A Comparison of Knowledge Obsolescence of Graduating Seniors and Practitioners in the Field of Physical Education

Modified Delphi Investigation of Exercise Science in Physical Education Teacher Education

“…This study resulted in the determination of a list of fundamental exercise science competencies that physical educators should learn, and the delineation of recommended instructional methods for delivering exercise science content in the PETE curriculum. The limited research in this area demonstrates that the course content and instructional methods associated with traditional exercise science courses may inadequately address the needs of prospective physical educators (Barnett & Merriman, 1994;Kelley & Lindsay, 1977, 1980Miller & Housner, 1998;Van Donselaar & Leslie, 1990). Furthermore, inadequate teacher preparation in the foundational subdisciplines (e.g., anatomy, physiology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, and motor development) may contribute to the perceived gap between theory and application that currently confronts the physical education profession.…”

“…The results indicated that approximately 89% of the participants failed to achieve the established criteria for being current in the domain of exercise physiology. In a follow-up study, Kelley and Lindsay (1980) employed a similar research methodology to compare the content knowledge of preservice and in-service physical educators. The pre-service physical educators demonstrated a relatively high degree of knowledge obsolescence in exercise physiology.…”

“…A criterion score of 34 was designated as the minimum level of competency and the mean score for the pre-service student group was 26. Although limited, these findings (Kelly & Lindsay, 1977, 1980 suggested that research developments in exercise physiology at that time were not being used to update the related curricular content in PETE programs.…”

“…It is generally assumed that the theoretical and applied exercise science concepts addressed within the PETE curriculum directly contribute to the prospective teacher's ability to effectively facilitate the development of the psychomotor, cognitive, affective, and fitness characteristics that enable a child to enjoy a physically active lifestyle into adulthood. The legitimacy of this basic assumption has been questioned in the literature, however, and there is evidence to suggest that the delivery of exercise science-related content has been a problematic issue for some PETE programs (Barnett & Merriman, 1994;Kelley & Lindsay, 1977, 1980Miller & Housner, 1998). More specifically, the course content and instructional strategies commonly associated with the exercise science component of the PETE curriculum are two possible areas of concern.…”

“…While courses in exercise science and physical fitness have been previously identified as a primary source of knowledge for undergraduate PETE students (Mood, 1971), questions regarding the appropriateness of the associated course content remain. Relatively few studies, however, have directly investigated the role of exercise science within the PETE curriculum and the relevance of the associated course content (Barnett & Merriman, 1994;Kelley & Lindsay, 1977, 1980Miller & Housner, 1998). Kelley and Lindsay conducted two studies to determine the knowledge obsolescence of pre-service and in-service physical educators in several academic domains, including exercise physiology.…”