The purpose of this study is to reflect teachers’ perceptions of swimming classes. This is conducted in the field by surveying and analyzing current perceptions and then, based on these results, provide directions for improving efficiency of swimmin...
The purpose of this study is to reflect teachers’ perceptions of swimming classes. This is conducted in the field by surveying and analyzing current perceptions and then, based on these results, provide directions for improving efficiency of swimming classes in various ways.
To achieve the purpose of the study, the following subjects were analyzed;
1) Elementary school teachers' perception of swimming classes based on their gender
2) Elementary school teachers' perception of swimming classes based on their age
3) Elementary school teachers' perception of swimming classes based on their location
4) Elementary school teachers' perception of swimming classes based on their educational experience
To gather this analysis, surveys were distributed to 320 teachers who were working in 8 Kwang Ju elementary schools and 10 Jeon Nam elementary schools.
The results of the surveys were dividedby gender, age, career, frequency and percentage using SPSS program and compared by T-test and One Way Anova test.
The results are as follows.
First, there are no differences inelementary school teachers' perception of swimming classes based on their gender in regard to safety, its necessity to be taught and any concerns arising fromswimming lessons. However, the male teachers have much higher ability to teach swimming classes than their female counterparts. Male teachers showed positive attitudes for swimming classes and admitted the importance and necessity of swimming in the physical education program.
The survey show a contradictory view for the majority of female teachers however. This group also take positive position on teaching swimming, but they have low confidence in the teaching aspect of a swimming class. Female teachers should therefore have more chance to get special training and further experience to improve their ability and facilitate students' learning.
Second, considering elementary school teachers' perception of swimming classes based on their age; teachers who are younger than 30 show high achievement in field of overall teaching ability. Teachers who are aged between 41 and 50 years old rate highly in safety and also believe strongly in the necessity of swimming classes. Limitations were found to be high in teachers of this age group. These limitations refer to facility, safety instruments, support from school and teachers' practical ability. To improve this age group should use local swimming pools more frequently and participate safety education and moreover should approach teaching through a variety of teaching method.
Other factors such as delegated swimming classes, swimming facility, guide teaching and satisfaction of swimming teaching rated similarly regardless of age.
Third, on the survey on elementary school teachers' perception of swimming classes based on their work places. Teachers in metropolitan cities show high performancein teaching ability and strongly favored the requirement of delegated swimming class in which they also showed greater satisfaction than smaller and medium sized locations.
The teaching of safety education is regarded highly in small and medium city, but ability to teach safety education was no greater. The swimming facilities and guide teacher factors were the same regardless of location and there was also no change in thelimitation factors between metropolitan, medium or small size locations.
Forth, regarding to elementary school teachers' perception of swimming classes based on their educational experience. Teachers who have less than five yearsteaching experience show high achievement in teaching ability. This indicates that young teacher or a teacher with less experience is more enthusiastic and therefore better than an older teacher. However, teachers with 11 to 15 tears teaching experience show a remarkably high belief in necessaries of educational process. The requirement of delegated swimming class, the necessity of safety education, swimming facility, guide teaching, satisfaction of delegated swimming class and limitation factors were the same across all groups.
In conclusion, the perception of swimming class based on gender is or can be evened out. Even if men have a higher teaching ability, women can recover through a re-educational program and training courses.
In the real education field, teachers should give greater credence to swimming classes and participate in training programs and expanded training course for self development. Also teachersshould participate more often in swimming and use safety facilities local to them. There is an urgent need to facilitate swimming class by placing guide teachers in swimming class, supporting for other classes such as camp and using other various other locations and teaching methods.