Learning to Respond: Supervising Novice Physical Educators in an Action Research Project

Abstract

Abstract Action research guided the development of an after school community‐based physical education programme. Student‐teachers, supported by supervisory teachers, taught 10 lessons to elementary school children. A cultural circle [Freire, B. (1982) Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York, Seabury Press)] made up of student‐teachers and supervisory teachers met once a week. The group's thematic concern was ‘effective teaching of games in physical education’. The conversation at meetings developed from student‐teachers' reliance on supervisors to lead the teaching of lessons, to student‐teachers' able to take the responsibility for teaching and guiding how lessons would be supervised. The evaluation of the study is based on Kemmis and McTaggart's criteria for action research [Kemmis, S. & McTaggart, R. (1982) The Action Research Reader, 3rd edn (Victoria, Dean University)].