Teacher training may have cut students' lack of reasons to take part in PE.

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   598 students in the PE classes of 16 teachers in South Korea. About 7 in 10 were in middle school, and about half were girls.

2. 02

   What they did

   Eight teachers got a 2-hour workshop in February and a 2-hour group discussion that afternoon. They had another group discussion in the ninth week of term. The other eight teachers got the training after the study.

3. 03

   What happened

   Compared with the waiting group, students of trained teachers became less unsure why they were in PE, on all four reasons measured. Their engagement in class grew, while the waiting group's stayed flat. The two groups already differed on some measures at the start.

What the study found

1. Helped

   Students of trained teachers became less unsure why they were in PE; students of waiting teachers did not.

   Randomised trial of 598 middle and high school students in PE · vs students whose teachers were still waiting · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole groups were assigned, not people

2. Helped

   Students of trained teachers grew more engaged in PE through the term; the other group's engagement stayed flat.

   Randomised trial of 598 middle and high school students in PE · vs students whose teachers were still waiting · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole groups were assigned, not people

Source