Online physical education in Bulgaria - advantages and challenges

The aim of the research was to study the advantages and disadvantages of online physical education teaching in the country during the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study participants were 138 teachers (100 female and 38 male) aged between 24 and 68 years, who had different pedagogical experience and were representatives of all regions of the country. A specially developed international questionnaire with closed-ended questions was applied. As an alternative analysis, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the results. Teachers rated online teaching in physical education as relatively good. At the same time, the educational work of sports pedagogues during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced their motivation for professional activity. Sports teachers rated highly their competencies in using online technologies to conduct physical education classes. The three most significant negative consequences of online physical education and sports training for Bulgarian schools, as pointed out by sports pedagogues, are: reduced contact with students, lack of control over the quality of training and limited opportunities to monitor student progress, while the three most important advantages of online education are: possibilities of using modern technologies in practice, individual approach to students and greater student control and independence. No significant differences were found in teachers’ responses to any of the questions based on gender, age and pedagogical experience criteria.