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This two-part study provides a two-faceted analysis of female immigrant students' experiences in secondary physical education classes, together with an analysis of the discourse they use to express their feelings about these experiences. This information is needed to facilitate the process of integrating female immigrant students into mainstream physical education classes so they have the opportunity for successful and full participation in these classes. Recent research questions whether immigrant females are receiving equitable treatment in curriculum planning and in physical education classes. My research addresses this issue and should be of interest to those professionals involved in the instruction, design, and promotion of physical education and physical activity programs in which female immigrant students are involved. The purpose of the first part of this study was to assess the attitudes of female immigrant students toward physical education class and their participation rates in physical activities outside of physical education class. Measures were taken to determine whether attitudes and participation rates differed depending on ethnic background, religion, English proficiency, number of years in Canada and achievement levels. The purpose of the second part of this study was to gain an understanding of how ESL students use language to express their attitudes, opinions and feelings about physical education and to identify the main issues E S L female immigrant students saw as being barriers to their success in mainstream physical education classes. In order to fulfill the purposes of this study, two types of measuring instruments were developed and two sets of data were collected. First, a questionnaire that obtained background information from subjects and measured their attitudes toward physical education and their participation rates in physical activity was developed and administered. Second, cooperative activities designed to generate language on attitudes toward physical education class were developed. Quantitative data were obtained from the questionnaire and qualitative data were obtained from the language activities subjects were led through. Results from the quantitative questionnaire indicated that 26% of the female immigrant sample had limited background experience in physical education class when they arrived in Canada. Students felt mildly positive about taking physical education class in Canada but less positive than when taking physical education in their native countries. Subjects spent about two hours a week on physical activity in Canada, slightly less than they spent in their native country. While 86% of the subjects participated in some physical activity in Canada, only eight to 16% participated in exercise at a level likely to have a positive impact on their cardiovascular health. When subjects lived in Canada, there was no significant difference in subjects' attitudes toward physical education depending on their ethnicity, religion, English language proficiency or number of years in Canada. There was also no significant difference in subjects' participation rates in physical activity depending on religion. Ethnicity did, however, have a significant effect on participation rates in physical activity and participation rates increased significantly as students' English language proficiency improved and as students spent more time in Canada. Also, attitudes toward physical education class were strongly related to achievement in physical education while participation rates in physical activity were not. Results from the qualitative portion of the thesis focused on how students articulated their feelings on physical education. Analyzed language data showed that ESL students had limited lexicogrammatical resources to describe their feelings, behaviours and reactions. An analysis of the value judgments made showed that students had varying abilities to support their judgments with good reasons. The issue students discussed most often was that English language problems prevented them from communicating with other students and resulted in them disliking physical education and doing poorly. Another issue of great concern for these E S L students was how difficult it was for them to pair up with native speaking partners. Students felt physical education teachers could do more to assist students with limited proficiencies in English and recommended many good teaching strategies for this purpose. As a result of this study, physical education and ESL teachers are encouraged to implement strategies which help female immigrant students integrate more successfully into physical education classes. It is essential that teachers respect the linguistic, cultural, racial and religious diversities of their students. Teachers should also include students' heritages in the curriculum as this leads to greater school achievement and to students feeling more highly valued. By using specific cooperative learning strategies, . teachers can orchestrate positive interactions between students in their classes in a structured way. By using the knowledge framework to teach language, content and thinking skills to ESL students, teachers can minimize English language demands and access students' first language knowledge. By teaching critical thinking skills, teachers can help students evaluate present situations accurately and make good choices such as establishing how to function in physical education classes more successfully. By teaching ESL students the discourse of value judgments and choice, teachers can help them effectively communicate their feelings and explain their viewpoints using institutionally adequate reasons. ESL and physical education teachers should encourage immigrant females to become involved in extracurricular sport and exercise activities and actively find or create opportunities for their inclusion. The benefits for new immigrant students include developing English language competencies, making friends, improving psychomotor skills, becoming more competent in sports, and feeling better about their abilities. This study developed a perspective on one aspect of new female immigrant students' education and led to a more sophisticated understanding of the physical education of immigrant students. There is a great need for more studies that examine the experiences of new immigrant female adolescents in sport and exercise.

This study investigated the reported benefits of adolescent students with an intellectual disability as tutors or teacher assistants in physical education. The personal experience and meaning of five young leaders with an intellectual disability was reported by means of an interview, video activity, picture activity, and field observations. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used. The analysis revealed different combinations of benefits for each participant. All participants expressed positive affects from helping. Four participants identified pride and accomplishment and connectedness. Three participants demonstrated career ambitions and self-identity. Two participants addressed responsibility towards others, being a role model, and modification of behavior. One student addressed altruism as a benefit. The young leaders' experiences were discussed in terms of their roles (Allen & Feldman, 1976), role theory (Thomas & Biddle, 1966), previous tutoring literature, and Hellison's responsibility model (2003).

