Self-evaluation of physical education teachers in the use of constructive teaching strategies

Physical Education (PE), Constructive Teaching Strategies (CTS) help pupils to cooperatively learn by solving problems and to be actively involved in the creation of new activities by linking new knowledge to what they already know. The aim of the present study was to identify the possible effect of gender and study specialization of the Physical Education teachers (PETs) on the use of CTS. The survey involved 207 PETs from different regions of Greece. The Constructivist Teaching Practices Inventory in Elementary Physical Education (CTPI-EPE) by Chen Burry-Stock and Rovegno (2000) was used. The results showed that the gender X study specialization interaction was non-significant. Statistically significant differences were found between male and female PETs in all factors of CTS, in favor of the latter, and between PETs of different study specialization in facilitating student social co-operation in favor of graduates of School of Physical Education and Sport Science (SPESS). In conclusion, the gender of PETs is a factor of differentiation in the use of CTS in PE while study specialization affects slightly facilitation of student social co-operation. Specialized training programs in use of CTS can help PETs in their professional development.