A paradox or a culture of acceptance? The idiosyncratic workforce delivering health education in lower secondary government schools in Western Australia

ABSTRACT

Internationally, research has repeatedly highlighted the marginal and apparently precarious position of Health and Physical Education (HPE) in schools. It has also consistently identified staffing as a key concern in relation to prospects for quality teaching and learning. This paper reports on mixed-methods research that has specifically addressed these concerns in exploring current staffing for health education (HE) in Western Australia (WA). The research sample for the study comprised 75 teachers. The data presented raises serious questions about the capacity of schools and teachers to deliver on national policy intentions to provide all Australian children with an education that effectively supports their current and future health and well-being. Discussion of data addresses professional standards for teachers, teacher preparation in HPE and professional learning for teachers. Developments in all of these areas are identified as necessary to position HE as a key site for meaningful and valuable health learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Health education
• health and physical education
• teacher education
• teacher standards
• professional learning

Acknowledgement

This paper expands upon the data presented at the 30th ACHPER International Conference in Canberra (Barwood, 2017).

Notes on contributors

Donna Barwood is Coordinator and lecturer for Health and Physical Education in the school of education at Edith Cowan University. Donna’s research interest focuses on health education and sun safety in the delivery of Health and Physical Education.

Dawn Penney is a professorial research fellow in the school of education at Edith Cowan University, with ongoing projects addressing developments in policy, curriculum and assessment in Health and Physical Education.

Christine Cunningham is senior lecture specialising in curriculum in the school of education at Edith Cowan University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Donna Barwood http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7447-6333

Dawn Penney http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2000-8953

Christine Cunningham http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1216-9623

Notes

1 The Australian Curriculum: HPE is a national framework that state education authorities across Australia have variously adopted and adapted in state-specific curriculum requirements, such as that in WA (SCSAWA, 2015) and the Victorian Curriculum (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2016).

2 The AITSL standards define the pedagogic work of Australian teachers by identifying three domains of teaching – professional knowledge, professional practice and professional engagement – and outlines seven standards for teachers. These identify teachers as graduate teachers, proficient teachers, highly accomplished teachers and lead teachers. Standard one refers to teachers knowing their students and understanding how they learn. Standard two refers to teachers knowing the content and how to teach it. Standard three refers to the ways in which teachers’ plan for and implement effective teaching and learning. Standard four refers to the ways in which teachers create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments. Standard five refers to the ways in which teachers assess, provide feedback and report on student learning. Standard six refers to teachers’ engagement in professional learning and standard seven refers to the ways in which teachers engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community.

3 The questionnaire provided some guidance with regard to participants’ understanding of their under-graduate and post-graduate teacher education course.

4 As a consequence of the study, the lead author of this paper has received a grant to investigate the courses of universities in Australia that prepare HPE teachers, with the purpose of developing a contemporary and reflective HPE course at the WA university she is employed.