Effect of a Physical Education Teacher's Age on Middle School Students' Perceptions of Effectiveness and Learning.

PHYSICAL education teachers; MIDDLE school students; STUDENT attitudes; MIDDLE age; MAKEUP artists

This study examined the effect of a physical education teacher's apparent age on middle school students' learning and perceptions of the teacher. Two hundred seventy-three middle school students were randomly assigned to view one of two virtually identical films of swimming lessons taught by the same teacher. During the youngappearance lesson (YAL), the teacher taught as his usual and relatively young self. During the middle-aged lesson (MAL), he was made to look older by a makeup artist. After viewing their assigned lesson, students completed an examination covering the content of the lesson and a questionnaire about their perceptions of the teacher. Inferential statistical tests revealed that students who watched the YAL learned more from the teacher and perceived the teacher more favorably. These results support a sociological explanation of how and why students respond to and learn from physical education teachers of different ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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