Value orientations: a description of teachers' goals for student learning

Area of Science:

• Physical Education Pedagogy
• Educational Psychology
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Understanding teacher decision-making is crucial for effective physical education.
• Educational value orientations guide the goals and methods in teaching.
• Previous research has explored teacher beliefs, but consistency in decision-making requires further examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the consistency of physical educators' decisions regarding student learning goals.
• To investigate these decisions within the framework of five distinct educational value orientations.
• To determine if demographic factors influence decision-making consistency.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative study involving 90 physical educators from three Midwestern school districts.
• Utilized the Value Orientation Inventory (VOI) to assess teachers' educational value orientations.
• Employed Chi-square tests to analyze decision consistency across gender, teaching level, and experience.

Main Results:

• A significant majority (97%) of physical educators demonstrated consistent curricular and instructional decisions within at least one value orientation.
• No statistically significant differences in decision consistency were found based on gender, teaching level, or years of experience.
• The Value Orientation Inventory (VOI) provided a reliable measure for categorizing teachers into high and low priority groups.

Conclusions:

• Physical educators generally exhibit strong consistency in aligning their teaching practices with specific educational value orientations.
• The findings suggest a robust and unified approach to setting student learning goals in physical education, irrespective of teacher demographics.
• This consistency supports the effective implementation of curriculum and instruction aligned with established educational philosophies.