Jacobs, F., Knoppers, A., & Webb, L. (2013). Making sense of teaching social and moral skills in physical education. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 18(1), 1-14. doi: 10.1080/17408989.2011.621118
The purpose of this study was to learn about how physical education teachers understand curriculum goals of teaching social and emotional skills, especially without formal training in SEL and with little guidance from PE curriculum documents about defining social and moral development or how to help students make social and moral achievement. They found that PE teachers viewed their class environments as places where social and moral skills can and should be developed, and found many similarities between social and moral development and social interaction skills. They did not find that there was a consensus among PE teachers about the most important aspects of social and moral development, or about how these curriculum goals should be met. I chose to use this reading because it reflects on how physical educators approach and find meaning in teaching social and emotional skills in the context of their subject area.
Significant quote: “The commonalities in curricular practices found in this study and the individual differences together possibly reflect a globalized socialization of PE teachers into and through sport accompanied by differences rooted in how they as individuals make sense of their upbringing.”