Developing the physical education profession: new teachers learning within a subject-based community

Abstract

School-based professional development has been promoted by the government in England through its Continuing Professional Development Strategy (DfEE, 2001), however, the context and culture of the school in which the learning takes place is highly influential. Particularly important in teachers' professional development within secondary education is the subject department. This paper considers continuing professional development (CPD) that is school-based and occurs within the subject-based community, the Physical Education (PE) department. The discussion is informed by research undertaken with newly qualified teachers (NQTs) of PE. The research was conducted in two stages. Stage 1 investigated the experiences of three successive cohorts of NQTs through questionnaires and Stage 2 used an ethnographic approach to case study methodology to investigate the individual experiences of eight NQTs. Case logs and semi-structured interviews were the vehicles for data collection. A grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) was used to analyse data at each successive stage of the process. The discussion highlights the influences of PE departments and individuals within those subject communities. PE departments appear to welcome NQTs into the subject community, to support their integration and to encourage them to adopt the norms of the department. The individuals in PE departments play a role in the development of new teachers both in the induction process and also less formally as ‘standard setters’. An examination of the interaction between NQTs and their more experienced colleagues suggests that teachers should not only be more aware of their potential as role models but also of their obligation to provide developmental feedback and help NQTs to set progressive targets. The paper concludes that there are opportunities for school-based CPD to be innovative and influential and to take place within the PE department but that the activity must be intentional and based on critically reflective practice. If the PE profession is to be developed and not merely maintained, PE teachers must play an active role in this process and particularly in the induction of new teachers of PE into the profession.