Reconciling fidelity and teaching agency: How preservice teachers’ implementation of a hybrid sport education–step game approach impacts student learning

This study examined how different levels of implementation fidelity to critical elements of a hybrid Sport Education–Step Game Approach (SE-SGA) were associated with students’ game performance during volleyball teaching. Within a master’s-level physical education teacher education program in Northern Portugal, nine preservice teachers (PSTs) and 189 10th-grade students across nine classes participated. Prior to school placement, the PSTs completed over 300 hours of coursework, including 60 hours of sport-specific pedagogy using the SE-SGA hybrid approach. A quasi-experimental pre–post design was employed. 108 lessons were video-recorded and coded using a 17-item fidelity checklist. Fidelity scores were averaged across 12 lessons per PST. Cluster analysis (Ward’s method) identified three fidelity levels (high, moderate, low). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc tests confirmed significant group differences. Students’ game performance was assessed using validated measures: decision-making efficacy (0–3 scale), game performance index (mean across four actions), game involvement score (total actions), rate of play (actions/minute), and efficacy score (successful actions). Multivariate analysis of variance, ANOVA, and multiple mediation analyses were conducted. Results showed that students taught by high-fidelity PSTs achieved the greatest gains across all domains (game involvement, efficacy, rate of play, performance index, and discrete actions: service, reception, setting, attack). Moderate- and low-fidelity groups showed improvements in specific indicators, particularly participation and technical actions. These findings challenge binary fidelity views and highlight how scaffolded, context-sensitive enactment may support learning. These results require further study through in situ analyses of PST–mentor interactions.