*2.6. Coding of Data Collection Instruments*

Different acronyms are used to identify the text extracts with the data collection instruments from which they came from. In relation to group reflective journals, (DRG) is used. With regard to discussion groups, (GDE) is used.

### **3. Results**

The results are structured according to the categories generated. These categories have been constructed from the different data collection instruments and the objectives of the study. In each category, the most significant text extracts obtained are presented.

#### *3.1. Usefulness in the Construction of Professional Identity (242 Text Extracts)*

We see how future PE teachers' value Attitudinal Style as a model has positioned them to approach PE in certain ways:

*"It is usual in physical education to be told about games and diversity of activities, but the methodology used in this subject is allowing us to be aware of how important it is to control all the variables in the classroom [* ... *]. "It is very di*ff*erent from the physical education we have experienced as students, since in class we see how important it is to justify the teaching units we do according to the type of students we will have in the classroom, and depending on these adaptations we will achieve our objectives better"* (DRG).

*"You realize throughout the course how physical education is the most relevant subject in the curriculum, since the treatment of the body is very much linked to children's fears, insecurities and learning. "The Attitudinal Style methodology has helped me to know what kind of PE teacher I want* *to be and how I will show my students tomorrow." "Now I always think more than once about each activity, seeing how to present it in the most motivating way possible to the students so that they can get it and learn from it"* (GDE).

The results show how PE's future teachers fundamentally emphasize the Attitudinal Style in the pursuit of group success in the classroom and the empowerment of students' abilities:

*"I was afraid at the beginning of the course about what I might find. In many cases at school, I felt excluded by the group [* ... *]. In this subject, I would highlight the opposite, as we have always worked as a team and managed to get things done together." "Sometimes I thought I was incapable when David told me what we were going to do, but the methodology and the way the activities were carried out showed that we always ended up getting them." "We're seeing how the easiest thing is to make an excuse not to do an activity* ... *However, we are learning how important it is for all students without exception to be able to achieve, as this strengthens their self-esteem, and here the teachers are key [* ... *]."* (DRG).

*"I admit that at the beginning of the course I was quite competitive and individual [* ... *]. Now I have realized that solidarity in the group is fundamental in PE." "Many students may consider themselves incapable of starting, when this is not true [* ... *] One of our roles has to be to break those beliefs and make them see that they can like the rest." "What's the point of achieving something if it can't be shared with your peers? Challenges, when they are a team, make more sense and that is one of the main things I take away from the subject and methodology"* (GDE).

Another fundamental aspect that they have highlighted is obtaining resources about how to teach the classes and the fundamental role that PE should have in the schools:

*"I used to think that a teaching unit was simply a series of games and that's it [* ... *] Now I'm seeing that a game or task in itself is not worth anything, it has to have a meaning to allow the student to think." "There are many resources that I take with me from the subject, and that will undoubtedly be useful for me to develop in the classroom"* (DRG)*. "I believe that we have a very important challenge for the future, and that is to ensure that the school has a fundamental role in the schools." "We can do many projects from the school that impact on the day-to-day life of the students [* ... *] Service-learning programs that promote health are important"* (GDE).

*3.2. Attitudinal Style Transferability in School (257 text excerpts)*

We can see how the students highlight the methodology received in the subject as fundamental to give rigor to PE and to what has to be taught in the subject:

*"The methodology received in the subject has helped me to realize that everything has to have a reason in our classes [* ... *] We could not expect all students to learn in the same way, and for that we as teachers have to give rigor to the subject." "We must teach many types of content in class, but the key is in how we teach them"* (DRG)*. "What is the point of doing many tests and sports if the whole class does not enjoy and learn from them? I am clear that the importance lies in the success of the group and in shared responsibility"* (GDE).

Students also stressed the importance of relating PE to other subjects:

*"One of the fundamental things we are seeing in the subject is the importance of generating motivation in our students [* ... *]. That motivation is born when the task you propose is a challenge for the student, and that can be related to other subjects"* (DRG)*. "We have seen in the units how physical education can be related to other subjects, both at the level of content and at the level of motivation or social relationship [* ... *]." "The body is a fundamental agent of learning and must be present throughout the curriculum"* (GDE).

Finally, future PE teachers value receiving these methodologies at the university as something fundamental since they have a clear connection with the school and the extracurricular environment. In addition, they highlighted the possibility of hybridization with other approaches:

*"This is the first time we have received a methodology with such a practical component." "David always shows us videos of students doing the things he proposes in class, and that always allows you to see the reality." "We are a little tired of receiving subjects that talk about innovation and theories where we don't see where or how they can be applied." "This methodology in physical education has many possibilities in school and outside it, since it has the personality and emotions of the students very much in mind" (DRG). "I am left with many things, but above all with the way in which we have received the classes and the constant reflection of each activity. This reflection is fundamental to have as future teachers." "This methodology is very interesting for the motivational part that it entails, and it can also be hybridized with other models, as we have seen in the didactic unit"* (GDE).

#### **4. Discussion**

The objectives of the study were twofold: (a) to delimit the characteristics and elements that compose Attitudinal Style as a pedagogical model; (b) to analyse the perception of future teachers about the utility and transferability of the model in their classes. The structural elements of the attitudinal style have been delimited, showing it as a model with a trajectory and great applicability in the area of PE. In this sense, the future teachers of PE have valued this model as ideal for the construction of their professional identity, with the social, motivational, and self-concept aspects being best valued for their transferability to the school.

