Understanding professional issues in physical education - a Scottish insight

Abstract

Key to the effective enactment of policy and high quality learning and teaching in schools is a contemporary understanding of teachers’ beliefs, and an awareness of the professional issues which are particularly important to them. Despite a surge in academic and policy interest in physical education in Scotland, only two studies have examined teachers’ views on a range of professional issues in the last 25 years. To address this limitation, researchers at the University of Edinburgh designed the ‘Professional Issues in Physical Education Survey’ (PIPES) which aims to inform and support professional learning and research in physical education in future years. The article reports on the systematic development and piloting of PIPES, and how this reflected in the high degree of consensus the teachers reported for the professional issues identified. Findings indicated that concerns over pupil engagement, subject aims, curriculum time, resources and workload took precedence over more generic curriculum ambitions such as interdisciplinary learning and transitions. In addition, it is anticipated that the methodological groundwork undertaken in PIPES will be helpful in supporting other Anglophone countries to develop similar survey instruments particular to their own contexts.

Being an early-career teacher–researcher in physical education: a narrative inquiry

“…Teacher learning is an important, yet complex, area to understand and negotiate, not only for teachers but also for teacher educators, professional learning communities and schools. Working on complex shifting landscapes, PE teachers require critical skills to contextualise broader curricular and policy aims to guide innovative practices that meet the changing needs of learners (Craig et al, 2016). In Scotland, the development of such skills is encouraged and supported nationally by the GTCS.…”

“…In Scotland, all early-career PE teachers are required by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) 1 to reflect on their experiences while developing the knowledge and skills to become active agents in curricular change (Craig, Thorburn, Mulholland, Horrell, & Jess, 2016). To prepare them for this, part of the remit for PETE is to encourage pre-service PE teachers to conduct their own practitioner inquiry to equip them with the tools to critically reflect on how their experiences shape beliefs and practices (Wrench & Garrett, 2012).…”