Fiona Chambers

Do as we do and not as we say: Teacher educators supporting student teachers to learn on teaching practice

This paper reports data from a larger study into the ways in which Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) students engaged in professional learning during teaching practice (TP) in Ireland. The study comprised one umbrella case study of Greendale University, schools and PETE students that consisted of five individual cases: tetrads of PETE student teacher, cooperating teacher (CT), University tutor (UT) and School Principal (SP). Each tetrad was defined as a unique community of practice located within the wider structures of school, education and university policies on teacher education. Data were collected over one academic year using qualitative research methods and grounded theory as a systematic data analysis tool. Findings indicate that in each of the five cases, support for PETE student learning was, to some degree, dysfunctional. In particular, it became evident that there were two conflicting teacher-learning curricula in operation. The official curriculum, expressed in policy and by SPs, UTs and CTs (also referred to as mentors), valued a PETE student who cared for pupils, had a rich pedagogical content knowledge, knew how to plan for and assess pupils’ learning, valued reflection, and was an active member of a community of practice. The unofficial but essentially more powerful enacted curriculum, encouraged PETE students to draw upon their own resources to learn pedagogical content knowledge in an isolated and unsupported manner. The data highlight the force of the unofficial curriculum and the ways in which PETE students were guided to the core of the dysfunctional community of practice by untrained CTs (mentors) and untrained UTs. PETE students in this study learned to survive in a largely unsupportive professional learning environment and, just as theories of social reproduction intimate, indicated that they would reproduce this practice with PETE students in their care in the future. The findings suggest that in cases similar to those studied, there is a need for teacher educators in Ireland, (in both universities and schools) to critically interrogate their personal practices and implicit theories of teacher education and to engage in training for their role. There is also evidence to suggest that PETE students in Ireland could benefit from the development of school–university partnerships that act as fundamental units of high quality professional learning. In the cases studied, this may have led to a stronger focus on the intended or official curriculum of TP, led by the revised maxim: ‘Do as we say and as we do’.

What is ‘effective’ CPD for contemporary physical education teachers? A Deweyan framework

ABSTRACT It is widely argued that continuing professional development (CPD) for physical education (PE) teachers is important, yet questions remain about ‘effective’ CPD. We consider these questions afresh from a Deweyan perspective. An overview of the CPD/PE-CPD literature reveals conflicting positions on teachers as learners. Considering the nature of contemporary PE, and the learning needs of teachers, we argue that a different model of PE-CPD is required to reflect the dynamic nature of contemporary practice. We propose John Deweys classic concept of ‘education as growth’ to underpin a new conceptual framework for the design, delivery and evaluation of PE-CPD. We argue that ‘effective’ PE-CPD will not be found in formal policies, structures and processes, however, well-intentioned, unless it (i) focuses on the dazzling complexity of the learning process, (ii) prioritises context and contemporary challenges; (iii) bridges research/theory–practice in innovative ways; and (iv) nurtures the career-long growth of PE teachers.

Progression in physical education teachers’ career-long professional learning Conceptual and practical concerns

This paper considers the issue of learning ‘progression’ in pedagogy for physical education (PE) teachers in their career-long professional development (CPD). This issue arose from an analysis of findings from three research projects in which the authors were involved. The projects were undertaken in different national contexts (Ireland, Greece, England), but all used similar methods to investigate questions about effective/ineffective PE-CPD. The findings identified numerous barriers that teachers and pre-service teachers encountered in accessing effective professional development. Of particular interest, however, was the realization that taken together, the findings raised concerns about teachers’ learning progression, including progression over time, across learning contexts and in specific areas of interest. This issue has rarely been discussed in the existing literature and is poorly theorized. Indeed, there would appear to be little agreement in the profession about how to conceptualize ‘good’ or ‘adequate’ learning progression in pedagogy across a career. This paper, therefore, seeks to open a new line of enquiry.

School-University Partnerships and Physical Education Teacher Education Student Learning: A Fruitful Division of Labour?.

Tikunoff, Ward & Lazar (1980) argue that parity or ‘equality of status’ (p.12) is one of the most important ingredients of successful collaboration. During the placement of students on teaching practice (TP), therefore, it can be argued that school and university personnel should be equal partners if the collaboration is to be effective. This paper reports one set of data from a study of Irish physical education teacher education (PETE) students and considers the impact of ineffective school–university partnerships on their professional learning during TP. The study employed a range of qualitative research methods centred on one umbrella case study and five individual case studies. Data were analysed using a systematic grounded theory process and findings indicated a perceived lack of parity between schools and the university. This resulted in PETE students developing in an unsupported and often isolated manner. The implications for career-long professional learning are considered.

Mentoring as a profession-building process in physical education teacher education

This paper describes the findings of a one-year collaborative research project funded by the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS). The paper is derived from a Short Report on this study prepared for SCoTENS on 16th May 2012. The study examined the role of physical education (PE) teachers as mentors to new members of the PE teaching profession. Research participants comprised 6 university tutors and 10 PE mentor teachers across three national research sites (Republic of Ireland, England and Northern Ireland). A range of qualitative data collection methods were employed, and the data were analysed thematically using a constructivist version of grounded theory. The paper reports two key findings: 1. Mentor teachers had a shared perception of the need to be selected on the basis of suitability; i.e. disposition and expertise and the need to be trained to mentor pre-service teachers effectively. 2. Mentor teachers perceived that they should provide a safe learning space for the pre-service PE teacher where he/she is free to take risks and explore praxis (theory-informed practice) in a variety of contexts.

