An Exploratory Study of Physical Education Teacher Education Graduates’ Job Histories

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the job histories of physical education teacher education (PETE) graduates over a 15-year span. Method: A total of 118 graduates/participants completed a Qualtrics, open-ended survey. Face validity of the survey questions was established via a panel of experts and the survey was pilot-tested by PE teachers. Data were analyzed inductively via constant comparison. Trustworthiness of the data was addressed via peer debriefing and the use of member checks. Results: During the first year after graduation, of the 118 participants in this study, 82% were employed in schools, with 48% securing full-time teaching positions in health and/or PE, and adapted physical education (APE), and the other 34% in roles such as part-time teaching. Ultimately, 75% of graduates taught full-time in health, PE and/or APE. A total of 7% of those who taught opted to leave teaching. Almost all of the 80 participants still teaching planned to teach till retirement, or a very long time, with none stating that they planned to leave the profession soon. A few (3%) stated that they were undecided, however. Conclusion: There is a lack of research in the area of job histories of PETE graduates in the United States, and much of the overall research on organizational socialization is dated. The authors hope to spur further inquiry into this important area. The results of this study are encouraging but follow up studies are envisioned to further examine issues such as job satisfaction and teacher/coach orientations from acculturation through the life span of teachers.     

The School Sport Co-ordinator Programme: Changing the Role of the Physical Education Teacher?

Over the last decade or so, young people have increasingly become a focus of UK sport policy. Fuelled in part by concerns such as the increasing levels of childhood inactivity and obesity, and the lack of international success in sport, a plethora of policy initiatives aimed at young people have been developed. In April 2000, the government published its sport strategy document, A Sporting Future for All, pulling together all the threads of recent policies, and in it, restating its commitment to youth sport, sport in education, excellence and sport in the community. One such policy initiative, the School Sport Co-ordinator programme, is the focus of this paper. The School Sport Co-ordinator programme, currently being introduced into schools in England, is an initiative that involves two government departments (sport and education) and a number of other agencies, reflecting the government's current agenda to ensure 'joined up policy' thinking. It aims to develop opportunities for youth sport through co-ordinated links between PE and sport in schools, both within and outside of the formal curriculum, with those in local community sports settings. The essence of the School Sport Co-ordinator programme is to free up nominated teachers in schools from teaching to allow them time for development activities, specifically to encourage schools and community sports providers to work in partnership. This paper draws on data from an ongoing research project examining the implementation of one School Sport Co-ordinator partnership, 'Northbridge'. Drawing on in-depth interviews, it explores the perceptions of the newly established School Sport Co-ordinators of their changing role. The paper highlights some of the initial tensions and challenges for them in their task of working across different educational and sporting contexts.     

‘Physical Education’s First Lady of the World’: Dorothy Sears Ainsworth and the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Women and Girls

Abstract

Dorothy Sears Ainsworth has received wide acclaim for her pioneering efforts in international relations that enhanced collaboration among female physical educators in the decades following World War II. As Director of Physical Education for Women at Smith College (1926–1960), Ainsworth became a global figure, traveling extensively and organizing the first international conference on physical education for women and girls in Copenhagen in 1949. This resulted in the establishment of the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW), today counting over 400 members from 45 different countries. In this paper we (re)consider the largely hagiographical accounts of Ainsworth’s career and re-examine her contributions to the international stage in light of her maternalist views on female sport and physicality. Indeed, women’s difference from men dominated the discourse of many international women’s movements at this time. We consider what IAPESGW’s long-term governance by primarily white and wealthy women may have meant in terms of the organization’s focus and globalizing efforts and conclude that though Ainsworth’s essentialist approach ignored earlier feminist sporting movements, and would not outlast the more progressive winds of change in the 1970s, neither should her early contributions to establishing bonds among female physical educators globally be minimized.     

Foucault’s History of the Present: The Birth of the Games Concept Approach in Singapore’s Physical Education Curriculum

Abstract

The year 1999 saw a major shift in Singapore’s Physical Education curriculum when the traditional teaching approach in primary schools was replaced by a more game-like one, aptly known as the Games Concept Approach (GCA). Based on Foucault’s ‘History of the Present’ which intended to distinguish the kind of historical projects that brought this change, the focus is on tracing the forces that gave birth to the present-day practices and identifying the historical conditions which caused this shift towards GCA. Inspired by Foucault’s distinct elements of status, institutional sites and situation, the perspective of revealing a ‘history of the present’ on the birth of GCA in Singapore creates a better understanding of why it is still being taught in the PE curriculum.     

