Sport Pedagogy

The purpose of this paper is to consider the fundamental principles of sport pedagogy while evaluating the role of pedagogical practices in human development.

The term pedagogy was formed from the Greek word ‘paidagōgos’ which represents a slave who accompanied a child to school, it then developed to become the word used for a teacher in Latin (Oxford Dictionary, 2015). There is much ambiguity around the definition for sport pedagogy, however, this broad concept within sport is defined by Watkins and Mortimer (1999, p3) as ‘any conscious activity by one person designed to enhance learning in another’ (Waring, 2013). Sport pedagogy includes independent components built up of learning, teaching and instruction in all areas related to physical activity (Taylor and Francis, 2015; Armour, 2011).

Although these pedagogical terms seem interchangeable, in fact they are at different ends of the teaching spectrum (Mosston and Ashworth, 2002). An effective teacher or coach would adapt his technique or style to suit the needs of the athlete depending on capability, age and goals. An elite football coach would tactically instruct players according to their skills, whereas a school football coach would teach fundamental motor and football skills through demonstrations and verbal instruction (Trottier and Robitaille, 2014; Côté and Fraser-Thomas, 2007). The application of the term pedagogy in both scenarios may be criticized as teacher is more appropriate in the latter and coach in the former. Gilbert (2002) stated the teacher phase of pedagogy involves behavior, cognitive development and measurement; sometimes without establishing the student’s individual needs. For example, a lesson plan does not consider each individual learning style and ability, while coaching pedagogy is results driven, focusing on performance and physical development of individual athletes (Jones et al,