longitudinal study revealed a consistent decline in the mean levels of the study variables. However, there were no gender differences for any of the study variables. Study 3 examined the effects of two different learning contents (soccer and fitness) on students’ motivational beliefs (self-efficacy, subjective task values, and outcome expectancy) and their in-class activity levels. The results suggest that students reported higher scores in self-efficacy and outcome expectancy toward fitness than they did toward soccer. Nevertheless, students exhibited significantly higher in-class activity levels in the soccer class than they did in the fitness stations class. The results were interpreted from the perspectives of expectancy-value model and self-efficacy theory, and the educational implications were provided for physical education teachers and practitioners.

Examining how teachers’ beliefs and behaviors predict students’ motivation and achievement outcomes in physical education is an area of increasing research interest. Guided by the expectancy-value model and self-determination theory, the major purpose of this study was to examine the predictive strength of teachers’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness support toward students’ expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values, concentration, and persistence/effort in physical education. Participants were 273 middle school students (143 girls, 130 boys) enrolled in a southeastern suburban public school. They completed previously validated questionnaires assessing their perceived teachers’ support for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values, concentration, and self-reported persistence/effort during their regular classes. The results highlight the importance of teachers’ competence support and autonomy support in fostering students’ motivational constructs and achievement outcomes in physical education. The findings demonstrate that a supportive environment and high levels of expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values are positively associated with students’ achievement outcomes in physical education.

In this study we examined students' motivation in an elementary physical education running program using achievement goal theory and an expectancy-value model of achievement choice as theoretical frameworks. Fourth graders (N = 119) completed questionnaires assessing their achievement goals, expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values, and intention for future participation in running. They also completed a 1-mile run as a performance outcome. Results indicated that achievement goals, expectancy-related beliefs, and subjective task values were related to one another and were predictive of children's intention for future participation in running and their performance on the 1-mile run. Although boys and girls did not differ significantly in mean scores on the variables, they seemed to be motivated by a different combination of achievement goals, expectancy-related beliefs, and subjective task values. Findings provided empirical evidence supporting the use of multiple theoretical perspectives in moti...

University students' ability-expectancy beliefs and subjective task values for exergames

Values are the building blocks of a society; they create societies and contain their characteristics. Accordingly, the teaching of values is very important for a society. The role of teachers in the teaching of values is large. In the 2019 curriculum for Turkish language classes, such values are also referred to as ten root values. Therefore, it is necessary for teachers and pre-service teachers to know the ten root values in the Turkish language teaching programme in terms of teaching values. In this study, the views of pre-service Turkish teachers and pre-service classroom teachers on root values were analysed. The study group consisted of a total of 60 pre-service teachers from Turkish education (30) and classroom education (30) programmes who were studying at a public university in the second semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. A semi-structured interview form consisting of five open-ended questions was administered to these pre-service teachers and the obtained data were analysed with content analysis. When the results of the research were evaluated, it was concluded that pre-service Turkish and classroom education teachers considered values to be basic elements. Pre-service teachers described the role of values in education as supportive, while pre-service Turkish teachers also described the concept as necessary and pre-service classroom teachers described it as a way of raising useful individuals. It was concluded that both groups viewed root values as the values people should have, and the values they viewed as priorities were love and justice. Both groups suggested that empathy be added to the root values. Despite some differences, Turkish and classroom education pre-service teachers generally shared the same views on values and root values.

Focusing on preservice classroom teachers (PCTs) with a physical education (PE) specialization, this exploratory case study aimed at investigating the teaching quality in the lessons offered by these teachers during their field placement, as well as examining their views about teaching PE. Toward this end, seven volunteer female PCTs studying at a national university in Cyprus were recruited; all had attended three PE specialization courses before their field placement. Data were gathered through systematic observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS and the qualitative data using case and cross-case analysis. These analyses suggested that the PCTs could effectively employ classroom and time management as well as skill demonstration; they could also provide quality student practice. In contrast, task progression, accountability of student practice, and task explicitness appeared to be more challenging for them to successfully enact. Interestingly, their lesson plans foreshadowed how effectively most of the examined practices would be employed by the PCTs. This study contributes a new understanding of PCTs’ PE teaching during field placement and their views thereof. The implications of the findings for PCTs’ education are discussed.

