Effectiveness of teaching physical and health education in the fourth grade of primary school in relation to teacher’s professional competence

The aim of the research was to determine the effectiveness of teaching physical and health education in the fourth grade of primary school in relation to the teachers? professional competence. The sample of 242 subjects, aged 10, consisted of male and female students of the fourth grade of elementary schools in Nis, Serbia. The sample included two subsamples, one consisting of 124 respondents who attended classes under the guidance of physical and health education teacher (experimental group) and the other of 118 respondents who attended classes under the guidance of generalist teacher (control group). The teaching content, intended for both groups of students, was taught during one semester based on the physical and health education curriculum for the fourth grade of elementary school, and the concept of the experiment is that one group was guided by a physical and health education teacher, and the other by a generalist teacher. The sample of variables included six situational-motor and seven motor tests. The abilities monitored in this paper (explosive leg strength, speed, flexibility, balance and situational motor abilities) were tested by initial and final testing. The results showed that there was a statistically significant effectiveness of teaching physical and health education on the development of motor and situational-motor abilities under the guidance of physical and health education teacher in comparison to classes taught by generalist teacher.