Toward Collegiality: Competing Viewpoints Among Teacher Educators

Abstract

A series of recent speeches, articles, and books have outlined a radical perspective on physical education derived from critical theory, feminism, and postmodernism. This radical discourse has been particularly critical of what it describes as positivistic approaches to research and technocratic views of teaching and curriculum. This article outlines our concerns with this literature, including (a) polemical presentations and vitriolic language, (b) zero-sum arguments that polarize, (c) cartooning, (d) a lack of evidence to defend assertions, and (e) assumptions that it alone occupies high moral ground. We acknowledge that the radical literature has not only brought moral issues to the ongoing forum among physical educators but has also had a direct, positive influence on our work. Areas where we might engage in a collegial discourse include the nature of the subject matter called physical education, the basis underlying a moral perspective on professional work, and the nature of teaching skill development.