Issues and Future Trends in Teaching Physical Education: A Preliminary Study
Lee Boon Kiat
Department of Educational Sciences,
Mathematics and
Creative Multimedia, Faculty of
Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
81310 Johor Malaysia
Noor Dayana Abd Halim
Department of Educational Sciences,
Mathematics and
Creative Multimedia, Faculty of
Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
81310 Johor Malaysia
Halijah Binti Ibrahim
Department of Education Foundation
and Social Science, Faculty of
Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
81310 Johor Malaysia
Abstract—This study discusses the issues and future trends of
teaching physical education subject. The data is elicited from an
interview conducted with four expert teachers. Four issues were
identified after conducting an analysis of the interview transcript.
The issues are time, teaching method, perception toward physical
education and future trends in teaching and learning physical
education. Physical education is important for a child’s
development from the cognitive, social and physical health
aspect. Physical education is not emphasized in school. Based on
the data obtained, a new teaching method must be devised to
prevent the lack of interest in learning physical education in the
classroom.
Keywords—Thematic Analysis; Physical Education; Time ;
Teaching Method; Perception; Future Trends
I. INTRODUCTION
Physical education is pivotal in the development of a child.
Physical education is important to children as nurture’s them
intrinsically and extrinsically in their intellectual, spiritual,
emotional and physical domain [1] and also in their academic
performance [2]. Bailey [2] supports this notion that physical
education enables to enhance students’ self-confident, self-
esteem, social skill, cognitive development and academic
achievement. Other research findings posit that physical
activity can improve children’s physical health during pre-
adolescent years [3]. Barber, Eccles, and Stone [4] claim that
students who are active in sport have greater achievement in
academic performance compared to students who are not
active in sports. This statement is supported by Shephard [5]
who states that physical activity provides positive impact to
students’ attention in classroom, personality, behaviors and
academic performance during the physical education class.
Thus, it can be deduced that there is a close relationship
between academic achievement, children’s behavior and
physical education.
II. BACKGROUND OF PROBLEM
Physical education is a subject that involves physical
activity and the knowledge of awareness to health issues [6].
There are many topics that need to be taught by the teacher in
physical education class. The topics are categorized into two
part; physical education and health education. According to
the syllabus [6], in the physical education class, the teacher
teaches the assigned topics in classroom as well as conducting
physical activities outside the classroom
In the Malaysian education scenario, teachers still use the
textbook to teach in class which is the traditional teaching
method [7]. The textbook that is provided by the Ministry of
Education Malaysia has a lot of information or knowledge but
it is portrayed in text. Therefore, teachers need to spend more
time to explain or demonstrate the relevant topics. Topics such
as muscular or cardiovascular system is requires the teachers
to teach using relevant teaching materials. In this century, the
students are influenced by the technology boom [8][9] and
variety of learning materials such as video and animation are
easily obtained on the internet [10]. Teaching method is
important in vesting the interest of the students to learn the
subject, and the determination of the teacher is equally
essential in educating the students.
The perception of teachers in teaching physical education
is important as physical education is a subject that assist a
child in the development and growth over the years [1]. Thus,
the responsibility of a teacher is huge in delivering the
relevant information to the students. The interest of the teacher
to teach physical education is vital in encouraging and
motivating the students during their learning process [11]. The
interest of teacher to teach effectively during the physical
education class can influence the students’ learning style and
also able to enhance their interest to learn the subject. Previous
studies posit that there are close relationship between interest
and fitness toward the students’ learning achievement [12].
In this paper, four issues are discussed based on the
interview. From the finding, the four issues are time factor,
teaching method, students’ reaction during physical education
class and future trends in teaching physical education.
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ISBN 978-1-4673-9436-9
III. RESULT AND FINDING
The interview was analyzed using thematic analysis.
Thematic analysis is an independent qualitative descriptive
approach and can be defined as a method used for identifying,
analyzing and reporting patterns based on a theme within the
data [13]. Thematic analysis is widely used to interpret a
qualitative data based on the theme and based on the theme
can obtain the important data that able to support the research
study. This research used thematic analysis to analyzed the
interview transcript and identify the issue encountered by the
physical education teacher.
A. Time
The first issue that is identified from the interview
transcript is time or duration of physical education class.
