Becoming a Physical Education Teacher Educator: Landmarks and Critical Incidents

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Initial Teacher Education and Continual Learning in Physical Education

Abstract

This study’s purpose was to explore critical incidents in becoming and learning to be a physical education teacher educator (PETE). Participants included 24 international PETEs with least five years of teacher education experience. Data sources included semi-structured interviews supplemented by living graphs (Hryniewicz, Griffiths, & Thompson, 2014). Three themes were prominent: a) entry into teacher education, b) seeing teacher education ‘in-action‘, and c) the role of colleagues and mentors. Findings inform our understanding of how and in what contexts PETEs acquire the skills and knowledge of conducting teacher education. This understanding may result in PETEs who can more effectively navigate the opportunities and challenges of effectively working in teacher preparation programs.

Authors

• Melissa Parker, University of Limerick

• Kevin Patton, California State University - Chico