RecruitingACTRN12624000858594

The effect of the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model on social behaviours of high school students in Physical Education (PE)

The effect of the TPSR model on social behaviours of high school students in PE

Sponsor

Sonja Maric, University of Sydney

Enrollment

180 participants

Start Date

Jul 7, 2025

Study Type

Interventional

Conditions

Social behaviours

Summary

Schools have been an ideal setting for intervention studies to take place. In PE settings, interventions targeting the psychomotor domain have been the most dominant. With amendments to educational policy, a gap has emerged where interventions targeting ‘other’ outcomes has promoted research into the cognitive, affective and social domains. This intervention study is aimed at evaluating the effect of social domains on high school students. This will be done through the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility framework, developed by Don Hellison which was initially designed to re-engage students from low socio-economic status backgrounds in PE classes. Whilst TPSR studies have been scattered throughout the world with positive outcomes (academic and otherwise). TPSR has not yet been featured in high schools in Australia.

Eligibility

Sex: Both males and femalesMin Age: 13 YearssMax Age: 14 Yearss

Plain Language Summary

Simplified for easier understanding

School physical education offers more than fitness — it can also be a powerful setting for teaching important life skills such as respect, responsibility, and cooperation. The Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model, developed by educator Don Hellison, is a framework designed to do exactly that — help young people develop personal and social skills through structured sport and movement activities. This study is bringing TPSR into Australian high schools for the first time, to evaluate whether it improves the social behaviours of Year 8 and 9 students during PE classes. It builds on positive results from TPSR studies conducted in other countries. You may be eligible if you are a student aged 13 to 14 at a participating Independent school in New South Wales, are physically and mentally well, speak English, and are taking PE classes in person. There are no exclusion criteria beyond these basic requirements.

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Interventions

The intervention will be on Grade 8 students in NSW Independent Schools. One class from each of the 6 schools will take part. The intervention will consist of regularly scheduled PE classes for all participants. The addition of the TPSR framework will be subtle additions to their communication and interactions incorporating TPSR principles with emphasis on leadership, problem solving and conflict resolution, self awareness and empathy strategies. For example, when playing hockey, when students find themselves disputing who hit the ball out, they will be instructed to resolve conflict through scissors/paper/rock. This will ensure students solve conflicts without adult interference and get back to the game quickly, limiting 'standing around time' and improving engagement. Teachers will be provided with professional development pre intervention. The TPSR refresher course will provide information on the TPSR framework and how to integrate it into lessons. This will be up to 3 hours, face to face or online. The professional development session will be delivered by the research team. The intervention will be delivered face to face during students' PE lessons. They will be delivered to 30-33 students, as per NESA student-teacher ratios in NSW. The students will be involved in 45-60 minute PE lessons weekly, as per NESA requirements in PE. The intervention will take place in various NSW Independent schools, yet to be confirmed. Students will be involved with surveys and focus groups for fidelity reasons. The Stepped wedge approach will be applied to the project whereby schools will take part in the intervention at different times. For example, school A and B will be involved in the intervention in Term 1 2025, then go into post intervention for 2 weeks. School C and D will be involved in the intervention in Term 2 2025 then go into post intervention for 2 weeks, etc.

Locations(1)

NSW, Australia

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ACTRN12624000858594