P.E. teachers : Their knowledge and opinions related to exercise management of pupils with diabetes

This study investigated Physical Education (PE) teachers' experiences, knowledge and attitudes towards exercise management of pupils with Type I diabetes. It was hypothesised that because of the specialist nature of Type I diabetes, PE teachers with experience of, or education in the condition, would score higher in a knowledge test then those without; additionally, PE teachers in this country would exhibit a similar lack of knowledge and understanding of Type I diabetes as their contemporaries in the USA. A cross-sectional postal questionnaire was issued to 100 PE teachers from partnership schools of St. Martin's College. 34 respondents, (19 male and 15 female, mean age 38 years, standard deviation (SD) = 9.5 years, mean years teaching experience 13.4 years, SD = 10.7 years) completed open questions assessing opinions and closed multiple-choice knowledge questions. Mann-Whitney U tests demonstrated no significant differences in the knowledge test scores for those with personal experience of, or previous education in Type I diabetes compared to those without prior experience (Z = -0.935, p = 0.35 or p > 0.05). Similarly, no significant differences in the overall group mean scores for the UK teachers compared to their USA peers were detected (Z = -1.061, p = 0.289 or p > 0.05). Overall, knowledge scores were low with the UK teachers' group mean score 15.3 % correct. This study has established a need for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Institutions to include a knowledge and understanding of diabetes and exercise management as part of a student's training