Category Archives: Inquiry Resources

Developing Students’ Emotional Well-Being in Physical Education

Lu, C., & Buchanan, A. (2014). Developing students’ emotional well-being in physical education. Journal Of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 85(4), 28-33.

The purpose of this article was to provide instructional information on how to incorporate social and emotional learning in physical education settings. The authors suggest that by using a specific framework called STEP, physical educators can help students develop social and emotional skills that will be valuable both inside and outside the gymnasium. The STEP framework consists of four domains that each play a role in developing students’ social and emotional skills in physical education: students, teacher, environment, and program. I chose to use this article because it provides a specific framework that can be used to implement SEL in physical education settings.

Teaching Social and Moral Skills in Physical Education

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.”

 

Positive Youth Development in Inner-City Physical Education Programs

Holt, N. N., Sehn, Z. L., Spence, J. C., Newton, A. S., & Ball, G. D. (2012). Physical education and sport programs at an inner city school: exploring possibilities for positive youth development. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 17(1), 97-113. doi:10.1080/17408989.2010.548062

This case study examined school staff members’ and children’s perceptions of school PE, intramural sports, and sport teams with a view to establish factors that facilitated or impeded positive youth development. Findings showed that factors that facilitated or impeded PYD varied across different contexts. In PE, the importance of a specialist PE teacher and establishing clear boundaries during lessons while providing children with perceptions of choice were important. I chose to use this resource because school-based recreation/physical programs are an important place for youth development work to take place, especially for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who do not always have the opportunity to participate in programs outside of school.

Significant quote: “PYD is an ‘umbrella’ term that refers to strength-based and asset-building approaches to developmental research in which youth are viewed as ‘resources to be developed’ rather than ‘problems to be solved.’ Broadly then, PYD is about promoting youth engagement in prosocial behaviours and avoidance of health-compromising behaviours and future jeopardizing behaviours.”

SEL Through TPSR

Gordon, B. B., Jacobs, J. M., & Wright, P. M. (2016). Social and emotional learning through a teaching personal and social responsibility based after-school program for disengaged middle-school boys. Journal Of Teaching In Physical Education, 35(4), 358-369. doi:10.1123/jtpe.2016-0106

The purpose of this study was to run a long-term after school leadership and activity program for disengaged boys using the TPSR model and SEL framework to identify learnings that occurred and the impact of participation for participants. The key findings were that 1) the pedagogical approach and strategies of TPSR when implemented with a high level of fidelity align strongly with the SEL framework; 2) the structure and design of the TPSR based program was an important ingredient in the school’s overall approach to supporting SEL among students; and 3) a number of SEL outcomes were identified as a result of participation in this program. I chose to use this resource because I intend to use the TPSR model to guide my unit planning and practice because of the strong connections to SEL. I believe that this framework has been formative of my teaching philosophy and led me to this inquiry question.

Significant quote: “If we are putting resources into helping kids develop social responsibility and being personally responsible for what they do, are we building a system around them that helps them to do that?”

School-Based Interventions

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R.P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. B., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: a meta-analysis of school-based interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to study many different SEL programs to better understand whether the programs are successful and in what ways they benefit students. Because this study is a meta-analysis of SEL programs delivered in many different contexts, the findings are potentially more valuable and reliable than those from a single program or example. The researchers found that compared to controls, participants in SEL interventions demonstrated significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance that reflected an 11-percentile-point gain in achievement.

Significant quote: “Unfortunately, many students lack social-emotional competencies and become less connected to school as they progress from elementary to middle to high school, and this lack of connection negatively affects their academic performance, behaviour, and health.”