1) How do you see the Educational reality, Physical Education wise, at stake in the United Stated of America and in Europe, at the moment?
Currently in the USA, there is a major focus on Science and Math.The US was, for the past few decades, number one in the world in math, science, and engineering, but now they are ranking lower than 20th worldwide in these areas.This is causing the politicians to see the schools in America as failing, and they are instating policies to assess progress in students and teachers in primarily only these areas.This is causing other subjects (such as music, art, and physical education) to have their programs decreased or even cut out of the curriculum completely.This is a huge problem not only for job security for teachers and fighting the economic crisis, but it causes major concern for the health of the students.Obesity rates in America are increasing exponentially and the promotion of physical education, physical activity, and nutrition are still not proven to have any effect on students’ health issues.Therefore, the current status of physical education in America, in general, is a very dismal one.Teachers are losing hours, being fired, are unable to purchase equipment, and are fighting to demonstrate why we need to keep physical education in the schools.Around the country, however, the status quo is different in different regions.For example, in Boulder, Colorado physical education, physical activity, and nutrition has always been very important, and this city almost every year is voted the nation’s most healthy city, so here the decline is a lot less noticeable.In Hawaii, the story is different, and the very few physical education that existed in the first place are almost not existant by now, but all teachers are experiencing lost hours.This state’s government is using furlough days, and sometimes schools are only open 3 days a week.I think that the status of physical education in Europe is much more positive and is seeing progress in the other direction.I believe that teaching to the whole student is critical for physical educators and they need to teach to psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains.I think Europe in the past has done the first two of these very well, and now Portugal is also taking big strides in working with the affective domain.
2) What´s your conception of the teacher´s role, regarding his social incumbency and as a promotor of physical activity and holistic health?
I believe that it is the physical educator’s job to promote healthy lifestyles and teach people to be active in school, out of school, and for the rest of their lives.It is critical that these teachers have a chance to create programs to monitor nutrition and physical activity outside of school.Also, to provide chances for students to be a part of afterschool recreational and competitive sports.The sport education model is a great way to create competent, literate, and enthusiastic sportspersons, however I do not believe that you can use one model to work in all situations, and this model was created to work many years ago, and many changes must be made to make it work nowadays.The most important thing is to know your population, and different models may work for different age groups and regions of the world.Many times it is important to have an umbrella curricular model for the whole school, but to use other instructional models at different age groups.I believe that fitness education, sport education, teaching games for understanding, personal and social responsibility, outdoor, adventure, and standards-based education all have their time and place if the population is right for one of these specific models.There is no model being used at a majority of US schools, it is dependent on the populations…
3) Which are the major differences, between Portugal and the United
Stated of America, educational culture wise, that you can detect?
There are obviously many differences between Portugal and the United States in the educational context, however, I believe many of these differences stem from the culture of the schools themselves, specifically the culture the schools promote based on the price of tuition.I believe that the high (too high) tuition prices in the US have made access to higher education harder, however, in Portugal I believe the tuition makes it easy for everyone to come to school.I think that this changes the culture of the students, in the US students have to be very serious because they are paying an arm and a leg for tuition and are more responsible for their education.In Portugal (and all around Europe), the Bologna agreement makes higher education very affordable, and I think this leads to more students, but some of them may not be as serious because if they fail or stop going to class they can always come back for a cheap price.Also, I see how Erasmus students are very serious about their studies…I think this is in general, and not accurate for every situation, but then I see this process of having the same quality high end students in both cultures, and that the high achievers are very similar in both of these cultures.I also think that in America teachers are more preoccupied with performing well due to the pressures from the government, as they are truly worried with student learning, and are trying to find ways to assess this learning most appropriately.
4) Which measures, do you see as pertinent, that should be promoted, directed at the teacher´s community as a whole, in the United States of America?
I believe that what is important in a teacher’s community is a combination of many things.Effective teaching in PE and the realm of Physical Education Teacher Education is very important, hence I will provide you with what I believe is important in each of these fields…
Effective Teaching… is teaching that results in intended learning (Berliner, 1987).
More effective teaching =more intended learning than less effective teaching.
Major Components
Practice Time:
“Students who spend more time in quality practice learn more.”
This construct suggests that if we want students to learn a motor skill they have to be engaged at a high level and be successful at an appropriate task for a sufficient amount of time. (Metzler, 1985).
Implications
Process not product.Practice should be spent to improve quality of movement, not the end product.Complex skills take time to practice and master, and teachers should decrease complex skills over time.
Sport education proposes longer units, and small-sided games and modified rules.
