A review of research on Sport Education: 2004 to the present

Abstract

Background: In 2005, Wallhead and O'Sullivan presented a review of research on the Sport Education model. In that review, the authors identified certain strengths of the model (particularly persistent team membership) in facilitating student engagement within student-centered learning tasks. Other areas (such as student leadership skills) were considered as potentially problematic. Suggestions were also made for future research. Purpose: The three purposes of this review were to conduct a review of research on Sport Education since the 2005 analysis, to identify any new trends in research since the original review, and to describe the extent to which the limitations and future research directions of Wallhead and O'Sullivan have been addressed. Data collection: Papers for analysis were selected through searches of EBSCO databases with the main identifier ‘sport education’. Further journal articles were then obtained through the citations and references in the original documents. Data analysis: Papers were initially categorized according to the following dimensions: country of origin, focus, participants, sport and length of season, data courses, analysis and results. They were then discussed in terms of the five common content standards and aims of physical education (e.g. skill and fitness development, personal and social responsibility) used in the 2005 review. Findings: Thirty-eight papers were identified that satisfied the selection criteria, with all content standards receiving attention. Since the 2005 review, there been not only an expansion in the number of studies relating to Sport Education, but also the initiation of research in a number of new contexts, as well as those focused on new research questions. An analytic induction of these papers has placed them into three categories: (1) expanded sites of implementation; (2) students' motivational responses; and (3) learning to teach Sport Education. Conclusions: Studies of Sport Education now take place in more diverse settings than before, and continue to progress with more sophisticated research designs and larger sample sizes. Still, more investigation is needed in the areas of peer instruction and the transfer of school-based learning to community sport.