Using a qualitative case study approach, the purpose of the study was to explore the nature of the practical knowledge about teaching constructed by physical education preservice teachers during their practicum experience, that is, to gain insights into the 'sense making' process in which preservice teachers engage as they learn to teach during this experience. In addition, the study examined the factors which enhance or constrain this constructive process. The data analysis was guided by two research questions: What is the nature of the practical knowledge about teaching constructed by physical education preservice teachers during their practicum experience?; and what factors influence (enhance or constrain) the development of this knowledge during the practicum experience? The study was situated within the everyday experiences of four physical education preservice teachers as they completed an extended (thirteen week) practicum in secondary school settings. The methods used to collect data were those associated with qualitative case studies. They included lesson observations, in-depth interviewing, video and stimulated recall sessions of lessons taught by the participants, and journal writing. Separate cases have been written for each of the four participants, while the final chapter discusses the substantive issues that have arisen from the study. There were a number of conclusions that emerged from the study. With regards to the nature of practical knowledge constructed by preservice teachers the findings include its thematic development, the dynamic transformation of 'knowing that' into 'knowing how', how practical knowledge was evident but rarely heard in the practice of preservice teachers, and the role of each participant's image of himself or herself as a physical educator. A number of factors were identified that enhanced or constrained this process. These factors include prior coaching experiences, the role of sponsor teachers, the impact of university faculty advisors, video and stimulated recall sessions, and the teaching of a second subject by each participant. The study concludes by outlining a number of implications for teacher education. First, it suggests that during their teacher education program preservice teachers need to be taught how to learn from experience and that sponsor teachers have a key role to play in this process. Second, that biography has a significant impact in directing what and how preservice teachers learn about teaching during a practicum and that preservice teachers must be encouraged to examine and look beyond their own experiences when learning how to teach.

It has been well established that the development of discipline in the gymnasium and the classroom is affected by factors related to proper management and instruction (Siedentop, 1991; Doyle, 1986). However, little research has been done to investigate discipline in relation to the overall teaching context by investigating the instructional and managerial systems together. / This study provided an in-depth investigation of one secondary physical education teacher's learning environment. The first two instructional units of the school year for each of two grade levels (25 and 22 lessons, respectively) were observed. The Rules, Routines and Expectations (RRE) instrument was used to investigate preventative management strategies, and teacher and student behaviours were analyzed with a modified Task Structure Observational System (TSS). Teacher interviews focused on her perceptions of discipline within the overall learning environment. / The results indicated that five rules, seven routines and three expectations were communicated to the students at the beginning of the school year. Engagement with the content dominated lesson episodes and applying tasks dominated the task types observed. Students' responses to instruction showed high percentages of congruence with the assigned tasks and high success rates. Very few instances of student misbehaviour were recorded except in one unit. Content selection, learners' skill level, management strategies and class dynamics were possible explanations for the students' misbehaviour. / Interviews indicated that the teacher felt that student discipline affected her program to some extent as she sometimes had to modify her expectations and objectives and devote time to management tasks. The interaction of the instructional and managerial systems was apparent.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether team and individual, male and female athletes, have different potentials for burnout, and to examine if these populations use different coping strategies. / One-hundred and sixteen male, and 57 female varsity and elite judo athletes completed the EABI and COPE inventories and a personal background form. T-tests confirmed individual sport athletes to be more prone to burnout than team sport athletes, high level athletes more prone to burnout than those at lower competitive levels and emotional social support as a coping strategy more prevalent among team than individual sport athletes. No differences were found between males and females in proneness to burnout or means of coping. The length of sport involvement was not found related to proneness to burnout. The importance of sport in athletes' lives gave mixed results when related to burnout. / These results, while confirming some earlier findings suggest also the need for further study.

British government introduced a new General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) as an alternative to the A-level qualification in response to a low skilled workforce. Although these qualifications are promoted as equivalent to the A-levels, vocational qualifications are considered second best, causing an academic/vocational divide. Some researchers have analyzed the internal and external nature of the qualifications. However, little empirical evidence directly compares the two. This study focused on analyzing the two equivalent qualifications represented in the national framework. / The study used common areas of the A-level Physical Education and the GNVQ Leisure and Tourism curriculum to construct an examination paper consisting of an equal number of A-level and GNVQ-style questions. Two groups of A-level and GNVQ students were randomly selected from Godalming Sixth Form College to take part in the examination, and the performance scores were analyzed. Findings suggest no significant difference in performance scores, t(28) = 0.08, p = 0.94, supporting the need for further research. These results may assist in closing the academic/vocational divide. In turn, this may lead to more opportunities in industry and in universities for those achieving the GNVQ. In order to achieve true parity of esteem between the qualifications, reform needs to focus on the internal structure of the qualifications by combining the two curricular into one course represented as one qualification rather than organising the separate qualifications in a hierarchical external framework that still promotes the academic/vocational divide within the framework.

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the teaching tasks used by disciplinary mastery (DM) and ecological integration (EI) oriented teachers. Specifically, this case study of four high school physical educators examined (a) the types of instructional tasks used, (b) the extent to which the instructional tasks were reflected in their teaching, and (c) the extent to which their articulated goals translated into action. Primary data sources involved the Value Orientation Inventory-2 (Ennis & Chen, 1993b), class observations (TSOBS; Jones, 1992), interviews with the teachers, and field notes that were analyzed using constant comparison. The most notable finding of this research was that EI teachers were just as likely as DM teachers to articulate learning goals consistent with their respective orientations and select teaching tasks that facilitated the implementation of their beliefs in their operational setting. The DM teachers shaped their programs to emphasize motor skill development and cognitive knowledge. This was confirmed by interview statements and the use of tasks that enabled them to exercise their value orientation in their teaching. The EI teachers structured their programs to address the inter-relatedness of the learner, content, and context by selecting specific tasks and teaching strategies that related to their value orientation. The persistence shown by all four teachers in terms of maintaining the strength of their beliefs as they made curricular, instructional, and evaluative decisions, is what determined the extent to which their value orientations were reflected in their teaching.

<p>Participation in recreational sports can play a vital role in enhancing a student's life. Recreational sports are esepecially beneficial for students with disabilities as it aids in the facilitation of integration into mainstream society. The University of the Western Cape offers a range of recreational sports to their students but the question posed is, are these recreational sports accessible to students who are physically, auditory and/or visually disabled? The aim of this research project was therefore to explore the extent to which the University of the Western Cape's recreational sport was accessible to male and female studnets with disabilities.</p>