Tensions in teacher community: competing commitments in the teaching of US middle school physical education

Abstract

In this article, tensions in teacher community arose when the school’s ‘rainy day’ policy was invoked in the middle of a class period, disturbing instruction on the athletic field and subsequently in the gymnasium. The narrative inquiry takes a multiperspectival stance towards competing commitments to educational policy, on one hand, and high quality instruction, on the other hand, through threading in viewpoints of six, diverse teachers comprising the physical education department in a US middle school. The narrative exemplar shows how the teachers and the administrator shifted from absolute fidelity to the school’s ‘rainy day’ policy to a reflective fidelity stance. The international significance of this research study is that it demonstrates why tensions in teacher community occur around commonplace matters in schools, the complexities and emotions that enter into decision-making situations and the ways tensions are addressed in pedagogical contexts, regardless of country of origin and subject matter focus.

Keywords:

• teacher knowledge
• teacher community
• school context
• narrative inquiry
• physical education

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2011-413-G00017). A special thank you is extended to Dr Xiao Han who served as a research assistant on this project.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cheryl J. Craig

Cheryl J. Craig is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, University of Houston, 304E Farish Hall, Houston, TX, USA; e-mail: [email protected]. Her research approaches teachers as curriculum makers and examines how context shapes their knowing and being.

JeongAe You

JeongAe You is an associate professor in the Department of Physical Education, Collegeof Education, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea; e-mail:[email protected]. Her research interests include curriculum development and teacher education in physical education.

Suhak Oh

Suhak Oh is a professor in the Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Inha University, Incheon, Korea; e-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include curriculum evaluation and expertise on teaching assessment in physical education.