Based on the finding, the duration of physical education class
is only 70 minutes once a week which is two period of each
class. According to the respondents, the time allocated is
insufficient to teach the syllabus designed for the subject.
According to the respondents, the duration of a physical
education class comprises of two periods of 35 minutes each.
The subject teacher is required to teach several topics
pertaining sport skills as well as health topics. A respondent
mentioned that he spends 35 minutes to teach the relevant
theory and the remaining 35 minutes the students practices the
sports skill. The time allocated for practice is insufficient to
acquire the appropriate skill of the sport. The syllabus of the
subject must be taught 42 week inclusive of public holidays
and exam weeks. There are reports which show that duration
of physical education class should be more than 70 minutes.
According the report from Indiana Standards [14], the time for
physical education class should at least be within 75-105
minutes weekly. Besides that, a report from National
Standards for Physical Education [15] also recommends that
the duration for physical education may require a minimum of
150 minutes per week for elementary level and 225 minutes
per week for middle and secondary school level to meet the
high quality of physical education program. Due to
insufficient time, the teacher also responded that the time
allocated is divided into two sections of theory and practical
skill accordingly. One respondent responded that he teaches
the theory and skill concurrently on the field.
B. Teaching Method
Based on the interview, the second issue that is identified
is teaching method. When the respondents were asked about
their teaching method, 3 out of 4 respondents uses traditional
method that uses the textbook in the teaching of physical
education. Some of the respondents does not often use the
textbook in their class but uses other teaching aids too.
However, one respondent uses textbook and PowerPoint only.
The respond are as below.
Researcher
“How do you teach physical education in your class? Do you
use any material to help you in teaching?”
Respondent 1
“In my school, I am provided with a reference book so I can
find extra note for my students and I also refer the examples of
exercises in that reference book for my students.”
Respondent 2
“I often do not use the textbook and I use the textbook only as
a reference because I will find other reference which is
beyond the textbook to teach the students. This will attract the
students and the students can get more “surprises” when they
are learning certain topic.”
Respondent 3
“I do not often use textbook because the students enjoy the
teaching method which is more interesting. They prefer or
focus when I use some teaching aids in physical education
class.”
Respondent 4
“I use the textbook and power point slides when I teach this
subject. Some of the classes are installed with LCD so I can
use power point to teach. However, there are not all the class
have LCD. For the class that is not installed with LCD, I have
to use textbook to teach the students.”
Based on the answers from the respondent, it is clearly
stated that the respondents still uses the traditional teaching
method even though in the current 21st century the teachers
and students are exposed to technology. The teachers use the
face-to face teaching method in the classroom. Indirectly, it
will affect the interest of the students to learn physical
education.
C. Students’ Reaction During Physical Education Class
Next from the interview data, the researcher found that the
teachers are still using traditional method to teach the physical
education subject. Teachers are the best individual to observe
every reaction in class while the class is ongoing. One of the
interview question is “What are the students’ reaction when
you are teaching in physical education class?” Basically, all
the respondents gave the same answer, whereby most of their
students are bored and feel uninterested to learn the subject
when taught in the classroom. One of the respondents said
that mostly the students does not like to bring physical
education textbook to school and this action portrayed the
students’ lack of interest in the subject. However, when the
teachers teach the topic by using some teaching aids, the
2015 IEEE Conference on e-Learning, e-Management and e-Services
ISBN 978-1-4673-9436-9
students are focused and show interest in the topic being
taught. The interview question and the respond from
respondents are show as below.
Researcher
“Based on your observation, what is the students’ reaction
when you are teaching during the physical education class?”
Respondent 1
“The students are aware that this subject is not a core subject
in examination such as SPM so they do not take it seriously.
They also does not show interest or enjoyment when I use
textbook to teach this subject.”
Respondent 2
“I use textbook to teach in class and the students feel boring
in this subject and some of them purposely don’t bring the
textbook to school. When I use teaching aids in class, the
situation in class is different. The students show interest and
focus to the topic that I teach in class.”
Respondent 3
“The students feel boring when I teach this subject by using
textbook. On the other hand, they are attracted and focused
when I include some teaching aids in my lesson.”