The Joinville School and the Institutionalization of a French-Style Physical Education, 1852–1939

Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Joinville School in France has worked to promote an innovative method of physical education, the French method, which was strongly marked by ideological and geopolitical challenges. Most of the French actors, whether they be military, doctors, scientists, or teachers, fought to defend France on the move. Physical education and its scholastic responsibility thus represented an original means to serve the national community and to give the country the necessary influence it required on the political and cultural international scene. If during the Second Empire, the Joinville School participated in the development of the physical instruction of French troops, during the third Republic, this officers' training school expanded the promotion of its method for physical education in schools. Among the challenges of this strategy, the actors for French physical education were faced with the organization of a common national teaching method as additional support for the promotion of a method that bore the mark of an eclectic philosophy. Until World War II, the Joinville School was a center for innovation that would spread practical physical education throughout France and Europe.     

Following the Footsteps of Specialist Physical Education Teachers in Singapore’s Primary Schools

This study explored the footsteps of specialist physical education teachers in Singapore’s primary schools. In particular, this paper uncovered the physical education teacher training in Singapore during post-colonial days, ground situations leading to the rise of the specialist physical education teachers and government policies influencing the increase of them in primary schools. Document analysis was employed to trace the development of teachers teaching physical education in Singapore’s primary schools since the 1950s. The focus was on how this development influences the position of specialist physical education teachers in primary schools. The key role of the primary school physical education teacher has changed from a teacher whose focus was on physical fitness to a teacher who looks to develop pupils holistically through pupil-centric sports and outdoor activities. A generalist teacher that did not specialize in physical education is no longer suitable to teach physical education. Government policies and initiatives such as the robust recruitment of physical education teachers and the continuation of the Diploma in Physical Education programme have had a direct impact on the increasing number of primary school specialist physical education teachers. However, this increase is still insufficient. A concerted effort must be made by the school management to prioritize the quality of physical education lessons and sports programmes.     

Mixed messages: pre-service Health and Physical Education teachers’ understandings of health and the body and the expectations of the Australian curriculum

This paper explores how a cohort of pre-service Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers from an Australian university describe and construct their understandings of health and the body. Given that the courses that these undergraduates take in their degree programme present different perspectives on health and the body, a relevant question is to what extent these perspectives adequately equip these future HPE teachers to successfully teach the recently released Australian HPE curriculum. The participants in this study were 14 pre-service teachers, 11 females and 3 males, aged between 18 and 26 at the time of the first interview. The data used for this paper were taken from a larger study and were generated through interviews, the analysis of two undergraduate course profiles and an analysis of the new National HPE curriculum. Results reveal that there are some dominant discourses in health-related courses that may have a significant impact on these students. The purpose of HPE, the role of the HPE teacher and the idea of the HPE teacher as role model are also discussed. The results suggest that pre-service teachers face several challenges and dissonances between what they learn during their undergraduate programme and what the Australian HPE curriculum expects them to teach. How pre-service HPE teachers think about and relate to health and the body is important in terms of how they think about their professional practice and the influence they may have on their future pupils.     

'It's Only the Sissies …': Analysis of Teaching and Learning Processes in Physical Education: A Contribution to the Hidden Curriculum

The article is a discussion and an analysis of an event observed in a critical classroom study on teaching and learning in physical education. It demonstrates how sociocultural discourses are embedded in children's and teachers' discursive practices [Fairclough (1992) Discourse and Social Change (Cambridge, Polity Press)] in the classroom, how discourses of physical education and discourses of gender relations are connected, and how these construct and are constructed by the social structures of the physical education lesson, and influence students' learning. Using the notion of situated learning [Lave & Wenger (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press); Wenger (1998) Community of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press)], the paper analyses how discourses in the physical education setting influence children's learning processes, and points to the different meanings the discursive practices observed in the classroom have for the girls as compared to the boys. This analysis allows for some concluding comments on learning and the hidden curriculum in physical education.     

Three-Year Study of Students’ Attitudes Toward Physical Education: Grades 4–8

Purpose: A relationship exists between attitudes toward physical education and future physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in attitude toward physical education as students progressed from upper elementary school (Grade 4) through middle school (Grade 8). Method: Three cohorts of students (Cohort 1, Grades 4–6, n = 96; Cohort 2, Grades 5–7, n = 71; and Cohort 3, Grades 6–8, n = 73) were each followed for 3 years to examine changes in attitudes toward physical education. Results: After an initial increase from Grade 4 to Grade 5, a significant decrease was observed from Grades 5 to 8 in students’ positive attitudes toward physical education, with a faster rate of change for girls than boys. Conclusion: This longitudinal study provides further insights regarding the attitudes of students as they progress from Grade 4 to Grade 8 and expands on previous findings identifying decreasing positive attitudes toward physical education as students age, particularly for girls. The results provide evidence to support targeted interventions.     

