Japanese Physical Education Preservice Teachers' Specialized Content Knowledge

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the levels of specialized content knowledge (SCK) in volleyball and basketball among preservice teachers (PSTs) in Japan. A total of 689 PSTs (female n=258) participated in the study. Content maps were used to examine the levels of SCK and were analyzed using content development categories and a formula to calculate SCK index scores (Ward et al., 2017). An SCK index score of three was used to differentiate mature and immature levels of SCK. Participants' playing and teaching/coaching experiences in each sport were collected through a demographic questionnaire. The findings were similar in volleyball and basketball. First, more years of playing experiences helped more PSTs to obtain the mature level of SCK. However, even with more than six years of playing experiences, only less than half (volleyball=33.33％; basketball=46.66％) of PSTs scored the mature level SCK. Second, obtaining teaching/coaching experiences helped more PSTs to have the mature level of SCK. Finally, more PSTs who played higher than at the prefecture-level scored the mature level of SCK than PSTs with lower play levels. However, even at the highest playing level category (i.e., the national level or above), less than half of PSTs scored a mature level of SCK. Overall, playing and/or teaching/coaching experiences have some level of positive influence on developing SCK. However, even with those experiences, many PSTs still scored the immature level SCK. Teacher education programs need to be intentional in preparing PSTs to develop SCK.