Respondent 4
“I use textbook and power point. There is a lot different when
I use these two types of method. When I use textbook in my
lesson, it is difficult to attract the students’ attention. If I use
power point, the students are interested and it is easier to
attract the students’ attention because I can add some image
into the power point slides.”
The data shows that the students are uninterested and
teachers are unable to attract students’ attention when they use
the textbook to teach physical education. However, some
respondents suggest that by integrating the teaching aids in the
teaching process is easier to attract the students’ focus in the
class. Thus, new teaching aids are needed to assist the teachers
to teach during the physical education class.
D. Future Trends In Teaching And Learning Physical
Education
The last finding focuses on the future trends in teaching
and learning physical education. The data shows that
currently, teachers still uses the traditional method in the
teaching process and the outcome may show negative result.
However, the respondents suggests that they are willing to use
other method in their teaching process for a more interesting
and enjoyable lesson. The respondents suggest that by
integrating multimedia elements such as video in teaching
process may provide positive impact to the students’ interest
for physical education. This is aligned with Blakley and Irvine
[16] which claimed that video is the combination of text, audio
and graphics. The usage of video in class is does not only
benefits the teachers but also the students. The respondents
commented that the use of video in class allows the students to
attain better understanding of the subject matter as audio
visual provides better learning environment.. The respondents
also commented that audio visual also assist them to teach the
skills that they do not comprehend. For example, a respondent
who is not an expert in teaching rugby, will be able to and he
can show explain to the students the relevant skills of the
game with the help of a video clip. The respondents also
commented that they able to find the relevant video from
YouTube that capture professional players performing the
sport skills. The example respond is shown as below.
Researcher
“Do you think video clip can help you in your teaching
process? Why?”
Respondent 1 and 2
“It is very helpful. For example, if we use video to teach about
the topic of cardiovascular, I think the lesson will become
more interesting because the topic is show in visual method.
Besides that, it also can encourage the students to know more
about the topic. If we teach this kind of topic by using
textbook, the students may find it hard to understand. I think
this is very good and helpful if we have this kind of teaching
material.”
IV. IV DISCUSSION
From the interview conducted, there are four issues
identified based on the finding. The four issues are time factor,
teaching method, students’ reaction during physical education
class and future trends in teaching and learning physical
education.
Firstly, the teachers have insufficient time to cover all the
topics in the syllabus by using the traditional teaching method.
There are several research comparing the effectiveness of
traditional teaching method and new teaching method in time
and the finding shows that new teaching method such as
integrating technology in teaching and learning process is less
time consuming the time [17] Integrated technology in
teaching and learning process is much different than teaching
face-to-face in class in terms of students’ interest and
enjoyable to the physical education subject. Besides that, the
teacher needs to complete the syllabus with limited time. The
respondents stated that they must use the correct teaching
method or technique in order to complete the syllabus at the
end of the year [18]. Due to insufficient time, the teaching
style of teachers is teacher-centered to complete of the
2015 IEEE Conference on e-Learning, e-Management and e-Services
ISBN 978-1-4673-9436-9
required task and teach the syllabus of the subject. Limited
time affects the teaching quality the inability of the teachers
in imparting knowledge effectively.[19]. Therefore, the
teachers will always complete the daily basic content of the
textbook by following the teaching plan.
Secondly, teaching method is important to increase
students’ interest and encouraging them to be involved in the
physical education activities. The comments from the
respondents show that they are apply traditional teaching
method in the classroom. The traditional teaching methods
tend to encourage passive learning and the students are may
not have the chance to critically appraise the new knowledge
[20]. According to [20], choosing the appropriate teaching
media is important in encouraging students to interact during
teaching and learning in the classroom. The way to encourage
students to interact with teachers is by asking question. Most
of the time, the teachers themselves answers the questions
being asked. Nonetheless, teachers should wait for the answer
from the students because it may take time for the students to
change the mode from listening to thinking [20]. However,
due to the limited time allocated, there is less interaction in the
classroom.
