Implicit and explicit pedagogical practices related to sociocultural issues and social justice in physical education teacher education programs

ABSTRACTBackground: Physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) have a substantial literature base that advocates for students to develop a critical consciousness, appreciate multiple perspectives, and engage in actions to enhance social justice [Tinning, R. 2016. “Transformative Pedagogies and Physical Education.” In The Routledge Handbook of Physical Education Pedagogies, edited by C. Ennis, 281–294. New York: Routledge]. Analysing sociocultural issues, critically reflecting on beliefs, knowledge, biography, and values, and developing a sense of agency to enact change, have been recognised as an integral part of the PETE knowledge base for some time [Fernández-Balboa, J. M. 1997. “Physical Education Teacher Preparation in the Postmodern era: Toward a Critical Pedagogy.” In Critical Postmodernism in Human Movement, Physical Education, and Sport, edited by J. M. Fernández-Balboa, 121–138. Albany: State University of New York Press]. However, there remain differences in how social justice itself is conceptualised and enacted. Social justice is aligned heavily with critical and ‘post’ theories where taking action for justice, democracy, and power is central; but social justice is also found in humanist beliefs in student-centredness and equality and has been co-opted by neoliberal forces that promote individual responsibility. While a lack of consensus is not in itself a problem [Bialystok, L. 2014. “Politics Without “Brainwashing”: A Philosophical Defence of Social Justice Education.” Curriculum Inquiry 44 (3): 413–440], diverse definitions might contribute to confusion and lead to uncertainty over what and how to teach for social justice.Purpose: In order to work towards greater certainty around concepts of social justice in the PETE community, this project sought to map variations in definition and conceptualisation of social justice and sociocultural issues among physical education teacher educators (PETEs) and physical education and sport pedagogy (PESP) educators, as part of a wider project on social justice and sociocultural perspectives and practices in PETE.Methods: PETE and PESP faculty (n = 72) in North America, Europe, and Australasia engaged in an in-depth interview, during which they were asked how they define social justice and sociocultural issues. Additional information about participants’ social identity was collected. A constant comparative method of analysing participants’ definitions mapped a range of concepts building on the theoretical framework of neoliberal, humanist, critical, and ‘post’ approaches to social justice.Findings: The data demonstrate that there are a range of understandings about sociocultural issues and social justice. Most commonly, some participants articulated a humanist approach to social justice by encouraging their pre-service teachers (PSTs) to have awareness of equality of opportunity in relation to gender, sexuality, and/or racism. Less prevalent, but strongly stated by those who conceptualised social justice in these terms, was the importance to take action for democracy, empowerment, or critical reflection. The terms diversity and equality, framed in neoliberal and humanist discourses, were most commonly used within the United States (US), while critical pedagogy and alignment with critical and ‘post’ theories were more prevalent in Australia and New Zealand.Conclusion: Differences exist in the ways social justice is conceptualised in PETE. While this can be attributed to the influence of local issues, it is also reflective of what intellectual tools, such as humanism or critical theory, are available for problematising social issues. The range of non-critical concepts found raises concern that PSTs are not getting the tools to enact social justice or tackle sociocultural issues.

