Experiences of Physical Education Students in Learning to Teach

Abstract

School experience has been identified as one of the most important parts of initial teacher education courses. Research has also shown that students are concerned about school experience. Some authors have identified stages of development or concern through which students pass in their development as teachers. Other authors have suggested that students' development does not pass through sequential stages. The major purpose of this study was to look at the intensity and causes of concern for secondary PE students in England at two points in their one year initial teacher education course. A second purpose was to identify causes of concern for these students about starting their first teaching post. Results showed that over half of the students in this study were concerned/very concerned about school experience. The highest percentage of students was most concerned about being observed and evaluated and least concerned about the lesson itself. Intensity and causes of concern did not change over the course of the initial teacher education year. In anticipat ing their first teaching post at the end of their school experiences, the highest percentage of students was most concerned about teaching specific content. Results are discussed in relation to students' develop ment as teachers.