Thirdly, the students’ reaction during lesson is the best
way to reflect the dissemination of information. Maintaining
the motivation of students during the lesson is essential in any
lesson being taught [21]. Teachers have to use the appropriate
teaching technique or motivational strategies to engage the
students who less interested in this subject. The strategies does
not only able to engage the students to involve in the ongoing
class activities, but also assists the teacher to achieve the
teaching objective. According to [21], there are two factors
which influence students’ motivation to involve in physical
education class which is internal and external aspects. The
internal aspects includes individual characteristics (e.g. age,
gender, physical attributed), dispositional variable (e.g.
attitude, task and ego orientation, intrinsic motivation) and
individual situational variable (e.g. sport practice involvement,
motives for sport participant, perception of success) [22] [23].
External factors includes environment situation variable (e.g.
teacher’s expertise, school characteristics, parents’
involvement, providing choice) and contextual variable (e.g.
Physical education curriculum, Physical education program,
physical education teacher) [22] [23] [24]. Based on the two
factors, the teachers have to find out the suitable teaching
method that can engage students’ motivation to involve or
participant in physical activities. Students who show greater
motivation in physical education also enable to enhance the
teaching and learning quality of the subject.
Fourth, technology is widely used in the education field
and this trend is growing rapidly because technology provide
greater impact to students who are not academically inclined
and improves the teaching and learning quality in the
classroom [25] [26]. Mobile learning is actively being used in
the education field and research states that that children can
learn from well-designed educational application [27]. There
are several studies which show that the current trend in
education is mobile learning [28] [29] [30] [31]. A report by
Telstra [32], show that the ownership of mobile device in
Australia has increased by 36% from 2010 until 2011 and was
predicted that the growth will be up to 60% by 2012. Based on
this number, researcher asked the respondents on the use of
mobile device in the teaching and learning process. The
respondents provides positive feedback and comment that
integration of mobile device in teaching and learning process
enables to change the classroom environment to become more
enjoyable and interesting.
Researcher
“Do you think mobile device can help you in teaching this
subject?”
Respondent 1
“I feel it is helpful because if we have the tablet we can easily
to show examples to the students but there is a problem,
whereby tablets cannot be provided to all the students and the
screen is too small.”
Respondent 2
“I think it will be more attractive because the mobile device
can be used outside the school hour also.”
Respondent 3
“I feel it is useful and interesting because it is a new teaching
method and students will enjoy the dynamic teaching material.
The textbook used in teaching and learning has only text and
statics images. When integrated with new technology, the
students will understand the topic better.”
Respondent 4
“Of course. Mobile device is portable and I can bring to the
field and show the video to the students on the spot. Compared
to laptop, the size of the laptop is bigger and the mobility is
low.”
The comments above illustrates that mobile device is
helpful and useful. However, there are some problems such as
the screen is too small and the tablet cannot be provided to all
students. There are some applications able to overcome this
problem. One of the solutions to overcome this problem is by
using the Google remote desktop. This application is an open
source and can be downloaded from the internet. The main
function of this application is to share the smartphone or
tablet’s screen into computer.
2015 IEEE Conference on e-Learning, e-Management and e-Services
ISBN 978-1-4673-9436-9
V. CONCLUSION
This paper illustrates the thematic analysis of interview
data which was conducted by the researcher with four
respondents. Several interview questions were asked to the
respondents. Based on the interview data obtained, the
researcher analyzed the transcript and identified four issues
which are time constrain, teaching method, students’
perception toward physical education and future trend in
physical education. There is limited time for teachers to teach
all the required topics during the physical education lesson and
teacher needs to use the correct teaching method to teach the
students in the allocated time. Unfortunately, the teachers still
use the traditional method and a lot of time is used in
dissemination of knowledge. Hence, the students show less
interest and does not focus during ongoing lesson in the
classroom as some topics is quite complicated to understand
such as cardiovascular system or muscular system. Besides
that, it was noted that the students purposely do not bring the
physical education textbook to school. To overcome this
problem, new teaching method has to be applied to change the
classroom environment during physical education lesson.
Currently, mobile learning is a trend and previous studies
show that mobile learning enables to change the classroom
environment. Although mobile learning shows a positive
impact in the teaching and learning process, the learning
module also has an important role. The researcher suggests
that a digital application should be developed to replace the
tangible textbook. The digital textbook that developed in the
future should include the multimedia element that can attract
and encourage students’ interest to further study in this
subject.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia and Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for their
support in making this project possible. This work was
supported by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme
(R.J130000.7831.4F604) initiated by the Ministry of Higher
Education.
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