Abstract

This paper explored PE teachers’ philosophies regarding competition and its effective utilization in secondary schools. The PE teachers in question consisted of three male and three female participants, all of which derived from comprehensive secondary schools. The participants had a mean age of 31.5 years and a mean of 8.8 years teaching experience. A qualitative research methodology was adopted through the use of semistructured interviews, all of which lasted between 19 and 32 minutes. The interviews incorporated questions associated with Epstein’s (1989) TARGET teaching structures which are grounded in achievement goal theory research. Data obtained from the interviews were analysed through both inductive and deductive procedures. Findings revealed that individual teaching philosophies are not necessarily transferred into their respective teaching environments. It was also found that participants were divided with regards to whether the national curriculum has influenced their philosophies. Furthermore, the study found that overall the SSG has had a positive effect, although no attention has been paid to its ethos or the guides. The major finding however, was that participants were not consistently delivering competition in ways that are motivating for the learners. Therefore this study suggests that it is perhaps the inconsistent or ineffective delivery of competition that brings to life the problems associated with its inclusion in physical education. Future research could be directed towards understanding whether teaching philosophies or the structure of competitive lessons are responsible for pupils perceiving teaching environments as either task or ego orientated