Abstract:
Physical education, which is one of the subjects studied in our schools in Ghana, is a very
important subject that helps individuals acquire fitness, knowledge and attitude that
contribute to their optimal development and personality. Recently, focus has been on how
the subject is taught in the various schools by the teachers. The context of physical
education creates a unique totality for shaping the individuals as well as the nation,
because, it seeks to develop the individual mentally, socially, physically and emotionally.
This study therefore focused on influence of teachers’ content knowledge on teaching
physical education at the junior high schools in the Effutu Municipality in the central
region of Ghana. It investigated how physical education teachers’ content knowledge
influences students’ sports skill acquisition in schools. A descriptive research design was
used for this study. A random sampling technique was used to select five (5) teachers and
their respective classes for the study. A questionnaire and a self-designed observation
checklist subjected to content validity by the supervisor and other experts in the physical
education department was used to collect data for the study. The data analysis was done
using the simple percentages with the aid of Microsoft excel 2007. Bar chats were also
used to show graphical representation of the data. The findings of the study showed that,
most sixty percent (60%) of the teachers observed, exhibited low content knowledge in
teaching the sports skills at the junior high school level in the study area. This was as a
result of teachers’ inability to exhibit the critical elements when dealing with the content,
hence the low skill acquisition of the learners at the end of the lessons. It is therefore
recommended that institutions that train teachers to teach the subject at the junior high
schools must help the teachers’ improve on their content knowledge. This will help
teachers to effectively teach the subject at that level. Further study is recommended to
help deal with the issues raised from the findings.
Description:
A Thesis in the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION,
RECREATION AND SPORTS, FACULTY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION,
submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, University of Education,
Winneba in partial fulfillment of the requirements for award of the Master
of Philosophy in Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sports
(HPERS) Degree.
June, 2013