From PE to PHE: Implementation of an in-service training activity designed for secondary school PE teachers

As has been the case in many countries since the late 90s, the Federation of Wallonia-Brussels (FWB-French-speaking part of Belgium) has decided to integrate health education into the physical education curriculum. The emphasis has been placed on student management of health and safety. Even though preservice PETE programmes anticipated over the last ten years by gradually introducing health education concepts into their curricula, in-service teachers potentially face challenges in adapting their teaching practices. Aiming to prepare them for the implementation of the new reference framework, the team in charge of training PE teachers at University of Liege worked with seven organizations specialized in health promotion and health education to develop a three-day training course combining the creation of teaching sequences focusing on health-related themes (addictions; education in relational, emotional and sexual life; environmental health; mental health; nutrition; life hygiene) and the practice of activities chosen for their links with health aspects. One of the special features of the course is that teachers were involved in a co-construction process with health advisers from non-school professional backgrounds to share knowledge and experience when developing new lessons plans.
This study is based on the heuristic model of the teaching-learning process. The teachers completed an online questionnaire prior to the training module in order to ascertain their positions on various aspects related to the evolution of their school subject and their expectations with regard to the proposed training (25 respondents). At the end of the course, 15 teachers answered another online questionnaire designed to gather their feedback and determine whether some of their opinions on the reform had changed. For their part, the organizers and advisers (n=11) shared their experiences during and after the training.
Teachers who were aware of the reform were in the minority, as were those who thought that their colleagues would adhere to it. On the other hand, most of them felt that health education is one of the prerogatives of PE teachers, that they are motivated to develop new teaching methods and are confident about implementing the new standards. Their professional experience seems to be more conducive to the latter than the knowledge they acquired during their initial teacher education. Their expectations of module focused mainly on obtaining information about the new curriculum and competences to be taught as well as concrete examples of lessons to propose to their pupils. After the training, the participants' opinions focused on the evolution of the subject did not change fundamentally. Participants’ feedbacks about the module were largely positive. On the basis of the participants' responses and the exchanges within the staff, a SWOT analysis highlighted a number of implications that could help school authorities preparing PE teachers for their new roles.