Effects of an 8-Week Cooperative Learning Intervention on Physical Education Students’ Task and Self-Approach Goals, and Emotional Intelligence

Sergio Rivera-Pérez, Javier Fernandez-Rio and Damián Iglesias Gallego
Additional contact information
Sergio Rivera-Pérez: Physical Education & Exercise Lab, Teacher Training College, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
Javier Fernandez-Rio: Department of Education Sciences, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Oviedo, 33003 Oviedo, Spain
Damián Iglesias Gallego: Physical Education & Exercise Lab, Teacher Training College, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 18, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Previous research highlighted the effectiveness of cooperative learning in the four learning domains: physical, cognitive, social and affective. However, recent reviews have called for more empirical research on social and emotional learning based on contemporary theories, frameworks and assessment tools. Little is known about the links between cooperative learning and two strong contemporary frameworks: the achievement goal theory and the four-branch model of emotional intelligence. The goal of this study was to assess the connections between cooperative learning, task and self-approach goals, and emotional intelligence in physical education classes. Forty primary education students (21 girls, 19 boys), 10–12 years ( M age = 10.87; SD = 0.85), enrolled in two different classes in only one school, participated. None of them had experienced cooperative learning as a pedagogical model before. The study followed a one group, pre-test-post-test, pre-experimental design. Both classes experienced the same cooperative learning intervention programme conducted in physical education, which included two consecutive learning units for a total of 16 sessions (2 per week/50 min each). The same physical education teacher, an expert in cooperative learning, conducted all sessions. Results showed that the cooperative learning framework helped increase students’ self-approach goals and their emotional control and regulation, and empathy. In conclusion, the present study reinforced the use of cooperative learning in physical education, because it can guide students to more adaptive motivational patterns and to develop their emotional intelligence. Furthermore, it contributes to the students’ social and emotional learning building quality relationships, learning to manage stressors, and evolve individually and in groups.

Keywords: cooperative learning; achievement goals; emotional intelligence; physical education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/1/61/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/1/61/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2020:i:1:p:61-:d:467212

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().