Learning to teach physical education through student-centered approaches: An incursion into physical literacy

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to understand how preservice teachers (PSTs) learn to implement student-centered approaches (SCAs) within school-based physical education (PE), and how such pedagogical practices create conditions for the pedagogical development of physical literacy (PL) among students. Particular attention was given to the role of teacher education contexts organized as communities of practice (CoPs), and to how these collaborative environments support PSTs' professional learning and pedagogical decision-making. Grounded in an interpretative paradigm, the study adopted a participatory action research design, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods. Four PSTs, one cooperating teacher, and 54 secondary school students participated in the study and were followed over the course of one school year within a physical education teacher education program structured around collaborative pedagogical inquiry. Data were collected through lesson observations, reflective diaries, focus group interviews, and game-play observation. Data analysis involved thematic analysis and statistical procedures appropriate to the study context. The findings indicate that PSTs' professional learning developed through participation in CoPs, where more experienced facilitators supported PSTs through scaffolding processes that enabled collaborative reflection, pedagogical experimentation, and shared problem solving. Within this context, SCAs were progressively enacted in PE lessons, creating conditions for students to engage in meaningful learning experiences. These practices fostered participation, collaboration, confidence, and game understanding, which collectively contributed to the development of PL. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of context-sensitive teacher education programs, showing how CoPs and pedagogical scaffolding can support PSTs in learning to implement SCAs that promote the development of PL in school-based PE.