Appropriate Instructional Practice in Physical Education: A Systematic Review of Literature From 2000 to 2020

Appropriate instruction is a key component of quality physical education, which aligns student learning activities with grade-level learning outcomes. Historically, in the 1980s and late 1990s, an abundance of research was conducted to empirically link teacher effectiveness to student learning outcomes. In recent years, however, limited research has been published. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to: (a) identify research studies examining appropriate instructional practice in K-12 physical education since 2000, (b) describe the study characteristics and summarize the findings, (c) compare research to the SHAPE America's guidelines for appropriate instruction, and (d) make recommendations for future research. Methods: This study was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) standards of quality for reporting meta-analyses. A systematic search of five electronic databases was conducted. Two reviewers retrieved articles, assessed risk of bias, and performed data extraction. The findings were synthesized using a descriptive analysis. Results: A total of 37 articles met the inclusion criteria. A thematic analysis was conducted to reduce the included articles into four themes that influenced student outcomes: (1) student engagement and participation, (2) motivation, (3) student learning, and (4) physical activity and fitness. Conclusions: This review of the literature provides evidence of the benefits of effective teaching practices and suggests that future studies in instruction should focus on teacher effectiveness and its relation to student learning outcomes. Recommendations and future directions are discussed.