Challenging students’ performance through Practical Skills Assessment in Elective Football coaching in Hawassa University: An action research study

Abstract

Complaints from the university students enrolled in sport science fields or their hiring employers have been heard to practical assessment in sports science. On top of that, long years ofexperience in teaching taught us the problem of practical skills assessment has existed in sports science. This problem emanates primarily from the activities of gross motor parts of the organism while doing sport; leading to a highly subjective assessment. Furthermore, the absences of safe and secured facilities for practice, large class sizes, as well as the absence of video materials, to track students’ progress, are among the other factors. This study used the process of action research: identify-plan-act-reflect, in order to improve 3rd year, sports science students' practical assessment skills in Elective football coaching at Hawassa University. The study participants included 25 randomly selected students from a population of 50 students. Football's basic skill first was taught theoretically and practically for the betterment of easy to conduct assessment skills. To do so, the researcher allotted three sessions in consecutive days; after conducting the pre-test assessment. The study has shown that there was a statistically significant increase of difficulty dribbling and trapping the ball from pre-test (M= 1.24, SD= .43) to post-test (M=1.64, SD=.49), t(24)= -4, P<0.005). The eta squared statistics (.4) indicated a large effect size. There was a statistically significance increase of the control ball with both feet from pre-test (M=2.44, SD= .5) to post-test (M=3.72, SD= .45), t(24)= -8.6, P<0.005). The eta squared statistics (.75) indicated a large effect size. There was statistically significance increase of ability to dribble either direction with token pressure from pre-test (M=2.56, SD= .5) to post-test (M=4.76, SD= .43), t(24)= -17, P<0.005). The eta squared statistics (.92) indicated a large effect size. Therefore, from the five parameters of football skill practical assessments, all skill parameters are significant to apply in assessing the psychomotor domain of football in the Elective coaching course at Hawassa University. The findings revealed that, participation of students in educational assessments are resulted an alteration of training performance in academics