This research contrasts the physical activity-related self-efficacy before and after exergame play and the gender-wise expectancy related to beliefs and task values. Sedentary undergraduates (n=102; 51 males, 51 females) were recruited from a local university in Kota Bharu, Kelantan using Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). Participants completed questionnaires assessing their self-efficacy, expectancy related beliefs, subjective task values and intention to participate in exergame play in the future. After exergame play, participants had a significantly higher degree of self-efficacy than before exergame play (mean score: before 27.1 ± 4.33 vs. after 32.2 ± 4.51; p < 0.001). Their belief in their ability to exercise on a regular basis varied considerably across gender, with higher values reported in male than in female participants (mean difference= 0.84, p=0.02). Other components, such as expectancy-related beliefs, task values, and intentions, were comparable between gender. Besides, participants also considered exergaming to be more attractive and stimulating than traditional physical exercise, thereby presenting greater beliefs in capability and greater desire to engage in exergaming in the future. The result suggests that exergame play can be used as an innovative approach to increase the level of physical activity among sedentary university students.

The purpose of this study is to survey preservice classroom teachers at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to determine their attitudes toward music in the elementary curriculum. Research questions examined participants’ (a) musical abilities and experience as well as beliefs regarding (b) the roles of the classroom teacher and music specialist, (c) their comfort level with teaching music as a subject and integrating music with other disciplines, (d) the importance of music in relation to other subjects, and (e) the importance of various outcomes of the general music program. A survey was administered to 116 preservice elementary classroom teachers enrolled in either student teaching or early field experience during the 2008—2009 academic year. Data indicated that most of these respondents do not feel comfortable teaching music as a subject, believe music should be taught by a specialist, and disagree that classroom teachers should be capable of teaching music. Results also suggest that participants regard music as less important than other subjects and nonmusical outcomes of music instruction as more important than musical outcomes. The majority of respondents, however, agree that music can improve achievement in other disciplines and are supportive of music integration. These findings were helpful in designing the music portion of an art and music methods course at Calvin College and may have implications for elementary music methods classes offered at other institutions.

The study's major goal was to analyze the relation between preservice classroom teachers' metacognitive awareness of reading practices and critical thinking attitudes. The Metacognitive awareness of reading strategies inventory (MARSI-TR), Critical thinking attitude scale (CTS), and demographics information form were utilized to collect data for the study. A total of 294 pre-service classroom teachers in the first and the fourth grades from two public universities constituted the sample. The results showed that women had both higher metacognitive awareness and critical thinking attitudes than men. As for the mother and father’s education level, significant differences were found between sub-dimensions of critical thinking attitude scores of preservice classroom teachers. All of the correlations among the factors of metacognition and critical thinking attitude showed significant values, the direction of the relationships are all positive where the use of metacognition awareness factor increases with the scores on the factors of critical thinking. Additionally, critical thinking sub-dimensions explain 11% of the change in metacognitive awareness of reading strategies.

Changes in science and technology and related developments,which have led to the formation of information societies, make significant contributions to every stage of the education process. Entrepreneurship is a 21stcentury skill expected from individuals in the information society; it is essential in increasing societies’ development level. In this sense, raising individuals possessing “entrepreneurship” skills, which are included in both life skills and 21st-century skills, is one of the common goals of all countries. The innovativeness level of the individuals, who are at the center of innovation and system changes, and their ability to accept it are expressed as individual innovativeness. To give the characteristics covered by the entrepreneurship skill included in the primary school curriculum to the students in our schools, it is necessary first to equip the pre-service teachers and teachers with this skill and ensure that they gain knowledge and experience on this issue. This study examines the effect of primary school pre-service classroom teachers’ innovativeness characteristics on their entrepreneurial skills. The study was designed using the quantitative research method. 420 pre-service teachers from a university’s classroom teaching program in Central Anatolia participated in the research. Missing or empty forms were excluded from the study, and the data of 358 volunteer pre-service classroom teachers were used. The “individual innovativeness scale” adapted to Turkish by Kılıçer and Odabaşı (2010) and the “entrepreneurship” scale developed for pre-service teachers by Deveci and Çepni (2015) were used to collect the data. Simple linear regression was used to reveal the causality between variables. Resistance to change, opinion leadership, openness to experience, and risk-taking were analyzed separately as innovativeness characteristics, concluding that the prediction power of resistance to change is minimal, while other characteristics predicted entrepreneurship significantly. Overall, it was concluded that individual innovativeness characteristics could explain entrepreneurship.