ABSTRACTBackground: For over four decades, there have been calls for physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) to address social inequality and foster social justice. Yet, as numerous studies demonstrate, attempts to educate for social justice in PETE are infrequent and rarely comprehensive. This raises the question why it appears to be possible in some situations but not others, and for some students and not others.Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the multiple socio-political networks or assemblages in which PETE is embedded and explore how these shape the possibilities for students to engage with the concept of social justice and sociocultural issues (SCI) when learning to teach PE. Two research questions guided this study: How does an orientation for social justice education (SJE) within education policy affect the standards for enacting PETE programs? How is SJE encouraged within PETE programs?Methodology: Drawing from a broader study of over 70 key personnel in more than 40 PETE programs, we examined how faculty in PETE understand their professional world, identify their subjective meanings of their experiences, and address SCI andSJE within PETE. Data sources included an initial survey, a semi-structured interview, and program artifacts. We analyze the ways that SJE/SCI was represented in three national settings (England, the United States, and New Zealand) and identified common themes.Results: Examination of each national setting reveals ways that SJE and SCI were enabled and constrained across the national, programmatic, and individual level in each of the countries. The coherence of explicit National policy and curricula, PETE program philosophies, and the presence of multiple individual interests in social justice served to reify a sociocultural agenda. Conversely, possibilities were nullified by narrow or general National Standards, programs that failed to acknowledge sociocultural interests, and the absence of a critical mass of actors with a socio-critical orientation. These differences in assemblage culminated in variations in curriculum time that served to restrict or enable the breadth, frequency, and consistency of the messages surrounding SCI in PETE.Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of acknowledging socio-political networks where PETE operates. The agency of PETEs to enact pedagogies that foreground sociocultural interests is contingent on congruity of the networks. The authors caution that although the ‘perfect storm’ of conditions has a profound influence of the possibility of transformational learning of SCI in PETE, this arrangement is always temporary, fluid, and subject to changes in any of the three network levels. Additionally, the success of PETE in enabling graduating PE teachers to recognize the inequities that may be reinforced through the ‘hidden curriculum’ and to problematize the subject area is contingent on the expectations of the schools in which they teach.

Background: Despite the evidence that many girls and some boys are regularly subjected to inequalities within school physical education (PE) in Norway today, and international research showing how physical education teacher education (PETE) courses often construct unequal learning opportunities for their students on the basis of gender, few teacher educators' ‘instructional discourses’ seem to reflect these findings about gender relations. In fact, there is very little empirical research available about PE teacher educators in general and how they develop their professional identities. Purpose: This study has aimed to illuminate the duality of structure of PE teacher educators' professional identities and of the social construction of gender in PETE. By gaining a better understanding of the way in which we are both structured by PETE culture, and yet at the same time structure the culture, PE teacher educators may be better positioned to combat discriminatory practices. Participants and setting: Four PE teacher educators (aged between 31 and 42 years, with 5–13 years of teaching experience in PETE) from three universities offering PETE in Norway comprise the ‘purposeful sample’. Research design: The qualitative study is based upon social constructivist theories of professionalism and gender. It asks: ‘Are PE teacher educators’ professional identities constructed as technical or moral projects?' and ‘How are gender, gender equality and equity constructed in PETE?’ Data collection: Data were collected via in-depth interviews (two per informant), researcher log books and policy documents. Policy documents were downloaded from university websites or provided by the informants (for example, course plans and literature). Data analysis: Data were coded and analysed using a ‘content analysis’ approach, in which emerging themes were identified in relation to what being a professional PE teacher educator means and how gender equality and/or equity are constructed within PETE. Findings: The PE teacher educators' identities in this study are closely linked to a performance identity and a desire to pursue a love of sport. Their professional knowledge is based on knowing ‘what and how’, rather than asking why PE students should learn certain things. Their identity projects can be classified as technical rather than moral: the teacher educators are not concerned with developing students as democratic citizens with an interest in social justice; rather, they are interested in the successful transmission of the ‘truths’ of PETE to tomorrow's teachers. They are mostly interested in PE didactics and show little, if any, interest in pedagogical theory. Gender is not perceived as an important factor in the learning arena; it is perceived as a biological given. The teacher educators seem to exercise autonomy in PETE and their practice can be characterised as private, rather than collective. Conclusion: The PE teacher educators' lack of a theoretical understanding of gender unwittingly leads them to perpetuate a discourse which discriminates against many young female and some male students in PETE. Today's neo-liberal, outcome-driven teacher education tends to strengthen the PE teacher educators' technical view of professionalism and provides little room for alternative professional identities. PE teacher educators may benefit from the sharing of self-narratives about our gendered, professional identities with the view to engaging in fruitful continual professional learning.