Parent Support for Children’s Physical Activity: A Qualitative Investigation of Barriers and Strategies

Purpose: Parents play an important role in supporting children’s physical activity (PA) behavior. Parent PA support is a behavior unto itself that has been examined within the framework of an adapted theory of planned behavior (TPB). The primary purpose of this research was to identify key barriers to parent PA support to understand perceptions of control in relation to parent PA support. The second purpose of this research was to identify potential strategies to enhance parent PA support via enhanced perceived behavioral control. Method: Focus groups were conducted with parents (N = 21) of children aged 5 to 11 years old. A deductive content analysis was employed to analyze the data guided by an adapted TPB. Results: Themes related to barriers included parents’ motivation, affective experiences in providing PA support, and control factors (e.g., cost, time, safety concerns, screen). Themes related to potential strategies included opportunities for participation and improved affective experiences for parents, community parenting, and self-regulatory strategies. Conclusion: The identification of specific barriers to parent PA support can guide the development of interventions to facilitate parent PA support. Informational, programming, and self-regulatory training interventions may be useful in enhancing parent support.     

‘Christian Patriotism’ and Physical Education in Pre-Revolutionary France: The Royal Military School in Sorèze in the Eighteenth Century

The Ecole Royale Militaire of Soreze (Royal Military School) was located in the French province of Languedoc. On the eve of the 1789 Revolution it was still a religious institution run by the Benedictine monks, known for having broken with certain traditional models. The establishment offered special forms of instruction, stressing certain scientific and literary disciplines, and also physical education (fencing, dancing, horse riding, and equestrianism). Pupils’ best results were also recorded in swimming. At the end of every school year, all the results were confirmed by public examinations, labelled Exercices publics, and recorded in the Cahiers d’exercices. These materials enable the reconstruction the evolution of the school’s programmes over a period of more than a century. The incalculable richness of Sorèze’s programmes, by distinguishing the elements already present in the military training of the period from the pedagogical innovations that were introduced, demonstrate the special place that was reserved for physical exercise. This Catholic institution was thus able to develop a total coherence of the scholarly programme, considered as a source of ‘Christian Patriotism’, in pre-Revolutionary France.     

Christianity and the Rise of Western Physical Education and Sport in Modern China, 1840–1920s

Christianity, as practised by missionary educational institutions and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), was an important means of introducing and popularizing Western physical education and sport in modern China from 1840 to the 1920s. The research investigates how and why missionary educational institutions and the YMCA and YWCA contributed to the rise of physical education and sport in modern China. This analysis examines the activities of missionary educational institutions and the YMCA and YWCA in China during this period to uncover what really contributed to pave the way for Christianity, as well as led to this rise of Western physical education and sport in modern China from 1840 to the 1920s.     

A Sport Education Fitness Season’s Impact on Students’ Fitness Levels,Knowledge, and In-Class Physical Activity

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a sport education season of fitness could provide students with recommended levels of in-class moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) while also increasing students’ fitness knowledge and fitness achievement. Method: One hundred and sixty-six 5th-grade students (76 boys, 90 girls) participated in a 20-lesson season called “CrossFit Challenge” during a 4-week period. The Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run, push-ups, and curl-ups tests of the FITNESSGRAM® were used to assess fitness at pretest and posttest, while fitness knowledge was assessed through a validated, grade-appropriate test of health-related fitness knowledge (HRF). Physical activity was measured with Actigraph GT3X triaxial accelerometers. Results: Results indicated a significant time effect for all fitness tests and the knowledge test. Across the entire season, the students spent an average of 54.5% of lesson time engaged in MVPA, irrespective of the type of lesson (instruction, free practice, or competition). Conclusions: The results suggest that configuring the key principles of sport education within a unit of fitness is an efficient model for providing students with the opportunity to improve fitness skill and HRF knowledge while attaining recommended levels of MVPA.     

Using visual methodologies to understand pre-service Health and Physical Education teachers’ subjectivities of bodies

Socio-cultural theorists have argued that having a diverse understanding of subjectivities of normal/ideal bodies is important for Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers. When teachers hold a single understanding and perception of normal/ideal bodies, such as a thin body as normal or ideal body, which are usually informed by dominant discourses, they may (re)produce narrow understandings of bodies among their students. This paper focuses on how a group of pre-service HPE specialist teachers (11 females and 3 males, aged between 18 and 26 at the time of the first interview) from an Australian university, discuss issues related to subjectivities of bodies. It draws on visual methodologies and semi-structured interviews to understand how these pre-service HPE specialist teachers construct discourses of bodies. Foucault’s concepts of normalisation, surveillance and biopedagogies are used to explore discursive constructions of bodies, with a particular focus on how some discourses are normalised via surveillance techniques. The results of the study invite us to reflect on how images may promote certain ways of thinking about and considering the body among pre-service HPE specialist teachers. In light of contradictions which were found across the comments of two participants who constructed different discourses during the interviews, we posit that making sense of subjectivities of bodies is complex and often contradictory. Furthermore, the results suggest that photo elicitation is a useful visual method for theorising issues related to bodies. Results can inform teacher education and policy in how to better prepare pre-service HPE teachers to teach about bodies.     

