How does the use of language within physical education, influence the teacher- pupil relationship amongst pupils with Asperger syndrome?

Abstract

The use of language is now seen as an important tool within our society. This study addresses how the language used by P.E. teachers affects the relationship they have with their students but, more importantly students with Asperger syndrome, as children with Asperger syndrome can have difficulty in understanding certain types of discourse. This was achieved by using a qualitative methodology. A mixed methodology was used to increase the findings. The study used 7 participants from a school in the south wales area. Three pupils who have Asperger syndrome were interviewed and 4 teachers from the same school were also interviewed. The interviews were carefully transcribed, then analysed. Observations were also used to see if the observational data correlated with the information from the interviews. The interviews and observations were based on predicated themes that emerged from the title and previous literature. The results concluded that the teacher’s use of language has an effect on the pupil’s performance and participation levels in P.E., which has an overall effect on their teacher-pupil relationship. The teacher’s language altered in different environments, depending upon the activity that was being taught, the number of participants and the level of performance of the participants. The results also revealed that the interactions between the teacher and the pupil did affect the teacher-pupil relationship.