| Summary: | This two-part study provides a two-faceted analysis of female immigrant
students' experiences in secondary physical education classes, together with an analysis
of the discourse they use to express their feelings about these experiences. This
information is needed to facilitate the process of integrating female immigrant students
into mainstream physical education classes so they have the opportunity for successful
and full participation in these classes. Recent research questions whether immigrant
females are receiving equitable treatment in curriculum planning and in physical
education classes. My research addresses this issue and should be of interest to those
professionals involved in the instruction, design, and promotion of physical education
and physical activity programs in which female immigrant students are involved.
The purpose of the first part of this study was to assess the attitudes of female
immigrant students toward physical education class and their participation rates in
physical activities outside of physical education class. Measures were taken to
determine whether attitudes and participation rates differed depending on ethnic
background, religion, English proficiency, number of years in Canada and achievement
levels. The purpose of the second part of this study was to gain an understanding of
how ESL students use language to express their attitudes, opinions and feelings about
physical education and to identify the main issues E S L female immigrant students saw
as being barriers to their success in mainstream physical education classes.
In order to fulfill the purposes of this study, two types of measuring instruments
were developed and two sets of data were collected. First, a questionnaire that obtained
background information from subjects and measured their attitudes toward physical
education and their participation rates in physical activity was developed and
administered. Second, cooperative activities designed to generate language on attitudes
toward physical education class were developed. Quantitative data were obtained from the questionnaire and qualitative data were obtained from the language activities
subjects were led through.
Results from the quantitative questionnaire indicated that 26% of the female
immigrant sample had limited background experience in physical education class when
they arrived in Canada. Students felt mildly positive about taking physical education
class in Canada but less positive than when taking physical education in their native
countries. Subjects spent about two hours a week on physical activity in Canada,
slightly less than they spent in their native country. While 86% of the subjects
participated in some physical activity in Canada, only eight to 16% participated in
exercise at a level likely to have a positive impact on their cardiovascular health. When
subjects lived in Canada, there was no significant difference in subjects' attitudes
toward physical education depending on their ethnicity, religion, English language
proficiency or number of years in Canada. There was also no significant difference in
subjects' participation rates in physical activity depending on religion. Ethnicity did,
however, have a significant effect on participation rates in physical activity and
participation rates increased significantly as students' English language proficiency
improved and as students spent more time in Canada. Also, attitudes toward physical
education class were strongly related to achievement in physical education while
participation rates in physical activity were not.
Results from the qualitative portion of the thesis focused on how students
articulated their feelings on physical education. Analyzed language data showed that
ESL students had limited lexicogrammatical resources to describe their feelings,
behaviours and reactions. An analysis of the value judgments made showed that
students had varying abilities to support their judgments with good reasons. The issue
students discussed most often was that English language problems prevented them from
communicating with other students and resulted in them disliking physical education
and doing poorly. Another issue of great concern for these E S L students was how difficult it was for them to pair up with native speaking partners. Students felt physical
education teachers could do more to assist students with limited proficiencies in English
and recommended many good teaching strategies for this purpose.
As a result of this study, physical education and ESL teachers are encouraged to
implement strategies which help female immigrant students integrate more successfully
into physical education classes. It is essential that teachers respect the linguistic,
cultural, racial and religious diversities of their students. Teachers should also include
students' heritages in the curriculum as this leads to greater school achievement and to
students feeling more highly valued. By using specific cooperative learning strategies, .
teachers can orchestrate positive interactions between students in their classes in a
structured way. By using the knowledge framework to teach language, content and
thinking skills to ESL students, teachers can minimize English language demands and
access students' first language knowledge. By teaching critical thinking skills, teachers
can help students evaluate present situations accurately and make good choices such as
establishing how to function in physical education classes more successfully. By
teaching ESL students the discourse of value judgments and choice, teachers can help
them effectively communicate their feelings and explain their viewpoints using
institutionally adequate reasons. ESL and physical education teachers should encourage
immigrant females to become involved in extracurricular sport and exercise activities
and actively find or create opportunities for their inclusion. The benefits for new
immigrant students include developing English language competencies, making friends,
improving psychomotor skills, becoming more competent in sports, and feeling better
about their abilities.
This study developed a perspective on one aspect of new female immigrant
students' education and led to a more sophisticated understanding of the physical
education of immigrant students. There is a great need for more studies that examine
the experiences of new immigrant female adolescents in sport and exercise. === Education, Faculty of === Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of === Graduate
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