Revista de Investigaciones Universidad del Quindío,

34(S2), 305-314; 2022.

ISSN: 1794-631X e-ISSN: 2500-5782


Esta obra está bajo una licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0 Internacional.


EXAMINATION OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT TEACHERS' EXPECTATIONS AND MOTIVATIONS FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSION


EXAMEN DE EXPECTATIVAS Y MOTIVACIONES DEL PROFESORADO DE EDUCACIÓN FÍSICA Y DEPORTE DESDE LA PROFESIÓN DOCENTE



Üyesi Ahmet Yıkılmaz1*; Fikret Alıncak2.


1. Iğdır Unıversıty Physıcal Educatıon And Sports School, Turkey. ahmetyikilmaz84@gmail.com

2. Gaziantep University, Turkey. alincakfikret27@gmail.com


* Corresponding author: Üyesi Ahmet Yıkılmaz, email: ahmetyikilmaz84@gmail.com



ABSTRACT


Teachers are undoubtedly one of the indispensable elements of education and training. Considering today's conditions, teachers make a significant contribution to education. The effectiveness and efficiency of the education-teaching process are possible by providing quality education. Obtaining the necessary efficiency from the education-teaching process is only directly related to the satisfaction of the teachers in their profession and their motivation to teach. This study intends to analyze the expectations and motivation of physical education and sports teachers in the teaching profession. In the research study group, an interview has been utilized with thirty PE and sports instructors performing in schools affiliated with the Iğdır Provincial Directorate of National Education voluntarily. In this current study, with the use of the interview approach, the data acquired have been scrutinized with the aid of the content analysis measure. The results demonstrate that the teaching occupation is respected and sacred, a occupation that must be regarded and guides the society. In addition, the research group expects it is necessary to popularize the culture of physical education and sports in society, raise individuals who love sports, and eliminate the prejudice against physical education and sports lessons.


Keywords: Physical Education; Sports; Teaching Profession; Expectation; Motivation.

RESUMEN


El profesorado es sin duda uno de los elementos indispensables de la educación y la formación. Teniendo en cuenta las condiciones actuales, los maestros hacen una contribución significativa a la educación. La eficacia y eficiencia del proceso educativo-enseñanza son posibles brindando una educación de calidad. Obtener la eficiencia necesaria del proceso de enseñanza-enseñanza sólo está directamente relacionado con la satisfacción de los docentes en su profesión y su motivación para enseñar. Este estudio pretende analizar las expectativas y la motivación de los profesores de educación física y deportes en la profesión docente. En el grupo de estudio de investigación, se utilizó una entrevista con treinta instructores de educación física y deportes que actúan en escuelas afiliadas a la Dirección Provincial de Educación Nacional de Iğdır voluntariamente. En este estudio actual, con el uso del enfoque de entrevista, los datos adquiridos han sido analizados con la ayuda de la medida de análisis de contenido. Los resultados demuestran que el oficio docente es respetado y sagrado, oficio que debe ser considerado y orientador de la sociedad. Además, el grupo de investigación espera que sea necesario popularizar la cultura de la educación física y el deporte en la sociedad, formar personas amantes del deporte y eliminar los prejuicios contra la educación física y la enseñanza del deporte.


Palabras clave: Educación Física; Deporte; Profesión Docente; Expectativa; Motivación.


INTRODUCTION


There are many factors affecting the education process, such as teachers, students, administrators, curriculum, educational technology, education experts, physical and financial resources (O’Brien et al., 2020). However, when teachers are compared with other factors, it can be said that they are more effective in the education system. Because the teacher, in reaching the goals of the education system; The curriculum in the educational environment has a determining and guiding feature beyond other factors such as physical conditions and educational materials (Popovych & Blynova, 2019).


Teachers are the most effective and important element in the development and shaping of a country's education system and in shaping the future. Correcting the educational and socioeconomic status of teachers is one of the necessary prerequisites for correcting and improving an education system. Because this situation is very important in terms of starting the teaching profession with high motivation levels of teachers (White et al., 2021).


