"Pushed Out" of Physical Education: Narratives of Two Teachers' Career Trajectories

• In Event: 18.063 - Action, Activist, and Narrative-Oriented Research in Physical Education

Abstract

There is a need to explore how physical education teachers navigate the complex cultures of the schools in which they are employed over the course of their careers (Richards, Templin, & Graber, 2014). This study investigates the career trajectory of two physical education teacher education graduates to better understand the realities of teaching post-primary physical education in Ireland. The results of this study suggest several factors influenced the two teachers’ career trajectories, including (a) feelings of being limited in their teaching role, and (b) the need for recognition and rewards for teaching efforts. Two narratives are used to convey the extent to which individual dispositions and contextual factors influence teacher career trajectories.

Authors

• Cassandra Iannucci, University of Limerick

• Ann MacPhail, University of Limerick