A study of user perception and attitude toward implementation of high school physical education courses

House, Paul (1986) A study of user perception and attitude toward implementation of high school physical education courses. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the user perception of and attitude towards the implementation of the new physical education program. -- The data collected consisted of the responses of 154 high school principals and 170 high school physical education teachers to a 45 item, Likert style, survey developed by the writer. In addition, responses were collected from 1000 students enrolled in Physical Education 1100, 1000 students enrolled in Physical Education 2100, and 1000 students enrolled in Physical Education 3100, to 17 items from the teacher/principal survey. The 45 items on the survey were clustered according to Fullan's fifteen factors affecting implementation. -- In order to assess the significant differences among the user groups a oneway ANOVA was carried out for each variable cluster. When comparing responses of three groups a Scheffe test was used to determine between which groups the significant difference existed. -- In order to assess the overall attitude of principal, teacher, and student groups a crosstabulation was carried out for the 45 unclustered survey items. The responses demonstrated that all three user groups were generally positive toward the program. Principals were the most positive, teachers were the next most positive, and students were the least positive. Although the attitudes were positive, concerns were indicated by all three user groups. -- Findings indicated that the users viewed the program as having good potential yet there was agreement that there were drawbacks that needed to be addressed. Students demonstrated concern with the increased cognitive workload while teachers and principals agreed with the need for improving the fun and enjoyment of the program as a means of increasing student motivation. Students indicated a desire for more choice and input into the new program and principals and teachers appeared to agree but not to the same degree as the students. Teachers and principals expressed a desire for more administrative support from the school board level. Connected with this concern was the desire for continuous access to qualified help in the implementation of the new program, supporting the idea that implementation is a process and not a one-time event. -- An interesting finding noted throughout the study was that the principals appeared to be distant from the practical use of the program. This point was not severely criticized by the teachers. Instead it was recognized as a fact difficult to avoid given the many responsibilities of the principals. In conjunction with this point principals were extremely confident with the teachers comprehension of the new program as well their preparation to teach it. However, teachers did not express confidence in either their comprehension or preparedness to teach the curriculum. -- Inadequate communication at all levels was expressed as a problem by all subjects in the survey. The prominent communication deficiencies were among teachers, between teachers and administrators, between schools and school boards, and finally between curriculum users and curriculum developers. It was agreed that improved feedback channels are required as means for providing necessary user information to the developers for possible program improvement and revision.

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