Thomas J. Templin

The Micropolitics of Teacher Induction

This study investigated the political events characterizing the start of a teaching career. An interpretative framework was used to access the perceptions and meanings teachers gave to experiences encountered in their first years on the job. Life history methodology permitted three teachers to tell their stories of professional induction. Data analysis revealed that the teachers’ thoughts and actions were influenced and sustained in three streams of consciousness: biography, role demands, and the school culture. Biography included experiences drawn upon by teachers in making their way in schools. Role demands pressed upon the teachers at two levels: classroom and institutional. Finally, the norms and expectations of school culture influenced the teachers’ professional perspectives and standards of practice. Of particular interest to the researchers were the teachers ‘perceptions of the power relationships in schools and the strategies used for appropriating the power and status necessary to become accepted and functioning school teachers.

A Means-End Investigation of Ropes Course Experiences

Means-end theory and its associated methodology provide an approach for investigating the meanings that individuals associate with the products and services they purchase, consume, and experience. Drawing from this means-end perspective, a study was conducted to develop a better understanding of the range of benefits that result from participating in a ropes course program. A sample of 125 participants from two ropes course programs identified the benefits they derived from their ropes course experience. Using a self-administered laddering procedure, subjects then provided information about the higher-level outcomes and values related to these benefits. An analysis of this means-end data provided insight into the relationship among the range of benefits and values associated with completing a ropes course. The study findings hold important implications for researchers interested in studying ropes courses or conducting means-end research in other leisure and recreation settings.

The Problematic Nature of a Career in a Marginal Subject: some implications for teacher education programmes

Abstract In Western cultures subjects defined as practical have had consistent difficulty in gaining acceptance within the curriculum. These subjects have been marginalised and accorded low status, which has influenced their positioning in relation to other subjects in terms of the allocation of power, resources and funding in schools. For those who choose to teach such subjects the construction of a career is highly problematic. Utilising the life‐history method this paper focuses upon the experiences and concerns of a range of physical education (PE) teachers at different stages in their careers and the manner in which they respond to perceptions of marginality. A strong classroom orientation is seen to be held on entry into teaching, which informs the dominant response of strategic compliance that reduces the capacity of these teachers to challenge and transform the structures that constrain them. The role of initial teacher education programmes in reproducing this process is discussed and it is sugges...

Understanding the Realities of School Life: Recommendations for the Preparation of Physical Education Teachers

While quality physical education teacher education requires recruits to be trained in the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective teaching, research stemming from socialization theory and role theory indicates that this may not be adequate. Pre-service teachers also need to be made aware of organizational challenges they will face when transitioning into their first teaching position. These challenges stem from the ways in which recruits are socialized into physical education, and are related to the complex, sociopolitical structure of schooling. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the organizational challenges faced by beginning physical education teachers and to present recommendations for how teacher training programs can better prepare pre-service teachers to meet these challenges. The discussion includes both general and specific strategies that can be implemented to provide pre-service teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to enhance their ability to navigate life in the sociopolitical contexts of schools. Preparing students for the realities of school life should correspond with a decrease in reality shock and the washout effect.

On Becoming a Physical Educator: Occupational Choice and the Anticipatory Socialization Process

This paper reviews selected recruitment resources to physical education based on Lorties (1975) paradigm of occupational choice and the anticipatory socialization process. Based on data from physical education entry studies (Mulling, 1981; Pooley, 1970; Woodford, 1977; Templin, Note 1), examples of how selected resources both attract and facilitate entrance into the field are presented. Such resources as the interpersonal and service dimensions of teaching, a desire for continued association with sport, time compatibility, job security, eased entrance, and various socializing agents are shown to have some degree of influence on ones decision to enter physical education. Finally, various implications of the data are discussed in relation to the professional preparation process.

Toward a Multidimensional Perspective on Teacher-Coach Role Conflict

Research grounded in role theory and occupational socialization theory point to the potential consequences of occupying the roles of physical education teacher and athletic coach concurrently. Specifically, time constraints and inconsistencies in role requirements, organization, rewards, and modes of accountability in teaching and coaching create challenges and may force some teacher/coaches to choose one role as primary to the detriment of the other role. However, most of this research has diminished or altogether neglected the impact of individual identity and social context on the experience of role conflict. The purpose of this paper is to review research related to role conflict in the dual role of teacher/coaches and to propose a conceptual model for viewing teacher/coaches role conflict from a multidimensional perspective. Finally, a case is made for a revitalization of teacher/coaches role conflict research in physical education.

