Social processes of health and physical education teachers’ identity formation: reproducing and changing culture

Abstract

This paper examines Initial Teacher Education students’ experiences of participation in health and physical education (HPE) subject department offices and the impact on their understandings and identity formation. Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and practice along with Wenger’s communities of practice form the theoretical frame used in the paper. Data were collected using surveys and interviews with student‐teachers following their teaching practicum and analysed using coding and constant comparison. Emergent themes revealed students’ participation in masculine‐dominated sports, gendered body constructions, and repertoires of masculine domination. Findings are discussed in relation to their impact on student‐teachers’ learning, identity formation, and marginalizing practices in the department offices. Implications for teacher education and HPE are explored.

Keywords:

• identity construction
• student‐teachers
• subject department offices
• social reproduction
• agency

Acknowledgements

The research presented in this paper was conducted at The University of Queensland, Australia and was supported by the Australian Research Council.