Effect of a Physical Education Teacher's Age on Middle School Students' Perceptions of Effectiveness and Learning

This study examined the effect of a physical education teachers apparent age on middle school students learning and perceptions of the teacher. Two hundred seventy-three middle school students were randomly assigned to view one of two virtually identical films of swimming lessons taught by the same...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Physical educator 2020-01, Vol.77 (1), p.110-129
Main Authors: Pennington, Colin G, Curtner-Smith, Matthew, Wind, Stafanie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Elementary school students
High School Students
Learning
Middle school students
Middle schools
Pedagogy
Perceptions
Physical Education
Physical education teachers
Physical fitness
Researchers
Secondary school students
Secondary schools
Sociology
Student attitudes
Studies
Wheelchairs
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Summary:This study examined the effect of a physical education teachers apparent age on middle school students learning and perceptions of the teacher. Two hundred seventy-three middle school students were randomly assigned to view one of two virtually identical films of swimming lessons taught by the same teacher. During the young-appearance lesson (YAL), the teacher taught as his usual and relatively young self. During the middle-aged lesson (MAL), he was made to look older by a makeup artist. After viewing their assigned lesson, students completed an examination covering the content of the lesson and a questionnaire about their perceptions of the teacher. Inferential statistical tests revealed that students who watched the YAL learned more from the teacher and perceived the teacher more favorably. These results support a sociological explanation of how and why students respond to and learn from physical education teachers of different ages.
ISSN:0031-8981
2160-1682
DOI:10.18666/TPE-2020-V77-11-9719