[RETRACTED ARTICLE] THE RESEARCH OF THE MODEL FOR GYMNASTICS COURSE OBJECTIVES ACHIEVEMENT IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION MAJOR BASE ON TEACHER PROFESSIONAL ACCREDITATION THEORY

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the setting of objectives for gymnastics courses in physical education programs under the context of teacher professional accreditation standards and to analyze the pathways for achieving these objectives to guide curriculum improvement. The sample consisted of 283 physical education students from teacher training universities in Hebei Province, China, who had completed the second-level accreditation. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed from literature review and expert interviews, with its quality confirmed by an Item Objective Congruence (IOC) index ranging from 0.80 to 1.00 and a Cronbach’s α reliability coefficient of 0.87. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) with SPSS and AMOS software. The findings indicated that gymnastics course objectives should align with teacher professional accreditation standards and focus on developing students’ teaching skills and professional competence. The pathway model comprised four main components: curriculum content (β = 0.82), teaching methods (β = 0.76), instructional management (β = 0.68), and assessment (β = 0.61). Gymnastics techniques (β = 0.85) and practical teaching methods (β = 0.88) were found to be the most influential sub-factors. After model modification based on Modification Indices, the goodness-of-fit indices improved significantly (CMIN/DF = 1.803, GFI = 0.936, CFI = 0.975, RMSEA = 0.053), confirming that the model fits the empirical data well. Recommendations include clarifying course objectives according to accreditation standards, balancing technical, theoretical, and pedagogical content, enhancing practice-oriented teaching methods and student engagement, and refining assessment systems to better reflect students’ competencies. These improvements can enhance learning outcomes and raise the quality of physical education teacher preparation.