This study examined the change in adolescents' expectancy-related beliefs and task values towards physical education (PE). In addition, the physical activity (PA) growth trajectories of the identified adolescent subpopulations were examined. This study comprised 812 students (age M = 12.31, range: 11–13), who answered questionnaires four times during Grades 6–9. This study found that expectancy-related beliefs declined, while task values increased across the middle school transition. Adolescents who valued PE highly and experienced an increase in their expectancy-related beliefs became physically more active across time, while adolescents with the lowest levels and the most negative change in their expectancy-related beliefs and task values experienced the steepest decline in their PA. These findings suggest that a positive change in adolescents' expectancy-related beliefs in school PE is related to a positive change in their PA.

Studies of the influence of conventional methods courses on preservice classroom teachers (PCTs) have provided mixed results. The purpose of the study described in this paper was to break new ground and examine the effects of a critically oriented 6-week methods course and a 9-week early field experience on one class of 24 PCTs. Data were collected during and immediately after the early field experience by asking PCTs to complete critical incident reflective sheets, success/nonsuccess critical incident reflective sheets, and an anonymous reflective questionnaire. Analytic induction was used to analyze them. Results indicated that PCTs were able to reflect at a technical and practical level and achieved many of the goals at which conventional methods courses are aimed. Conversely, there were few examples of critical reflection. Personal, cultural, and programmatic factors explaining this finding are discussed.

BackgroundSocial support is assumed to play a key role in motivation at university, particularly for disadvantaged students, such as first‐generation and community college transfer students. However, longitudinal research investigating reciprocal associations between social support and motivation is lacking.AimsWe examined such associations between confidence in getting support from faculty and peers and students' expectancies and subjective task values in their most difficult and most important course.SampleData stemmed from two cohorts of undergraduate students (n = 320/417 in Fall 2019/2020) at a diverse Southern Californian university.MethodsStudents reported on their confidence in getting support and their expectancies and subjective task values at the beginning, in the middle and (only for motivation) at the end of the academic term.ResultsResults indicated no differences in confidence in getting support based on university generation or transfer student status. Cross‐lagged panel models provided some evidence for reciprocal associations between students' confidence in getting support and their expectancies and subjective task values. Findings were similar across the Fall 2019 and Fall 2020 cohorts, providing support for the generalizability across in‐person vs. remote learning settings. Longitudinal associations tended to be stronger for first‐generation and transfer students.ConclusionsFuture research should, therefore, examine whether university programmes targeting social support are especially effective for disadvantaged students.

Revisiting the dimensionality of subjective task value: Towards clarification of competing perspectives

The purpose of the research is to evaluate the games prepared by pre-service classroom teachers within the scope of “Mathematics Teaching 1” and “Mathematics Teaching 2” courses, which are included in the undergraduate classroom teaching programs in Turkey, and to make predictions on the game design skills of pre-service teachers through them. The study has been conducted as a case study which is one of the qualitative research designs. The sampling group has been composed of 108 mathematical games designed by 386 undergraduate students, who were third year students at Necmettin Erbakan University, department of classroom teaching in 2015-2016 academic year, fall and spring semesters. Data collected through interviews and observations have been analysed with the helpof descriptive analysis method. Results indicate thatpre-service teachers failed at designing games that are satisfactory in terms of “Game Rules”, “Goals and objectives”, “Outcomes and feedback” and “Interaction”. This can be taken as one of the main indicators ofgeneral failure in game designs.According to the otherfindings, game designs developed by pre-service teachers were partially or completely satisfactory in terms of “Conflict (Competition, challenge, and opposition)” and “Story”