Experience and Meaning of Sports in the Daily Lives of Elementary School Pre-Service Teacher Educators

This study aimed to explore the experiences and meanings of sports participation in the daily lives of elementary school pre-service teacher educators. The participants are the researchers who participated in sports activities. Data were collected from the researcher’s tennis and golf diaries and analyzed using the domain and classification analysis methods proposed by Spradley (1979). The experiences and meanings of sports participation were categorized into movement performance ability and health improvement, expansion of sports perspectives, positive emotions, and social interaction. Looking at the categorized contents in detail, movement performance ability and health improvement were classified into learning basic movement skills, having body movements that are appropriate to the situation and context, and improving health and physical strength. The expansion of sports perspectives was categorized into increasing judgment and problem-solving abilities, expanding sports perspectives, and experiencing the value of sports. Positive emotions and social interaction were classified into having self-motivation and self-control, cultivating a cooperative attitude with others, and having grit (the muscle of the mind). Growth and change through sports activities discussed the promotion of health and physical fitness, understanding and perspective on sports activities, and positive social interactions.