ABSTRACT
Sport does not automatically generate educational benefits for players. For a sports field to become a child-friendly educational environment, it is essential that all actors involved in the organization of youth sport take deliberate educational measures. Among these actors are referees, who should be taken into account during the research on the educational value of sport for the youngest. The subject of the present study was handball referees, who interact with the players during matches. Assuming that the referee is an important actor in sport education and that referee-players interactions are the basic mechanism of the referee's educational influence, this study aimed to assess the quality of his or her interactions with players during handball matches for children aged 9 to 12 years. The research was conducted in a group of 25 handball referees who refereed matches of children in the region of Mazowieckie Voivodeship in Poland. The referees surveyed had current licenses issued by the Warsaw-Mazovian Handball Association. To assess the quality of referee-players interactions, the authors' direct observation tool (Referee-Players' Interaction Assessment Scoring System) was used. The educational referee-players interaction was studied in six dimensions: Positive climate, Responsiveness, Behavior management, Proficiency, Instructing, and Communicating. Data were statistically analyzed using chi-squared test, Mann-Whitney U test and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Cronbach's alpha values were higher than 0.90 in the factors, showing adequate levels of reliability. The results of the research demonstrated that the assessment of the quality of the referee's educational influence on players was neither affected by the referees' experience nor by the outcome of the match. The quality of educational referee-players interactions in five of the six dimensions studied was assessed as average, whereas positive climate was assessed as poor (three-step scale: poor, average, good). If referees are to support coaches and parents in achieving their educational goals, the results indicate areas where they can improve. The research provided empirical evidence that could be used as a basis for the modification of previous training programs for referees developed by local and national sports associations. The referees should be trained to build a positive climate on the sport field, which consists in creating emotional ties with players (physical proximity, social conversation), expressed in an enthusiastic attitude and joy of contacts (smiling, engagement, positive affect reaction, positive comments, respectful and inclusive language, using players first names, listening to players). In addition, referees must be taught to actively monitor players' emotional, cognitive, social, and health needs, as well as to respond to the players' needs and solve problems.
Subject(s)
Education , Interpersonal Relations , Sports , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Female , Humans , Language , Poland , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
We assume that all institutions and individuals involved in the organization of sport for children and young people should utilize the educational potential of sport. We assessed the quality of referee interactions with children during sports competitions in soccer. Based on the developmental theory and research suggesting that interactions between kids and adults are the primary mechanism of their development and learning, we focused on the quality of the referee-player interactions in terms of (1) emotional support, (2) game organization, and (3) instructional support. Twenty-five soccer referees who refereed matches for children aged 9-12 years were recruited. The Referee Educational Function Assessment Scoring System (REFASS) was used to assess the quality of the referee-player interactions. This tool was developed based on Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Upper Elementary. Regarding the REFASS dimensions, the mean scores for positive climate, Sensitivity, behavior management, content understanding and quality of feedback were in the medium range, while productivity and negative climate in the high range. In the case of the positive climate variable, the lowest mean ratings were recorded compared to other assessed dimensions. The assessments of the quality of referee-player interactions obtained for particular dimensions translated into the ratings for the specified domains. The highest ratings were given to game organization (6.0 ± 0.8; Me = 6.0), whereas the emotional support and instructional support were in the medium range (4.6 ± 1.5; Me = 4.5, and 5.2 ± 1.8; Me = 6.0, respectively). Referees are usually not aware of their pedagogical function and the complexity of their respective responsibilities. They are commonly considered to be ordinary technicians and evaluators of performance in competition. Based on the results, a postulate was formulated that referees should consciously perform a pedagogical function in the youth sport. Therefore, it is necessary to train them in educational methods and techniques appropriate to the age and needs of the child. The referees will then be prepared to take actions to prevent negative behavior of players on the field and to encourage prosocial behavior.
Subject(s)
Soccer , Youth Sports , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Humans , Interpersonal RelationsABSTRACT
The Minister of National Education introduces relevant changes into the content and aims of health education in virtue of the resolution of 23 December 2008 that relates to the essential curricula of pre-school and general education in particular types of schools. Special responsibility for the realization of the health education programme in schools rests, according to the content of the above mentioned document, with the teachers of physical education. Placing physical education teachers in the role of the leading executor of the health education aims in schools induces a reflection on the degree of the teachers'preparation to fulfill such a role. In order to carry out such evaluation it is essential to determine more accurately the scope of competences, which are requisite of an efficient realization of health education in conditions appropriate to school physical education. In the study we work on the characteristics of the subject competences and of the pedagogical competences of the physical education teacher, which are indispensable in the effective realization of the health education programme. As far as the first competences we focus on the knowledge and didactic and organizational skills which a physical education teacher should possess, and as far as the second competences we discuss five categories of competences: moral, praxiological, communicational, creative and informative.
