Teacher Effectiveness Research in Physical Education: The Future Isn't What It Used to Be

Abstract

This commentary was written in response to the Rink (2013), McKenzie and Lounsbery (2013), and Ward (2013) articles published earlier on teacher effectiveness in physical education (PE). The historical analyses of teacher effectiveness research in PE (TER-PE) presented in those 3 articles are briefly described, particularly as they represent a collective agenda in the first 3 decades in this line of inquiry. That collective agenda was primarily driven by physical education researchers and P–12 teachers, who developed and explored empirically based best practices for effective teaching and learning in physical education, which informed much of the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge learned in physical education teacher education programs. Based on 2 recent policy developments in many states, external threats to the previous agenda for TER-PE are presented by the author, who concedes that the lead for the future agenda for TER-PE will soon be taken out of the hands of researchers, teachers, and teacher educators and transferred to educational agencies in the form of new policies on initial teacher certification and the evaluation of in-service teachers in a growing number of states.

Keywords:

• physical education teaching, teacher education, teacher effectiveness research, teaching policy

Notes

¹ All descriptions of TKES are taken from the TKES Handbook (Georgia Department of Education, 2013).

² It is the equivalent of Praxis II in other states.

³ All descriptions of edTPA are taken from the edTPA Handbook for Physical Education (Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity, 2013).