The role of task and ego-oriented climate in explaining students’ bright and dark motivational experiences in Physical Education

Background: A distinction is made in Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) between task-oriented (i.e. effort, intra-individual progress, and self-comparison) and ego-oriented (i.e. inter-individual progress and normative comparison) climates. Combining insights from AGT and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), studies in the PE context have shown that a task-oriented climate positively relates to need satisfaction, although the findings regarding the motivating role of an ego-oriented climate are inconsistent. Moreover, little is known about the role of task- or ego-oriented climates in explaining experiences of basic psychological need frustration.

Purpose: Grounded in AGT and SDT, the aim of the present study was to examine if experiences of basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration can explain why task- and ego-oriented climates elicit positive and negative motivational outcomes in PE, respectively.

Research design: Cross-sectional study.

Method: A sample of 524 secondary school students (51.1% boys, M_age?=?14.51; SD?=?1.81) from five different secondary schools participated in this study. Students reported on their perceptions of task- and ego-oriented climates, motivational regulations, basic psychological need satisfaction, and need frustration, as well as positive and negative outcomes in PE. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate our objective.

Results: We found that a task-oriented climate had a strong and positive relationship with basic psychological need satisfaction, eliciting a bright pathway to autonomous motivation and affective attitude. An ego-oriented climate was positively related to basic psychological need frustration, eliciting a dark pathway to amotivation and boredom. A negative cross-path from task-oriented climate to basic psychological need frustration was also found, while no significant cross-paths were found from ego-oriented climate to basic psychological need satisfaction.

Conclusions: This study provides a better understanding of the mechanisms that explain why task- and ego-oriented climates shape students’ motivational experiences in PE lessons. It is suggested that a task-oriented climate elicits a bright pathway towards more optimal functioning, because it fosters experiences of need satisfaction and buffers against experiences of need frustration. In contrast, an ego-oriented climate is primarily positively related to feelings of need frustration and negative motivational outcomes. Practical implications for PE teacher training are discussed.     

Marking Physical Literacy or Missing the Mark on Physical Literacy? A Conceptual Critique of Canada’s Physical Literacy Assessment Instruments

Margaret Whitehead first introduced the concept of physical literacy over 20 years ago. Since that introduction, physical literacy has been gaining in popularity within many Western physical education and sport contexts. This is particularly true within Canada, where physical literacy has been embraced by two of the nation’s most notable national physical education and sport organizations (i.e., Physical and Health Education Canada, Canadian Sport for Life). As physical literacy has been generating interest and action by these organizations, they, and others, have been quick to also seek methods by which to measure it. However, it is our observation that despite the promises and possibilities of physical literacy resources, initiatives, and programs, Canada’s most accessible physical literacy assessment instruments are wanting for focused and direct contemplation. In this article, we offer a conceptual critique of the physical literacy assessment instruments being developed for and practices being encouraged within Canadian school communities. Our contemplations consider three physical literacy assessment instruments, and they are focused, principally, upon usability, trustworthiness, and fidelity to Whitehead’s conception of physical literacy. We conclude that the instruments differ in their ease of use and usefulness, some are lacking, markedly, with respect to trustworthiness, and some fail to capture physical literacy as Whitehead intended it. Finally, in light of these conclusions, we offer suggestions for future practice and inquiry.     

The Gendering of Physical Education in Hong Kong: East,West or Global?

How gender operates is a key factor in the ways in which physical education is organized, taught and experienced by students and teachers. This essay highlights the gendered contours of the history of physical education development in Hong Kong, its Chinese heritage and its colonial foundations – the persistent influence of British approaches to physical education teacher education and the promotion of sport. The paper is a collaborative work between Chinese-born and Western scholars. It examines the relative influences of Chinese attitudes towards gender roles and the active, sporting body and the continued impact of Western approaches to physical education and sport in a post-colonial society.     

Across Fields and Boundaries: Finding One’s Way in International Sports History

Abstract

This article presents my personal experience as a European scholar at the turn of the twentieth century. In this period, sports historiography was characterized by a shift from political and social history to a broader cultural consideration of sport. In a time when the internet was developing and exchanges between researchers became easier, I experienced and contributed to the internationalization of the field. Nevertheless, this evolution did not erase national boundaries, which are still present and reveal the weight of historical traditions.