Dispositions for learning in Sport Education Questionnaire-(DFL-SE)

Abstract

Physical Education is recognized for its value in developing personal and social development. However, the instructional approach adopted by the teacher may affect the achievement of positive outcomes. In the traditional pedagogical approaches of Physical Education instruct, the teacher is the instructional leader, and the students often have a passive role. However, the educational reform of the 90’s introduced a new teaching paradigm that situates the student as the protagonist of the teaching-learning process, in which the student is the protagonist of the teaching-learning process, and the teacher assumes the role of facilitator. In Physical Education, one of the most prominent and widely researched student-centered model is Sport Education (Siedentop, Hastie, & van der Mars, 2020), designed to provide students with authentic sport experiences in Physical Education, and focused to develop competent, literate and enthusiastic sportspersons. Personal responsibility, confidence, dedication, vigor, enthusiasm, self-confidence, meaning and self-determination, among others, are characteristics that influence students’ disposition for learning within the Sport Education model. This study aimed to provide evidence of the validity and reliability of the Dispositions for Learning in Sport Education Questionnaire. Participants were 430 Portuguese students from high-school (143 girls, 287 boys, aged 14-21) Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good fit (χ² = 174.509, p = .000; χ²/df = 2.077, PCFI = .784, PGFI = .664, CFI = .980, GFI = .948, RMSEA = .050 (90% CI [.040, .061], p = .477) and supported a four-factor model. The availability of the Dispositions for Learning in Sport Education Questionnaire provides a valid, reliable, and specific instrument, measuring students’ dispositions for learning during Sport Education units within physical education. It allows physical education teachers to select and adopt teaching strategies that stimulate the emergence of these dispositions for learning in their students.