Improving student performance in volleyball in PE: A didactic study in cycle 3 in French primary schools

This study falls within the paradigm of joint action in didactics. It focuses on a physical education (PE) class in cycle 3 of a French primary school (students aged ten to eleven), and in particular on the development of students’ physical performance during a volleyball session led by a school teacher. The study links these potential improvements with the “didactic milieu” that the teacher has proposed and that the students have each engaged with in their own way. Conducting interviews and making observations during a session enabled us to then carry out qualitative and quantitative analyses, both on the teacher’s didactic work and on the students’ physical performance.Comparing the analyses carried out at the start and end of the session brings to light the technical and tactical skills students acquired that are linked to their improved physical performance. They confirm that this sport, which is rarely taught in primary schools, can complement a rich PE program, provided that the teacher offers a judicious didactic approach, focusing in particular on developing students’ tactical skills.