The Implementation of the Sport Education Curriculum Model in Saudi Arabian Male Middle School Physical Education

Abstract

Although the successful adoption and positive outcomes of the Sport Education model have been documented in various cultural contexts beyond English-speaking countries, no research to date has explored its impact on Saudi Arabian physical education (PE) teachers and students. This gap in the literature led to the development of this research. The dissertation comprises three studies: one focusing on teachers and the other two on students. The first study qualitatively examined six Saudi in-service male PE teachers’ experiences and practices when learning to incorporate the Sport Education model. Data were collected over one academic semester and included daily critical incident reports and interviews. An inductive content analysis grounded in Windschitl’s dilemmas framework was used to analyze interview transcripts. Teachers reported that the students’ excitement, learning, dedication, accomplishment, and personal and social responsibility were positively impacted by the Sport Education season in and out of the gym. Indeed, the ratio of the dilemmas generated from the critical incidents and interviews were almost identical to those reported by Harvey et al. (2020). What differed perhaps was the teachers’ reported high levels of confidence in their ability to implement the model, even though it was their first experience with it. The second study quantitatively examined the influence of Sport Education on intrinsic motivation and achievement of the Saudi national objectives for PE. Sixty-three Saudi male middle school students from four classes (ages 11-15 years) participated in a quasi-experimental design. Data were collected through three pre- and post-surveys. The results revealed significant differences between the Sport Education and Traditional Teaching conditions in changes to perceived autonomy, effort, and achievement of the Saudi national objectives for PE. No significant differences were found for perceived competence, relatedness, or enjoyment between the conditions. Overall, the significant improvement in motivation observed among the Sport Education students in the present study is consistent with findings from prior research. The study highlights the alignment between the Sport Education features and Saudi Vision 2030 goals, supporting its potential to promote Islamic sports-based values in PE. These findings suggest that Sport Education is more effective than Traditional Teaching in enhancing intrinsic motivation and achieving the Saudi national objectives for PE. The third study was conducted quantitively and aimed to (1) validate a new questionnaire based on Meaningful Physical Education (Meaningful PE) features and (2) compare middle school students’ attitudes toward meaningful-motivational experiences in two different PE contexts: traditional PE and Sport Education. Sixty-six Saudi male middle school students from four classes (ages 11-15 years) participated in a quasi-experimental design. Data were collected through a 16-item questionnaire. The study findings revealed that the Sport Education group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in learning relevant skills and having voice and choice compared to the Traditional Teaching group. No significant difference was found in interactions with peers between the two conditions. This study makes a significant contribution to the Meaningful PE literature by introducing the first valid and reliable Meaningful PE-based questionnaire. Its findings further support the positive impact of Sport Education on intrinsic motivation, reinforcing the value of Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985)-based frameworks in enhancing student engagement and meaningful learning in PE.