Comparing Canadian Generalist and Specialist Elementary School Teachers’ Self-Efficacy and Barriers Related to Physical Education Instruction

in Journal of Teaching in Physical Education
Stephanie Truelove*,1, Andrew M. Johnson*,1, Shauna M. Burke*,1, and Patricia Tucker*,1
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  • 1 University of Western Ontario
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2019-0091
Keywords:
confidence; educator; physical activity
First Published Online:
27 Nov 2019
In Print:
Volume 40: Issue 1
Page Range:
10–20
Restricted access

Purpose: We aimed to explore and compare generalist and physical education (PE) specialist (males and females) elementary teachers’ self-efficacy to teach and the barriers perceived when teaching PE. Methods: Canadian elementary school teachers completed the validated online survey, Teacher Efficacy Scale in PE, with 11 additional questions examining the perceived strength of barriers related to teaching quality PE. Results: Specialist teachers’ self-efficacy (n = 296) was significantly higher (p < .05) than that of generalist teachers (n = 818). Gender was found to predict teachers’ self-efficacy, with female generalists reporting the lowest scores on the Teacher Efficacy Scale in PE. There was a statistically significant difference between the perceived strength of nine out of the 11 listed barriers, with generalist teachers reporting barriers as more inhibitory than specialists. Discussion/Conclusion: This study highlights the gap between generalists’ and specialists’ self-efficacy to teach and the perceived barriers when teaching PE. Efforts specifically targeted to supporting female generalists teaching PE are necessary.

Truelove is with Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Johnson and Burke are with the School of Health Studies, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Tucker is with the School of Occupational Therapy, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.

Tucker (ttucker2@uwo.ca) is corresponding author.

Journal of Teaching in Physical Education

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