In the 20th century, it has been expressed that the teaching profession is a profession that requires a high level of knowledge and ability, and therefore it should be evaluated in a similar status to other professional fields such as law and medicine. This situation reveals that there is still a dilemma about whether the teaching profession is a professional profession (Slemp et al., 2020).


Teaching is a profession that requires patience, dedication and persistence in study. Enjoying the teaching profession is a prerequisite for being successful in this profession. In order for teachers to fulfill their duties, they must be ready to provide education and training services, and for this they need a high level of morale. People become more productive if they enjoy what they do and are motivated (Sum et al., 2018). In many countries, the teaching profession and the way and quality of training of teachers who practice this profession are questioned, and it is aimed to develop teacher candidates' beliefs about education with the teacher training program.


Teachers are the first ones responsible in education for the students to learn and maintain the desired behaviors in every aspect. We cannot say that teachers only deal with education. They are constantly in the process of developing and changing their environment.


As one of the main factors of the education system, the teacher has a dynamic structure that directly and effectively determines the quality of education. In order to provide quality education even in an education system where the environment and resources in which the education is provided are quite sufficient, it is necessary to have qualified teachers who have the knowledge and skills to evaluate these opportunities. Otherwise, it is not possible to talk about a quality education (Slemp et al., 2020).


The education system has been handled on three important parts. These items are; curriculum, teachers and students. In order to achieve success in education and achieve goals, these elements must be coordinated with each other. When one of the elements is unhealthy, bad mana is also affected in the system. Every education system has three main elements: the teacher, the student and the curriculum. It is the teacher element that will make the greatest contribution to the successful professional and personal development of these three elements, which are constantly interacting with each other, by establishing a one-to-one and educational bond with the student. The success of education systems depends on the qualifications and the necessary equipment of the teachers who will implement it (R Richards et al., 2019).


Social and economic issues such as the increase in juvenile delinquents around the world, moral corruption and economic competition have been handled within the objectives of education and this situation has spread the idea that the quality of education should be increased. As a result, the idea that teacher quality should be increased in order to increase the quality of education came to the fore (Ingersoll, 2012).


From the point of view of teaching profession, it is important with which variables a teacher provides the learning and teaching process. There are many variables that affect the learning and teaching process. For example, some studies (R Richards et al., 2019; White et al., 2021) state that teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards the profession are closely related to their classroom behaviors and classroom practices.


In many countries, the teaching profession is less respected than white-collar professions such as engineering, judgeship and medicine, where female employees are concentrated, but more respectable than blue-collar or pink-collar professions such as chauffeur and secretarial (Ingersoll and Merrill, 2011).


The main purpose in the struggle of the countries to exist; It has goals such as developing, modernizing and protecting and glorifying the existence of its citizens in competition with other countries. But people can live a happy and peaceful life by standing against ignorance. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of the developments in the world and not to fall behind the society. There must be active continuity in change and development. It should be known that information can be developed by using it effectively by giving the necessary importance (Haerens et al., 2019).


It is the main reason why successful students in Finland choose the teaching profession. When successful students in Finland choose the teaching profession, they do not consider the teachers' salary, but their working conditions and professional autonomy, in other words, their professional status. Therefore, the professional status of teachers should ensure that they are fully committed to their profession. Studies have found that professional status contributes positively to teachers and increases their tendency to continue the teaching profession (Hanushek and Rivkin, 2007).


Teachers who want to fulfill the requirements of the teaching profession effectively should have positive attitudes towards their profession (Moreno-Murcia et al., 2018). The first step in training qualified teachers is to select candidates who love and want the teaching profession. In this direction, it should be considered important to examine the attitudes of prospective teachers towards the teaching profession and to take the necessary steps to develop these attitudes in line with the findings (Escriva-Boulley et al., 2018).


