Abstract:

Due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, many countries, including the Republic of Croatia, have adopted strategies to help prevent the spread of the virus. Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the world have imposed various restrictions on social life and education to slow the spread of this virus. These included introduction of various degrees of social isolation and restrictions on gatherings, a travel ban, ban on sports activities, a ban on holding entertainment activities such as concerts, going to work and school. National associations of physical education teachers in most European countries supported teachers to organize physical education classes through online channels, YouTube, various video lessons were recorded that were available to everyone, several webinars were organized on the most popular sports applications. In the Republic of Croatia, concrete help for primary school teachers was the „School on Third“, where the most popular Croatian athletes demonstrated children different exercises that students had to do at home. The use of technology that helped organize online teaching for the subject of Physical Education and Health was crucial in that period, but the subject of Physical Education and Health is so specific that it is very difficult to maintain it through online teaching. A sample of 500 students from 1st to 4th grade of primary schools in Velika Gorica (Croatia) participated in a survey to assess representation of kinesiological activities of students and use of information and communication technology. The aim of this study is to determine the specifics of online environment and kinesiological activities in Republic of Croatia at the time of coronavirus pandemic, how online Physical Education and Health classes were conducted and whether online Physical Education and Health classes have affected its quality. Linear hierarchical regression analysis (stepwise model) will be used for H1 testing, but in bootstrapped model (to approximate theoretical distribution, minimize error of obtained parameters…) Also, in case of using more dependent variables, testing of mentioned regression models will be used in SEM. A parametric One sample t test with a criterion value of the median on the scale will be used to test H2. As part of the linear hierarchical regression analysis, the contribution, i.e. the role of the mentioned predictors on the dependent variable (quality of PE teaching) will be tested. The target population of this research are students from 1st to 4th grade of two Velika Gorica primary schools, and the sample consists of 200 students from 1st to 4th grade of two primary schools in Velika Gorica. Research questions asked were whether the implementation of online teaching of PE during distance learning has affected the quality of teaching PE and whether the use of online video material and television instruction within School on Third encouraged students to engage more in kinesiology activities during distance learning. There is no statistically significant correlation between the use of online video material and participating in class via television and the frequency of engaging in kinesiological activities during distance learning. For the purposes of the research, a questionnaire will be set up. The dependent variables of the quality of teaching PE will be constructed in the ordinal five-point Likert type scale.

Keywords:

Online teaching of PE, COVID-19, challenges of online teaching of PE, students.