Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility through Physical Education

This book reports on a six month implementation of the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model when taught in a New Zealand secondary school physical education program. Two classes were taught using TPSR as the predominant pedagogical approach, while two control classes were taught using traditional physical education pedagogy. A mixed methods approach was used to examine the impact of the implementation on students and teachers. The results showed an improvement in students behavior in class; in their relationships with each other and with the teacher; and in their engagement with the physical education curriculum. For most students the learning about personal and social responsibility was restricted to the physical education context. For a small number of student, however, the program had a strong impact on other aspects of their lives.