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Abstract
Based on a theory of organisational socialisation, this study aimed to investigate physical education teachers’ orientations towards teaching. These orientations were also compared with lesson objectives and the methods by which teachers coped with their school environments. Ten male physical education teachers were selected by a tertiary college teaching practice coordinator. Five were identified as innovators and five as custodial or non‐innovative teachers. Each teacher was interviewed at length by one of the two researchers. The results from this exploratory study indicated some support for the organisational theory in the career patterns of the innovative teachers significantly differed from the custodial physical educators. For examle, the custodial teachers had experienced very stable career histories and had showed little inclination for study leave or other substantive breaks from teaching. The analysis also indicated links between lesson objectives and coping behaviour; while the custodial teachers tended to adjust their ideas to match those of the schools, the innovators were more determined to change decisions or policies with which they disagreed.