Although teachers state that they contribute enough to their students' learning, research reveals that teachers' motivation levels play a more important role in students' learning than their professional competence (Glynn et al., 2005; Atkinson, 2000). The present research mainly aims to analyze the motivation and expectations of PE and sports teachers from the teaching occupation. In the course of this study, the below questions will be tried to answered:


1. What are the general thoughts of physical education (PE) and sports teachers about the profession?

2. What are the expectations of PE and sports teachers from the teaching profession?

3. What are the reasons why PE and sports teachers prefer the teaching profession?

4. What are PE and sports teachers' concerns about the teaching profession?

5. What are the problems experienced by PE and sports teachers?


METHOD


Qualitative study is regarded as research in which qualitative data collection techniques, including interview, observation, and document investigation are utilized. A qualitative procedure is utilized to demonstrate events and perceptions in a natural ambiance in a holistic and realistic manner (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2013). The design of the study is Phenomenology, a qualitative research design. The phenomenology design mainly concentrates upon concept that we are well-aware of, however don’t hold a deep and elaborated knowledge of that. In this current study, the interview approach has been applied as it is efficient in acquiring more elaborated and acerate data regarding the opinions, descriptions and approaches of P.E. and sports instructors as regards to their motivation and expectations from the teaching job (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2013).


1 Research Group


In the research, the expectations and motivation of PE and sports teachers from the teaching profession were examined. For this purpose, the study group of the research consists of PE and sports teachers working in Iğdır provincial directorate of national education. Maximum variation sampling, is a precise and effective sampling approach, has been utilized in selecting the group of study. Information regarding that group are presented in Table 1.


Table 1. Personal features of the research group (n= 30)

Variable

Groups

n

%

Sex

Male

18

60

Female

12

40

Term of Office

1 – 5 Years

12

40

6 – 10 Years

9

30

11 – 15 Years

5

17

16 – 20 Years

4

13

Educational Status

Licence

24

80

Postgraduate

6

20


Examining Table 1, 60% of the participants are male PE and sports instructors. While, 40% are female. hence, most participants are male PE teachers. It can be observed that 40% of the contributors are PE and sport instructors and teachers performed for 1 to 5 years, 30% for 6 to10 years, 17% for 11 to15 years, and 13% for 16 to 20 years. When we look at the educational status of the participants; 80% have undergraduate education and 20% have postgraduate education.


2. Utilization and preparation of the open-ended questionnaire


Over the course of this study, a semi-structured interview form containing five elements has been utilized to gather qualitative information. With the aid of the interview method, commonly utilized in qualitative studies, the authors make an attempt to grasp unseen circumstances, including mental perceptions, intentions, thoughts, attitudes, experiences, reactions and comments (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2013). To prepare the form to, a thorough literature review has been carried out and the interview form has been provided. although organizing the semi-structured interview form, a field survey has been initially performed by the authors and a semi-structured interview form question pool has been developed, containing questions asked to the security forces in regards to the subject. After that, the questions generated by 3 experts have been analyzed and the semi-structured interview form reached its final version. The participants involved in the survey were not make involve in the study, and the confidentiality principle was accurately implemented over the course of the collection and application of the survey. All interviews have been taped with recorders. Subsequently, those records have been transcribed.


3. Analysis of Data


The information acquired from the interview form utilized in the study have been recorded with voice recorders. After that, qualitative information have been examined by content analysis approach (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2013).


The stages include these items:

gathering research information

Data coding

Themes creation

Ordering data based on themes and codes

Findings analysis


RESULTS


In the present section, the results acquired following the interviews carried out to define the views of PE and sports instructors in the investigation of the motivation and expectations of PE and sport teachers from the teaching profession are presented.


Table 2. The research group’s perspectives regarding the teaching profession

Themes

n

%

It’s a sacred occupation

27

17

It is a regarded occupation

25

15.8

It is a occupation to be valued

24

15.1

It is a occupation that forms society

22

13.8

It is a occupation that brings happiness and pleasure

22

13.8

It is a peaceful occupation

20

12.6

It is a tiring occupation

19

11.9

Total

159

100


Regarding the table above (Table 2), the distribution of the research group’s perspectives regarding the teaching occupation is presented. while the common perspectives of the members in regards with the teaching occupation have been analyzed, seven scenarios appeared. It has been seen that the participants stated more than one scenario.


