High school physical educators' and sport coaches' knowledge of strength training principles and methods

Despite the fact that it has become common for high school (HS) physical educators to teach strength training (ST) to students as part of the physical education (PE) curriculum, and for HS coaches to include ST as part of their teams' programs, there is a lack of evidence to suggest that these individuals possess the knowledge necessary to teach and coach ST. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of knowledge that current and preservice HS physical educators and sport coaches possess regarding the principles and methods involved in ST, and determine if that knowledge was acceptable based on a criterion. Participants in this study consisted of two groups: (a) 287 HS physical educators and sport coaches representing 107 school districts from 37 states; and (b) 71 university physical education teacher education (PETE) students enrolled in their senior year of college at 11 U.S. universities. A Delphi technique was used to develop the exam (instrument) that was used to measure knowledge of ST. A 10-person panel of experts conducted five iterations during the Delphi process to reach consensus on the 90 questions that became the exam. To address the study's hypotheses, independent one-sample t-tests were conducted of: (a) all physical educators and sport coaches; and (b) university PETE students in their senior year of college. The results of the independent one-sample t-tests revealed a significant difference in knowledge versus the criterion score of 75%, supporting the study's hypotheses. The possession of a certification in ST or PFT was noteworthy, as the subgroup that possessed a certification scored the highest of all subgroups, and was the only group to not demonstrate a significant difference in knowledge versus the criterion. The results of this study suggest that school districts should consider providing continuing education/in-service opportunities which include ST principles and methods, and encourage HS physical educators and sport coaches to obtain an ST certification.