Physical Education Teachers’ Perceived Effectiveness in Association with Student Attendance, Teacher Adaptability, External Educational Supports, and Teaching Format During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Spring 2020 pandemic-control policies included an abrupt shift to remote teaching, which may have affected physical education (PE) teachers’ perceived effectiveness. This study examined K-12 PE teachers’ perceived effectiveness in association with student attendance, teacher adaptability, PE supports, teaching format (in-person, remote synchronous, remote asynchronous, etc.), and teacher- and school-level demographics at three time points (pre-pandemic 2019–early 2020, Spring 2020, 2020–2021 school year). An electronic survey was developed by an expert panel and distributed to U.S. public school PE teachers (convenience sampling via school health-related organizations). For analyses, teacher perceived effectiveness was dichotomized (very/extremely effective= “1”; not at all/slightly/moderately effective= “0”). Logistic regression models assessed associations between perceived effectiveness and independent variables (student attendance, teacher adaptability, PE supports, teaching format, and demographic variables) at each time point. Respondents (n=134; M age=46) were mostly female (62%), general PE teachers (82%, versus adapted), had a graduate degree (66%), had >11 years of teaching experience (63%), and from 26 states. Perception of being very/extremely effective was highest pre-pandemic 2019–early 2020 (93%), lowest in Spring 2020 (12%), and recovered somewhat in 2020–2021 (45%). During the 2020–2021 school year, teachers had greater odds of perceiving they were more effective if they reported having higher student attendance (OR 1.06 [CI:1.02–1.09], p>.001) and higher adaptability (OR 1.22 [CI: 1.09–1.37], p>.001), adjusting for gender, education level, years of experience, grade level taught, and Title I status. Professional development opportunities are needed for remote teaching of PE to enhance teachers’ adaptability and perceived effectiveness during potential future school closures.