The purpose of this study is to shed new light on the research of teachers’ awareness and responses
toward unexpected situations that is occur in physical education. This study consists of qualitative research on
three teachers with different work experience, one P.E. instructor, and three sixth grade classes at K
elementary school in S city. From the observation, unexpected situations in physical education can be roughly
separated into three categories: (1) situations caused by students, (2) situations caused by teachers, and (3)
situations caused by the environment. For the first category, situations caused by students, the main factors
are the students’ understanding of the subject content, their attitude towards teachers, and their relations
among their peers. Next, in situations caused by teachers, the main factors are the teachers’ class preparation,
background knowledge and the generation gap. Lastly, the main factors of situations caused by the
environment are lesson materials and class location. Whatever caused the unexpected situations, teachers show
different responses depending on their work experience, background knowledge, and class perception. In
situations caused by students, teachers with less teaching experience try to solve problems with
communication and persuasion, while teachers with more experience try to solve a problem with physical
training and factor eliminations. This difference shows that more experienced teachers value efficiency and
effectiveness more than less experienced teachers. In situations caused by teachers, each instructor shows
different reactions according to their own personal characteristics. In situations caused by the environment,
more experienced teachers are able to change lesson plans when needed more than less experienced teachers.
However, teachers need to better understand the younger generation’s trends, especially when regarding
unresponsive students.