Table 3. Distribution of the opinions of the research group regarding their expectations from the teaching profession

Themes

N

%

Enthusiasm for PE and sports

27

22.1

To disseminate the PE and sports culture in the society

25

20.5

Raising individuals who love sports

25

20.5

Eliminating prejudice against PE and sports lessons

23

18.8

Being a guide to society

22

18.1

Total

122

100


Table 3 reveals the distribution of the group’s perspectives concerning their anticipations from the teaching occupation is presented. Five scenarios appeared regarding their perspectives on their anticipations from the occupation. It cab be seen that the members stated more than one scenario. Considering the table ; 27 teachers (22.1%) popularize PE and sports, 25 teachers (20.5%) promote PE and sports culture in the society, 25 teachers (20.5%) train individuals who love sports, 23 teachers (20.5%) are against PE and sports lessons. 22 teachers (18.1%) stated that they should be a guide towards the society.


Table 4. The research group's perspectives on the reasons for choosing the teaching profession

Themes

N

%

Because I love physical education and sports

30

31.6

because i am an athlete

24

25.2

Because I love the teaching profession

23

24.2

Because it’s my dream

18

19

Total

95

100


Table 4 presents the views of the research group on the reasons for choosing the teaching profession. $ scenarios appeared from the perspectives them. It can be seen that the they stated above one scenario. All 30 teachers (31.6%) of the research group stated that I like PE and sports, 24 teachers (25.2%) because I am an athlete, 23 teachers (24.2%) because I love the teaching profession, and 18 teachers (19%) because it is my dream.


Table 5. The perspectives of the research group on their worries regarding the teaching occupation

Themes

N

%

Insufficient facilities

28

31.2

Lack of appreciation of PE and sports lessons

25

27.8

Negative prejudices against the course

20

22.2

Problems with school administration and parents

11

12.2

I don’t have any worries

6

6.6

Total

90

100


Table 5 demonstrates the opinions of the research group on their worries concerning the teaching occupation. 5 scenarios appeared. It can be seen that they stated above one scenario. Accordingly, the majority of teachers stated that 28 (31.2%) opportunities were insufficient, 25 (27.8%) PE and sports lessons were not valued, and 20 (22.2%) had negative prejudices against the lessons.


Table 6. Distribution of data regarding the problems experienced by the research group

Themes

N

%

Inadequate physical environmental conditions

28

18.7

Insufficient equipment

28

18.7

Problems with school administration

23

15.4

Insufficient lecture hours

22

14.7

Negative prejudice against the course

20

13.3

Insufficient curriculum

19

12.6

Problems with parents

10

6.6

Total

150

100


Table 6 shows the of the research group’s opinions in regards to the issues they faced. Seven scenarios appeared. It can be seen that the they stated above one scenario. Most teachers involved in the study expressed that they hold issues because of insufficient physical environmental conditions in 28 (18.7%), 28 (18.7%) insufficient equipment, 23 (15.4%) problems with the school administration, and 22 (14.7%) insufficient course hours. . In addition, teachers participating in the research; It is seen that the themes emerged as negative prejudices against 20 (13.3%) lessons, inadequacy of the curriculum in 19 (12.6%) and problems with parents in 10 (6.6%).


DISCUSSION


In the current section, the outcomes of the study are examined and scrutinized. Considering the perspectives of the research group on the teaching profession, most of them state that the teaching profession is a sacred profession, a respected profession and a profession that should be valued (R Richards et al., 2019).


In addition, Abakay et al., (2016) concluded in their study that students' attitudes towards the teaching profession are positive. In their study on prospective teachers, Haerens et al. (2019) achieved positive results in their preference for the teaching profession and teaching profession. In addition, Sirin et al. (2018), in their research with education faculty and technical education faculty students, revealed a significant difference between girls and boys in attitudes towards the teaching profession, and they concluded that, in general, their behaviors and attitudes towards the teaching profession are positive.


