Previous investigations of Sport Education have provided support for using the model in physical education. However, minimal research has investigated the potential use of Sport Education in the lower grades of elementary schools. For instance, the review papers of Wallhead and O’Sullivan (2005), as well as Hastie, Martínez, and Calderón (2011) provide evidence that most research related to Sport Education has been conducted with students in high school and middle school classes.
The purposes of this investigation were to investigate the introduction of the Sport Education model to 2nd grade students with two specific purposes: (1) to identify components of Sport Education that can provide positive outcomes for student learning and (2) to determine which components of Sport Education might be developmentally inappropriate for 2nd grade students.
Method:
Participants were 39 2nd grade students from two classrooms who were taught by a physical education teacher with experience using the Sport Education model. Two physical education teachers with no previous experience with Sport Education assisted and provided input regarding daily observations and student interactions. Two 2nd grade classroom teachers also participated in the study due to their observation of students during time devoted to physical education. Qualitative data were collected through group interviews and reflective journal entries made by the teachers to assess the potential benefits and difficulties of introducing Sport Education to 2nd grade students. The data were analyzed using the constant comparison method appropriate for qualitative research to identify key themes.
Analysis/Results:
Three main themes were generated from the responses of the students and teachers: (a) the display of increased enthusiasm, specifically within tasks requiring student leadership and autonomy, (b) the desire for responsibility and significant ownership of roles, and (c) the behavioral outcomes from providing increased levels of freedom to students. Although there was a high energy level, students sometimes struggled with fairness in establishing order at tasks, use of equipment, and staying engaged with the task at hand.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that introducing Sport Education to 2nd grade students can be both beneficial and problematic. Further examination of the implementation of Sport Education in primary grades can provide a more thorough understanding of how to properly introduce Sport Education to children in the lower grades of elementary schools.