“It’s Good to Have a Voice”: What Do Students Think about the Impact of a Flexible Curricular Implementation of Student-Centered Pedagogies on Their Own Learning Experiences?

• Published in: Education sciences Vol. 14; no. 10; p. 1074
• Main Authors: Silva, Rita, Farias, Cláudio, Mesquita, Isabel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-10-2024
• Subjects: 21st Century Skills; Activity Units; Analysis; Beliefs; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Collaboration; Communication Skills; Cooperative learning; Critical Thinking; Curricula; Curriculum Implementation; Educational Objectives; Educational Practices; Educational Quality; Empowerment; Epistemology; flexible model-based; Focus Groups; game-based-approaches; Games; High schools; Interviews; Leadership; Learner Engagement; Learning Experience; Learning Processes; Ontology; Participation; Pedagogy; physical education; Problem solving; Program Implementation; Reflection; Researchers; School enrollment; Skills; Social aspects; Social change; Social Development; Social interaction; sport education; Student Development; Student Empowerment; Students; students’ voices; Teachers; Teaching; Canada; Portugal
• ISSN: 2227-7102; 2227-7102
• DOI: 10.3390/educsci14101074

While there is extensive evidence that student-centered pedagogies (SCPs) develop multidimensional (motor, cognitive, social) outcomes in students, the coalesced use of some of the core pedagogies of student-centered models (SCMs) can facilitate the achievement of more than one educational theme in the same intervention and may facilitate student engagement in more representative physical education (PE) experiences. In this study, students’ voices are explored concerning the impact of a flexible and coalesced curricular implementation of SCPs on their own PE learning experiences. An insider action-research design was implemented for one entire school year (50 lessons of 90 min each) with 25 students aged 16–17 years, enrolled in the 12th grade at a high school in Portugal. A qualitative data collection source was used (semi-structured focus-group interviews), analyzed through a mixed inductive–deductive thematic analysis. The findings emphasize that a flexible and coalesced curricular implementation of various SCPs over an extended period of time, considering the sport content, the context, and the skill level of students, seems to contribute to the development of more positive learning experiences for students. In summary, these learning experiences require that teachers learn to listen and respond to students’ voices.