The results have shown the importance that future teachers have given to the Attitudinal Style in order to position themselves as a way of understanding PE. It has helped them to reflect as professionals about the type of PE they consider necessary to teach in schools in the future. As indicated by Pérez-Pueyo and Hortiguela [83], we are in a moment in which it is necessary to be reflexive and critical about the postulates that revolve around PE, since there are too many passing fads that obviate the learning that is truly generated in the subject. We must bear in mind the teaching pillars that must structure the subject, and for this, it is necessary that from the initial teacher training we use the pedagogical models [13]. It is necessary to give coherence and consistency to the teaching processes of the PE, specifying the learning results to be achieved. This is the best way to be positively evaluated both on a curricular and social level [84].

Another one of the positive aspects that the participants have highlighted about the Attitudinal Style has been the social relationships generated throughout the course. The future teachers say they have seen how success in the achievement of tasks is more satisfactory when it is achieved in a group, totally changing the dynamics that are generated in class. Moreover, they have stressed that this fact allowed them to increase their self-concept and self-esteem. These results are in line with others [85], which reflect the social purposes that PE must have since motor experiences achieve their full meaning when they allow them to be shared with others. This positive social climate must be generated under three fundamental criteria: (a) student commitment to the task; (b) individual and group responsibility; (c) equitable distribution of work among group members [86]. If this is worked on in this way, the increase in the motivational climate of the group will be proportional to the emotional success obtained by each individual.

Another key result of this study has been the great amount of resources that students have received thanks to the Attitudinal Style. In this way, they indicate the potential that the subject has both within and outside the curriculum. Bazana, McLaren, and Kabungaidze [87] indicate that one of the main purposes of the university should be the transferability of learning to society, and for this purpose the teaching should be structured based on the intentional development of skills of a reflective and professional nature. From PE this makes even more sense, since generating adherence to the practice of physical activity and sports means a great contribution to the health of an increasingly sedentary society [88]. In addition to these physiological benefits, the pedagogical character that characterizes PE

allows for a high level of psychological and mental well-being, as long as it is approached from an angle that guarantees positive motor experiences in students [89].

Future PE teachers recognize that the Attitudinal Style goes far beyond performing a series of progressions of activities in class. It allows them to ask themselves why certain content resonates with students and what the learning objectives will be, and to work seamlessly with other subjects. This last aspect is fundamental, and more so in the primary stage where the motor aspect is ideal for optimal psycho-evolutionary development and the learning of contents associated with other subjects such as mathematics [90]. In this sense, future teachers have also highlighted the possibility of hybridizing the Attitudinal Style with other pedagogical models. This fact demonstrates their methodological capacity to interrelate key aspects in the classroom that have a direct impact on student learning. A pedagogical model should never have exclusive use by PE teachers, having demonstrated how the hybridization of the same allows it to adapt to the characteristics of the context, the content, and above all, the students [91]. It is fundamental that the initial training of PE teachers be structured based on three fundamental approaches: (a) rigorous theoretical questions linked to the discipline; (b) acquisition of methodological and evaluative resources applicable to the classroom; (c) critical reflection on the role that PE should have in schools [92]. Caldeborg, Maivorsdotter, and Öhman [93] indicate that there is still much disagreement about what the school should aim to achieve. This lack of agreement arises even amongst teachers who teach the subject, with the variables of motor commitment, type of content, and methodological orientation being the main sources of disagreement. In order to reach agreement among teachers, it is necessary to base discussions on scientific evidence about the learning outcomes of PE, which will allow us to advance rigorously every day in the classroom [94]. In this way, it will be possible to establish motor interventions in the classroom that are of a high pedagogical level, are coherent, and generate true and lasting learning.

#### **5. Conclusions**

In relation to the first objective of the study, the fundamental aspects that integrate the Attitudinal Style have been reflected, highlighting the groupings, the type of activities proposed by the teacher, the active role of the teacher, and the individual and group responsibility of the student as the most outstanding. Regarding the second objective, the future physical education teachers have valued very positively the Attitudinal Style, emphasizing its rigor when planning the subject and the great amount of methodological resources it offers. The main contribution of this study has been to propose the Attitudinal Style as a pedagogical model at an international level, providing results on the experiences of future EF teachers. However, it presents some limitations since it has only focused on teachers in training. Therefore, as a future line of research, it could be applied in the permanent training of teachers, checking what perceptions experienced PE teachers show. It could also be checked whether students who have received the Attitudinal Style show different perceptions depending on the content taught in the classroom. We consider that this article may be of interest to all those professionals teaching PE, especially those who train future teachers. If we consider the methodology as the main teaching tool, the Attitudinal Style becomes a fundamental pedagogical model to guide the educational processes in PE.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, Á.P.-P. and D.H.-A.; data curation, A.H.-G. and A.G.-G.; formal analysis, Á.P.-P. and D.H.-A; investigation, Á.P.-P. and A.H.-G.; methodology, D.H.-A. and A.G.-G.; project administration, Á.P.-P. and D.H.-A.; writing—original draft, Á.P.-P. and A.H.-G.; writing—review & editing, D.H.-A. and A.G.-G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
