Students’ Perceptions of the Acquisition of Competences in a Degree Program in Primary Teaching with Concentration in Physical Education

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine and compare the perceptions of students in a primary education – physical education concentration degree program regarding the competences they acquired by the end of their studies. A cross-sectional, descriptive population study was designed in which 699 students from ten Spanish public universities completed a questionnaire on teaching competences in physical education teacher education (CCDFIPEF). The overall results showed that the students considered that their initial training as teachers had developed their generic personal skills, generic teaching skills, and specific physical education teaching skills in a similar way, with responses for most skills falling between “moderately” and “considerably.” Additionally, there were two competences that students expressed they had developed more than considerably, while five obtained scores lower than moderately. The remaining 41 competences received intermediate scores. This research also concludes that there were both similarities and differences in students’ perceptions of competences based on which university they attended.