Teachers’ actor-oriented transfer of movement pedagogy knowledge in physical education

Background: Physical education (PE) teachers in practically all countries are expected to help their students develop movement capability. To achieve this objective, teachers need certain knowledge and competencies. The question of how PE teachers should develop their capacities to achieve this task has received only limited research attention. Aim: The broad objective of this paper is to contribute to the literature on how PE teachers can develop knowledge and competencies in the area of movement capability related to students’ learning. The specific aim is to identify aspects of the design of instruction in physical education that enhance teachers’ actor-oriented transfer of movement pedagogy knowledge, during a collaborative professional development intervention. Method: The study is an analysis of three conducted learning studies in PE at upper secondary schools in Sweden. The studies involved seven PE teachers from two different schools. Our empirical material consists of (a) notes from team meetings (n = 14), (b) lesson plans (n = 9), (c) video-recorded and transcribed lessons (n = 9), and (d) results of students’ learning outcomes (n = 9). Findings: PE teachers’ analysis of their own teaching sequences in teams supported their actor-oriented transfer of movement pedagogy knowledge, which developed their abilities to further elaborate their instruction in new teaching situations. Moreover, teachers gained insights into how to further develop the quality of instructional design as expansions of earlier experiences. Lastly, a relationship between PE teachers’ actor-oriented transfer and students’ increased learning of movements was found. Conclusion: Our conclusion is that collaborative professional development for PE teachers, which supports actor-oriented transfer, should be offered to enhance teachers’ movement pedagogy knowledge.