Teaching Physical Education in Early Years: Focusing on Teachers' Practices

Purpose: To examine early childhood teachers' practices of teaching physical education. Method: Eleven early childhood educators participated in the study. Data were collected using two systematic observation instruments, a modified version of the Task Structure System and the Dynamic Model of Educational Effectiveness. Three 40-min lessons were observed for each teacher. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The findings showed that most childhood educators more often employed certain generic, rather than content-specific, practices in their physical education lessons. Application, structuring, and questioning were observed in most lessons, while skill demonstration, emphasis on critical elements, and congruent and specific feedback were not frequently observed. Additionally, the generic practices of orientation and modeling were observed in only a few lessons. Conclusions: By investigating and understanding the practices that early childhood teachers employ during physical education lessons, teacher educators can support teachers in ways that provide more meaningful experiences for children.