‘Sport & Exercise Pedagogy’. The case for a new integrative sub-discipline in the field of Sport & Exercise Sciences/Kinesiology/Human Movement Sciences

The European Union Sport Unit has identified the societal and educational role of sport as a central topic in its new research agenda. It is argued that European Union (EU) citizens should be supported to learn continuously across the life course. In the sport/physical activity (PA) context, the role of teachers, coaches and exercise instructors (among others) is pivotal to the delivery of this aspiration. Yet, in this paper, we argue that entrenched barriers between teaching, coaching and exercise instruction and the lack of a well-developed, integrative underpinning knowledge base centred on pedagogy are serious impediments. We suggest that the development of a new integrative subdiscipline in the Academy may help pedagogy, and pedagogy academics, to make a stronger contribution to addressing these barriers and gaps. ‘Sport & Exercise Pedagogy’ (SEP) is proposed as an education-based, boundary-crossing, multi/interdisciplinary area of study located in the field known variously as ‘Sport & Exercise Sciences’, ‘Kinesiology’ and ‘Human Movement Sciences’. SEP places individuals and their life course learning at its core. A new cross-border1 policy initiative from the island of Ireland illustrates the potential for SEP to contribute to PA/public health agendas.

Learning to be human in a digital world: a model of values fluency education for physical education

ABSTRACT It is argued that negotiation and performance of identity in contemporary society is linked with the value-laden spaces in which individuals spend time. Concepts of space, place and identity have become important when looking to understand elements of social practice, in light of the recognition that life is becoming progressively more mobile, varied and challenging. This has resulted in a shift in how subsequent generations experience space and place within digitally-mediated social landscapes. It is asserted that young people in contemporary society can be seen to occupy a hybrid virtual-real world (Jordan, B. (2009). Blurring boundaries: The ‘real’ and the ‘virtual’ in hybrid spaces. Human Organisation, 68.) where they experience the multiplication of place or duplication of space (Papacharissi, Z. (2011). A Networked Self: Identity Community and Culture on Social Network Sites. New York: Routledge). Such complex social geographies, we contend, have important implications for young people’s negotiation and performance of identity, the acquisition of socio-technical capital (Resnick, (2002). Beyond b⁠owling t⁠ogether: SocioTechnical c⁠apital. In J. M. Carroll (Ed.), Human-c⁠omputer i⁠nteraction in the n⁠ew m⁠illennium (pp. 647–⁠672). Upper Saddle River, NJ: ACM Press.) and, ultimately, digital well-being. In a time when there is a focus on developing global and connected citizens (Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the Imagination: Essay on education, the arts and social change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.) we argue that pupils need to be both digitally fluent and values fluent as they negotiate spaces of reality and virtual reality. Both constructs require the learner to engage critically with information and misinformation as presented on ever-changing digital interfaces (Kahne, J., & Bowyer, B. (2017). Educating for Democracy in a Partisan Age: Confronting the Challenges of Motivated Reasoning and Misinformation. American Educational Research Journal, 54, 3–34.) and to make value choices. Given that physical education (PE) has been identified as a significant place for meaning-making (Spracklen, K. (2015). Digital Leisure, the Internet and Popular Culture: Communities and Identities in a Digital Age. London: Palgrave Macmillan.) and a core site for values-based education (Mccuaig, L., Marino, M., Gobbi, E., & Macdonald, D. (2015). Taught not Caught: Values based Education through physical education and School Sport: Literature Review. AIESEP Partners for WADA, ICSSPE, IOC, Fairplay & UNESCO.) it is identified as a key context in which to examine some of the challenges posed for students and educators with regard to values-based practices in digitally-mediated spaces. Within this conceptual paper, we propose a praxis model of values fluency to help PE teachers to support young people to recognise and successfully navigate hybrid spaces, to critically engage with sociotechnical capital and become adept at transferring and translating values across and between social contexts.

The Age-Related Association of Movement in Irish Adolescent Youth

(1) Background: Research has shown that post-primary Irish youth are insufficiently active and fail to reach a level of proficiency across basic movement skills. The purpose of the current research was to gather cross-sectional baseline data on Irish adolescent youth, specifically the prevalence of movement skills and patterns, in order to generate an overall perspective of movement within the first three years (Junior Certificate level) of post-primary education; (2) Methods: Data were collected on adolescents (N = 181; mean age: 14.42 ± 0.98 years), attending two, mixed-gender schools. Data collection included 10 fundamental movement skills (FMS) and the seven tests within the Functional Movement Screen (FMS™). The data set was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 for Windows; (3) Results: Overall, levels of actual mastery within fundamental and functional movement were low. There were statistically significant age-related differences observed, with a progressive decline as age increased in both the object control (p = 0.002) FMS sub-domain, and the in-line lunge (p = 0.048) test of the FMS™; (4) Conclusion: In summary, we found emerging evidence that school year group is significantly associated with mastery of movement skills and patterns. Results from the current study suggest that developing a specifically tailored movement-oriented intervention would be a strategic step towards improving the low levels of adolescent fundamental and functional movement proficiency.