Title

Author

Significant Quote from Article

Purpose

Major Findings/ Summary

Achieving
Balance: Secondary Physical Education Gender-Grouping Options

Ritchie
Gabbei (2004)

“Single-gender classes are a legitimate option to provide
female students with an equal opportunity to achieve learning goals in a
physically and emotionally safe environment”

“Current recommendations for
gender- equal physical education are based entirely on the concept that the
same physical education is equal for all students.”

Trying
to find the answer to make PE enjoyable for all.  Relates to my inquiry question.  Providing quality physical education that
is equitable to all students is very complex.

Benefits
of single-gendered PE classes.  Coed
also has benefits, but do they give all students a fair and equal chance to
participate and learn?  The article
addresses some positives that can come from separated PE classes.

Should
Secondary Physical Education Be Coeducational or Single-Sex?

James
Hannon & Skip Williams (2008)

“Should physical education classes
return to teaching males and females separately?” All of the responses from
physical education specialists were in support of a return to teaching
single-sex classes”

“When examining the literature on
teacher perceptions, there appears to be a preference by teachers for
single-sex physical education”

This
article relates to my inquiry question as it has a teacher perspective and
student perspective as well as comparing activity levels between coed classes
and single-gendered classes.

The available data from the
article indicates and suggests that coeducational physical education classes
are better than or similar to single-sex classes in providing physical
activity to boys and girls but the responses from teachers are suggesting
they prefer teaching single gendered classes.

Physical
Education Teachers’ and University Teacher Educators’ Perceptions regarding
Coeducational vs. Single Gender Physical Education

Grant
Hill, James Hannon & Curt Knowles (2012)

“Options should be made
available for students to elect coed or be separated in classes where more
than one physical education teacher is available.” 

This
article ties in with my inquiry question because it gives teachers’
perspectives on the issue of coeducational vs single gender physical
education classes.  There were
arguments for both sides and both had great discussion points. 

The
article suggest that schools should continue to assign
students to coeducational physical education classes in order to prevent
discrimination, exclusion, and inequity based on sex. However, teachers
should separate students into single gender groups for bodily contact
activities such as football, basketball, and soccer in order to provide a
safer environment that
is more enjoyable for students.

Physical
Education and Female Participation: A Case Study of Teachers’ Perspectives
and Strategies

Brooke
Murphy, Rylee Dionigi & Chelsea Litchfield (2014)

Many teachers agree that the use
of single gender classes for certain activities was the most effective
strategy when trying to encourage female students to actively participate in
PE

The
issue of deciding if single gendered PE or coed classes are superior to one
another.  This topic is an issue not
only in Canada, but also in countries all over the world.

Australian
teachers were interviewed and were asked their opinion about gender issues in
physical education and potential strategies to correcting issues that arise
from coeducational classes.  Many of
the solutions revolved around having single gendered PE, but in a different
setting such as “Adventure PE”.
Teachers needed to carefully select how the class was organized,
modifying the practice of score keeping, how to challenge all students
etc.   

Secondary
Physical Education Avoidance and Gender: Problems and Antidotes

Thomas
Ryan & Yves Poirier (2012)

 “Physical educators would rather have
classes divided by gender so that the level of competition is consistent with
their ability and everyone who is taking part in the course feels welcome”

“It has also been observed that
some female students are more motivated to prioritize academic excellence
(such as their grades) and focus predominantly in courses that will grant
them a better chance at post-secondary institution acceptance than athletics,
sport and fitness”

Due to the difficulties of
creating a workable timetable; several physical education classes are often
setup in a coed manner.  

Is
coed physical education unavoidable?
School population can either be too big or too small leading to
difficulties making a time table.  Is
it an issue of administration or PE teachers not wanting to teach these type
of classes. 

Is
it possible enrollment is down because PE is not taken “seriously” as an
important course?  Seniors tend to take
more academic classes for university preparation. 

The
article had a goal of locating and evaluating the barriers that impact and
cause females to avoid secondary elective physical education courses.  The article concluded that girls needed 7
attributes to “friendly PE”.  Gender
separation opportunities exist in classes, students are physical active in PE
classes, noncompetitive activities are offered, lifelong physical activity is
emphasized, classes are fun & enjoyable,
appropriate instructional methods are used, behavior skills for PE are
taught.