Mental training in Physical Education : A qualitative study of PE teachers understanding of mental training

The purpose of this study was to research PE (Physical Education) teachers understanding of mental trainings use in their education. Six PE teachers were interviewed to create a broad vision of how mental training can be conducted in physical education. The PE teacher’s reflections and views on mental training are illuminated in this study. The interviews conducted have been of an unstructured nature. How mental training can be justified in physical education has been one of my questions. Furthermore, the PE teachers gave their views on how they work with mental training in physical education and what they think about what the future might look like for mental training in physical education. Six different teachers have been interviewed. The results which have arisen since the implementation of the study give examples of how mental training can be justified as part of physical education, as in form of visualization. The study shows that PE teachers use mental training in their teaching, for example through motivation, and how they motivate their pupil’s. However, some of the PE teachers use mental training more than others. Something that arose during the research was that the PE teachers had different views about the future of mental training in physical education.Syftet med detta examensarbete var att undersöka idrottslärares uppfattning av den mentala träningens användande i idrottsundervisningen. Sex idrottslärare intervjuades och genom intervjuerna skapades en bred syn kring hur mental träning kan bedrivas inom idrottsundervisningen. Intervjuerna som genomförts har varit av en ostrukturerad karaktär. Idrottslärarnas åsikter och funderingar kring mental träning är belysta i detta arbete. Hur mental träning kan motiveras i idrottsundervisningen har varit en av mina frågeställningar. Vidare har verksamma idrottslärare gett sin syn på hur de arbetar med mental träning inom idrottsämnet samt vad de tror om framtiden för mental träning inom idrottsundervisningen. Resultaten som uppkommit efter genomförandet av studien ger exempel på hur mental träning kan motiveras som en del av idrottsundervisningen, till exempel genom visualisering. Studien visar att idrottslärarna använder sig av mental träning i sin undervisning, exempelvis genom motivation, och hur de motiverar sina elever. Dock använder vissa av idrottslärarna mental träning mer än andra. Något som framkom under undersökningen var att idrottslärarna hade olika åsikter kring mental tränings framtid i idrottsundervisningen