The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness of elementary school teachers about the management of swimming instruction, curriculum management and the relevant given conditions and their opinions on possible reform measures in an effort to s...
The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness of elementary school teachers about the management of swimming instruction, curriculum management and the relevant given conditions and their opinions on possible reform measures in an effort to seek ways of stepping up the qualitative improvement and normalization of swimming class, to boost the efficiency of it and ultimately to suggest some of the right directions for that. Three research questions were posed:
1. What is the outlook of teachers on elementary swimming instruction?
2. How is the elementary school curriculum managed in association with swimming instruction?
3. What are the given conditions for elementary swimming instruction and feasible reform measures?
The subjects in this study were 584 homeroom teachers and specialists who were in charge of swimming education at schools under the umbrella of the Chungcheongbuk-do Office of Education. A survey was conducted to find out their perception of swimming instruction, and a SPSS program was utilized to obtain statistical data on frequency and percentage by background variables, and x2-test was carried out to see if the background variables made any significant differences. The conclusions were as follows:
1. Awareness of Swimming Instruction
A great number of the selected teachers had a relatively great interest in swimming and took a favorable view of it, but had never taken a swimming course or undergone on-the-job training about that. Thus, their swimming-related experience didn't match with their interest, and most of them weren't good at swimming, though they were much interested in it. That was also the case for their confidence of swimming education. The teachers lacked both of theoretical knowledge and practical teaching skills, which is one of major problems that should be resolved to ensure the successful management of swimming class.
The number of lesson hours for swimming wasn't large enough to attain the objectives of the curriculum, and what to teach and the number of lesson hours should be determined in consideration of the developmental stage and level of each grade.
The teachers took a favorable view of the necessity of swimming education in the elementary P.E. curriculum, and had a good understanding of the objectives and content of the P.E. curriculum on the whole. The female teachers gave more positive replies than the male teachers.
They had little experiences to teach swimming irrespective of career, but they answered that most students showed a lot of interest in swimming instruction.
2. The Management of the Curriculum in Swimming Instruction
As for how to modify the national curriculum to prepare a school curriculum, they answered that the school curriculum was prepared by individual homeroom teachers separately or by teachers in charge of the same grade in collaboration. Some of the female teachers had a tendency to rely on the head P.E. teachers or P.E. specialists for that.
The curriculum and educational plans were laid out without considering the given conditions of school or local community, and facilities of sport for all had a bigger impact on urban schools than on rural ones, as urban regions were better equipped with facilities of sport for all.
Swimming was taught in field-study or P.E. class, or an adjacent river or private swimming pool was utilized to teach it after school. Students swam or dabbled in water without any restrictions at a public or informal swimming pool rather than an authorized swimming pool under the guidance of their homeroom teachers or certified instructors. In some cases, just theoretical instruction or safety education was provided.
Most of the teachers had their sight set on fostering the motor skills and physical fitness of students or satisfying their needs for movement when they taught swimming, but many didn't think that swimming education was conducted in accordance with the given curriculum or educational plans.
3. The Given Conditions for Swimming Instruction and Its Improvement
The elementary schools were scarcely equipped with necessary facilities, learning materials and aids for swimming education. The teachers considered it advisable to teach it in after-school, optional or extracurricular class instead of regular classroom hours.
In order to expedite the normalization of swimming instruction and ensure the efficiency of it, many believed that each school should be furnished with a swimming pool in collaboration with local P.E.-related organizations or local educational authorities. Another opinion was that a swimming pool should be installed in a particular school so that adjacent schools could use it together. In addition to the expansion of swimming facilities, they hoped to undergo more training on a regular basis, and to be provided with plenty of learning materials. They expected an intensive investment and support from the government, and they also expected that each school and local community should make concerted efforts to ensure successful curriculum management.