Continued Professional Learning: A Topical Life History

Abstract

The purpose of this topical life history was to gain insight into the individual and socializing conditions that influenced an experienced elementary school physical education teacher’s perceptions and actions regarding continued professional learning. The teacher was interviewed in a series of five interviews over a 3-year period. The audiotaped transcriptions were subjected to the constant comparison data analysis technique, with the emergent patterns reported as results. Continued professional learning was valued as an essential concept associated with being a professional because it ultimately increased the teacher’s potential for helping students learn. Professional development experiences associated with the teacher’s undergraduate professional preparation institution and participation in a national curriculum project contributed most significantly to the teacher’s continued professional learning. The teacher’s continued professional learning was influenced by (a) students, (b) status, (c) administrative support, (d) community perceptions of sport, and (e) personal/professional interactions.