Ecological momentary assessment: A research method for studying the daily lives of teachers

The purpose of this paper is to introduce ecological momentary assessment (EMA) as an effective approach for capturing teachers’ emotional states and behaviours over time. Although the implementation of EMA has a rich and successful history among social science researchers in general, traditional retrospective, self‐report methods for collecting teacher and teaching data remain the norm within the field of education today. This paper addresses this concern by describing the conceptual and methodological background of EMA, using methodological findings from a recent study of middle school teachers as a practical example. Results indicated that the advantages inherent in EMA research with teachers clearly outweigh the drawbacks. Teachers and researchers alike felt that the use of EMA via the handheld instruments of personal digital assistants (PDAs) yield meaningful within‐person data in an accurate and convenient manner. Based on the lessons learned from this study, future considerations are outlined for the incorporation of EMA methods via PDAs with teachers.

Understanding the Realities of Teaching: A Seminar Series Focused on Induction

The role of school teachers is becoming increasingly complex. This complexity may be even more pronounced for physical education teachers, who must often cope with additional challenges stemming from marginalization, isolation, and teacher/coach role conflict. Physical education teachers must also manage relationships with colleagues, administrators, parents, and students who may have varying perceptions of and expectations for physical education. As a result, physical education teacher education programs should include focused coursework to prepare preservice teachers for the realities of school life and their first teaching position. Doing so may reduce the reality shock and the washout effect experienced by some beginning physical education teachers by helping to bridge the transition from student to teacher. Toward this end, this article presents an example of a teacher education seminar series that includes strategies focused on inducting preservice teachers by teaching them about the realities of working in schools.

Pre-service teacher perspectives of case-based learning in physical education teacher education

Case-based learning (CBL) is a constructivist pedagogy in which students read hypothetical accounts of real world situations and consider how they would respond if facing similar challenges. In physical education teacher education, research has shown that CBL has the potential to promote critical thinking, contribute to students’ cognitive growth and affect students’ value orientations. The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) impressions of and experiences with CBL. Occupational socialization theory and the shared inquiry cycle guided the use of case studies. Nineteen PSTs (6 female, 13 male) enrolled in a third-year seminar course at a large American university took part in this investigation. The PSTs read and responded to 10 unique case studies and engaged in reflection and group discussions. Data were collected from interviews, course documents and non-participant observations. Qualitative analysis revealed that the PSTs demonstrated cognitive growth as evidenced by their consideration of multiple sources of knowledge, engagement with the CBL and focusing on future teaching situations. The findings of this research suggest that CBL may provide a method for instructors to introduce new ideas and allow PSTs to consider them along with their own pre-conceived notions.

clinical investigations Effects of long-term moderate exercise on iron status in young women

The impact of long-term (6-month) moderate exercise on the iron status of previously sedentary women was determined by randomly assigning 62 college-age women into one of the following four groups: 1) 50 mg.d-1 iron supplement, low iron diet (N = 16); 2) Placebo, free choice diet (N = 13); 3) Meat supplement to achieve 15 mg.d-1 iron intake (N = 13); and 4) Control, free choice diet (N = 20). All groups except the Control group exercised 3 d.wk-1 at 60%-75% of their heart rate reserve. VO2max was measured at baseline and week 24. Blood was sampled at baseline and every 4 wk thereafter for 24 wk to measure iron status and to elucidate the causes for alterations in iron status. Subjects had depleted iron stores throughout the study as indicated by their serum ferritin levels (< 15 ng.ml-1). Serum iron, total iron binding capacity and transferrin saturation were not compromised with exercise. Mean hemoglobin level in the Placebo/Ex group was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than the 50 Fe/Ex and the Meat/Ex groups by week 24. However, changes in serum albumin, haptoglobin, and erythropoietin data from the study cannot explain these changes.