What is a PE teacher's role? The influence of learning opportunities on role definition

Abstract

At a time when the role of a physical education teacher in schools is being called into question, this article considers the relationship between learning opportunities and role definition. Previous research suggests that teachers define their roles through prior experience; through interaction with colleagues, friends, family and media; and in relation to the context in which they teach. This article reports on results from a longitudinal research project, which examined professional development opportunities during induction. It takes previous analysis further by asking how role definition can be influenced by learning opportunities.

On entering induction, the new teachers had similar and very clear perceptions of what their roles should be and as the year progressed, their experiences appeared to reinforce rather than challenge their definitions. During the year, it was possible to identify learning opportunities that could be termed sequential, experiential and context-driven, none of which presented a challenge to the way they had originally defined their roles. External courses were limited in scope and often merely ensured survival; learning through experience allowed for experimentation but was not always undertaken within a critically reflective process; and the contexts in which they found themselves seemed to reinforce a traditional role in which competitive extra-curricular activity was valued highly. It is clear that school managers, department heads, physical education teachers and external providers have a role to play in ensuring that learning opportunities challenge practice.

Keywords:

• Professional development
• Role definition
• Learning opportunities

Acknowledgments

My thanks to Richard Bailey and Chris Lloyd for comments on earlier drafts of this paper.