Teaching personal and social responsibility to juniors through physical education

The teaching personal and social responsibility (TPSR) in physical education (PE) has a research base dating back some years. There is significant literature pertaining to senior students, the underserved, problem youth in America, teaching responsibility in gym settings, and through PE and in special projects. At the fore-front of this literature is the work of Don Hellison and his levels of responsibility, which are widely known and respected. While there is recent literature relating to New Zealand educational settings, however there is very little pertaining to junior primary school students. It is this silence that has been explored in this action research study as an area for innovation in teaching, where a working model based on Hellison's levels has been adapted, trialled and refined in a New Zealand junior school setting, and has met with considerable ongoing success.