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

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.