The Effect of Coursework on Korean Pre-service Physical Education Teachers' Self-efficacy towards Inclusive Physical Education 625 views

The purpose of this study was to explore and compare the effects of different types of Korean PETE programs (GPETE v. APETE) on the self-efficacy of pre-service physical education teachers. This study did sought to verify the effect of courses and of practica on self-efficacy toward inclusive physical education through survey research. Miltilevel modeling was employed for the purpose of this study. Data was collected using The Self-Efficacy Scale for Physical Education Teacher Education Majors toward Children with Disabilities (SE-PETE-D) and The Physical Educators’ Self-Efficacy Toward Including Students With Disabilities–Autism (PESEISD-A). The sample size was 322 (GPETE: 90, APETE: 232). Findings revealed that pre-service PE teachers in APETE programs had a higher mean self-efficacy score toward inclusive physical education compared to pre-service PE teachers studying in GPETE programs. Regarding the number of APE credits, the mean self-efficacy score of pre-service teachers who took more APE credits was significantly greater than that of pre-service teachers who took fewer APE credits. In terms of the effect of special education credits, findings from the present study revealed that the number of special education credits had a significant effect on the pre-service PE teachers’ self-efficacy toward teaching students with disabilities in their GPE classes. Study findings also revealed that the amount of participation in campus-based practicums for teaching PE to students with disabilities had a significant positive effect on the self-efficacy of the participants. In contrast, participation in volunteer activities that can be defined as a kind of field-based practicum related to physical activity or sports appeared to have no significant effect on participants’ self-efficacy toward teaching students with disabilities in GPE classes. Regarding the scores for sources of self-efficacy, results showed that pre-service teachers who had higher scores for sources of self-efficacy also had a higher self-efficacy mean.

PHD (Doctor of Philosophy)

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2015-11-19