Transformational Teaching: Do student teachers in Scotland have an effect on the pupils they teach?

The extent to which teachers’ practice can have an impact on learning has increasingly become an area of interest across the academic literature (e.g. Hattie, 2009). In physical education (PE), Beauchamp et al., (2010),... [ view full abstract ]

The extent to which teachers’ practice can have an impact on learning has increasingly become an area of interest across the academic literature (e.g. Hattie, 2009). In physical education (PE), Beauchamp et al., (2010), developed the Transformational Teaching Questionnaire (TTQ). Key assumptions underpinning the TTQ are that PE teachers can inspire learners by displaying behaviours that foster trust, confidence, empowerment, and higher order thinking. At present, it is unclear what learners’ perceptions are of student teachers in Scotland.

A study was designed using the TTQ to measure the impact of student PE teachers on the learners they teach. Adopting a quantitative design, these teachers (N = 14: M = 8; F = 6) were drawn from the 2017-2018 cohort completing a post-graduate teaching qualification at a Scottish university. Students completed 3 x 6-week teaching placements and one class (N = 25) completed an electronic version of the TTQ in the final weeks of each placement.  

At the time of writing this abstract, we are yet to complete analysis on the full data set. While analysis will be complete by July 2018, our initial findings reveal a largely positive picture: these teachers are managing to foster a sense of trust with learners and inspire forms of confidence for learners to actively engage in activities during PE lessons. Our complete analysis will make a specific contribution to the subtheme ‘transformational teaching’ by reporting findings about how Scottish PE teachers’ practices can make a positive impact on learners.  

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York, NY: Routledge. 

Beauchamp, M. R., Barling, J., Li, Z., Morton, K. L., Keith, S. E. and Zumbo, B. D. (2010) Development and psychometric properties of the transformational teaching questionnaire, Journal of Health Psychology, Vol.15: 8, 1123-1134.