“It’s Been a Hell of a First Year. I Can Tell You That”: Two Novice Physical Educators’ Experiences Teaching in a Global Pandemic

Purposes : The purposes of this study were to describe (a) the perspectives and practices of two beginning physical education teachers working in the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) the influence of the teachers’ occupational socialization on these perspectives and practices. Method : Data were collected...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of teaching in physical education 2024-04, Vol.43 (2), p.257-265
Main Authors: Peterson, Jacob T., Dennis, Meghan, Curtner-Smith, Matthew D.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Purposes : The purposes of this study were to describe (a) the perspectives and practices of two beginning physical education teachers working in the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) the influence of the teachers’ occupational socialization on these perspectives and practices. Method : Data were collected with four qualitative techniques (formal interviews, informal interviews, document analysis, and a reflection journal). They were analyzed by employing the techniques of analytic induction and constant comparison. Findings : Jason and Lane were able to cope with and successfully adapt their teaching to the conditions dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This appeared to be due to the influence of their professional and secondary professional socialization and the fact that their schools’ cultures were mainly supportive. Conclusions : The study indicates that research-based undergraduate physical education teacher education combined with a specialist sport pedagogy master’s degree can produce skilled physical educators able to deliver effective physical education, even in very difficult circumstances.
ISSN:0273-5024
1543-2769
DOI:10.1123/jtpe.2022-0234