When we look at the expectations of the PE teachers participating in the research from the teaching profession; He stated that he wanted to popularize PE and sports, to popularize PE and sports culture in the society, and to raise individuals who love sports. In addition, the teachers participating in the study; They said that they wanted to eliminate the negative prejudice against PE and sports lessons and to be a teacher who guides the society.


When we look at the reasons for choosing the teaching profession of the research group, all of them stated that they preferred PE and sports because they liked it. In addition, the majority of PE and sports teachers participating in the study; They stated that they preferred the teaching profession because he was an athlete and loved the teaching profession. In addition, it is seen that the teaching profession has dreams (Kniveton, 2004; Sum et al., 2018).


Considering the concerns of the research group regarding the teaching profession; Most of them stated that the opportunities are insufficient, PE and sports lessons are not valued, and there are negative prejudices against the lesson. Some of the teachers who participated in the research; stated that they experienced anxiety because of the problems with the school administration and parents. Therefore, we can say that the PE and sports teachers participating in the study are worried about their profession due to some negative situations.


In the study conducted by O’Brien et al. (2020), it was aimed to examine the problems faced by PE and sports teachers, who work at secondary and high school levels and have an average of 8 years of professional seniority, while performing their profession. In the research, at the beginning of the professional problems that teachers working at primary and high school levels most frequently encounter; School administrators do not care about PE and sports lessons, teachers do not have enough information about personal rights, parents show indifferent behaviors towards the lesson, students do not pay attention to the lesson and do not bring appropriate clothes, the necessary facilities, tools and equipment are not sufficient for the lesson, and the duration of the lesson is insufficient. It has been concluded that there are problems due to the fact that the lesson planning-execution-evaluation stages cannot be carried out completely.


When we look at the opinions of the research group about the problems they experienced, the majority of the teachers participating in the research; They stated that the physical environment conditions are insufficient, the equipment is insufficient, there are problems with the school administration and they have problems due to insufficient class hours. In addition, teachers participating in the research; They stated that they had problems because of the negative prejudice against the course, the insufficient curriculum and the problems with the parents. When other studies on the subject are examined, this situation is also expressed in studies conducted in previous years. It has been concluded that the schools are not sufficient in terms of physical and equipment, this situation negatively affects the education and training process, thus preventing the students from exhibiting desired behaviors (Moreno-Murcia et al., 2018). Again, it is stated in the studies that teachers have problems in communicating and cooperating with the school administration.


Maksymchuk et al. (2018) stated that the most basic problems experienced by PE and sports teachers in the teaching methods they apply in the lesson; They concluded that there are inadequacies in materials, facilities and course hours. In addition, among the problems revealed in different studies, negative behaviors such as the lack of objectivity of school administrators, their arbitrary practices, and the lack of fair treatment among teachers cause teachers to have problems in adapting to the school culture, while the discussions that they exhibit negative behaviors towards their profession have been observed in studies.


In the research carried out by Jariono and Subekti, (2020), it was concluded that the PE and sports teachers working in primary schools in Sivas city center are at the beginning of the professional problems experienced by the facilities that should be used in the lessons.


Although the decisions taken in the national education councils are generally advisory, the power of sanction for the solution of problems is quite weak (Maksymchuk et al., 2018). The problems experienced by PE teachers in the literature; There are studies such as school and physical conditions, problems with school management, problems with students and parents, problems that cause stress, problems experienced due to the education they have received (Escriva-Boulley et al., 2018).


As a result, it has been concluded that the teaching occupation is a holly and regarded one, a occupation that shall be respected. Regarding the reasons for the research group to prefer PE and sports teaching; It has been seen that they prefer PE and sports because they are an athlete and because they love the teaching profession. In addition, the research group; They stated that they were worried about the lack of opportunities, the lack of appreciation of physical education and sports lessons, negative prejudices against the lesson, and the problems experienced with the school administration and parents. Teacher candidates; It was concluded that they had problems due to insufficient physical environmental conditions, insufficient equipment, problems with the school administration and insufficient class hours.


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