Nevenka Maras1, Marin Corluka2, Nataša Zenić3
1University of Zagreb, Faculty of Teacher Education, Zagreb, Croatia
2University of Mostar, Faculty of Science and Education, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
3University of Split, Faculty of Kinesiology, Split, Croatia
Ability Grouping in Swimming Pedagogy: Implications for the Integration of Swimming Abilities and Technical Skills
Sport Mont 2026, 24(2), Ahead of Print | DOI: 10.26773/smj.260608
Abstract
Questions of pedagogical effectiveness in physical education, especially regarding how students are grouped during instruction, remain important for designing effective skill-based curricula. This study aimed to examine the qualitative effects of ability-based grouping in university-level swimming education. A pre–post experimental design was used, involving two groups of students: an experimental group that received instruction in homogeneous groups based on their swimming abilities (n=37), and a control group taught in heterogeneous, alphabetically based groups (n=39). All participants followed the same swimming curriculum and were assessed using standardized measures of swimming abilities and swimming skills at the beginning and at the end of the course. In the control group, correlations between swimming skills and abilities showed a slight decrease, whereas in the experimental group they generally increased. Both groups retained a single-factor structure at the initial and final measurements. However, the control group showed a reduction in factor loadings and in the proportion of explained variance (from 79% to 74%). In contrast, the experimental group demonstrated stable factor loadings and a slight increase in explained variance (from 72% to 76%), indicating a more coherent integration of swimming skills and abilities. These findings suggest that grouping students based on their initial abilities can improve the coherence of learning outcomes and enhance pedagogical effectiveness in physical education. Considering the importance of swimming skills in everyday life, further researches are warranted.
Keywords
physical education, teaching methods, learning, pedagogical approach, structural changes
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