Physical education teachers’ concerns towards teaching

ABSTRACTBackground: Teaching for social good and inequity has been presented as needed in sport pedagogy research. However, very little is known how transformative pedagogical practices that teach for social good are implemented and sustained at the elementary level.Purpose: This digital ethnographic study sought to describe one elementary school physical education (PE) teacher's attempt to employ transformative pedagogy (TP).Method: Cochran-Smith's [1998. “Teaching for Social Change: Toward a Grounded Theory of Teacher Education.” In The International Handbook of Educational Change, edited by A. Hargreaves, A. Lieberman, M. Fullan, and D. Hopkins, 916–952. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004. Walking the Road: Race, Diversity, and Social Justice in Teacher Education. New York: Teachers College Press] pedagogical principles for social justice education (SJE) drove our data collection and analysis. Seven qualitative methods were employed to collect data about Harry's pedagogies, organizational structures, and the content he taught. These were formal and informal interviews, conversations, short films, document collection, social media accounts, and an electronic journal. Data were analyzed using both inductive and deductive methods [Patton 2015. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage].Findings: Harry's TP and the factors that facilitated and limited his practice were uncovered within five main themes: (a) creating communities of learners through restorative practice principles, (b) building on what students bring to school with them for a democratic curriculum, (c) teaching skills, bridging gaps, and the affective component, (d), working with communities in-between social justice illiteracy, and (e) utilizing diverse forms of assessment.Conclusion: We confirmed that there is no best way to teach social justice through PE and that TP must be individual to the teacher. In addition, this study highlighted methods and pedagogies by which teachers could engage in TP. Finally, the study's findings implied how teacher educators might go about working with both preservice and inservice PE teachers with the goal that they focus on facilitating social justice through their pedagogical approach.

This study examined the relationship between locus of control and happiness for male physical and non-physical education teachers in Yazd province. A total of 260 teachers (physical education 53 people, non-PE 207) by random sampling, and finally 258 questionnaires were examined. In this study, Pearson correlation method for carrying out the Questionnaire of resources Rotter (short form) and Oxford were used. The results showed a positive relationship between locus of control and happiness (001/0 P =). There is a significant. The findings showed Components of mental health, life satisfaction, self-efficacy and positive role in the happiness of the highest physical and non-physical education teachers have. In addition, the comparative study between the two groups in terms of locus of control, physical education teachers from internal locus of control than non-PE teachers, respectively. Keywords : Happiness, locus of control, physical education teachers, physical education Dbyrghr DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/9-12-13 Publication date :June 30 th 2019

Background: This paper examines physical education (PE) teachers' perceptions of talent in PE and sport within the context of English policy, where the process of identifying talent has been formalised and supported through specific resources (YST 2009). English policy has merged educational and sporting targets, which has resulted in a shift in foci away from educational objectives towards supporting elite development. Combining the aims of PE and sport contributes to longstanding debates over the nature and purpose of PE. Despite specific initiatives, there remains limited understanding of talent identification (ID) and as such, a danger for talent in PE and sport to be considered synonymous, resulting in a lack of clarity over the methods, purpose and focus of talent ID, and consequently notions of ability in PE. Purpose: In order to gain insight into the processes involved in talent ID in PE an electronic survey was conducted on PE departments' practices and perceptions within London boroughs. The survey aimed to establish a regional picture of respective practices as well as determining how PE teachers define talent in PE and sport. It also attempted to supplement related findings of the national survey on talent in PE (Bailey, Morley, and Dismore 2009). Method: Where an email address was available, an electronic survey link was sent to 400 state secondary schools across all London boroughs during the latter part of the summer term, 2008. A total of 84 (21%) responses were received. Data were collected using an electronic survey consisting of both quantitative and qualitative questions. Questions related to: Gifted and Talented (G&T) Policy; talent ID processes; staff training; and PE teachers' definitions of talent in PE and sport. Analyses of quantitative data were conducted using SPSS (version 15.0) and descriptive frequencies were obtained and reported. Open-ended responses were entered into N-Vivo (©Sage, version 7) and responses were coded into categories in order for themes to be identified. Results and discussion: Talent ID practices are compared to those reported in the national survey on talent development in PE. They reflect limited development in PE specific policy, training, awareness and use of available resources. PE teachers continue to predominantly utilise physical ability as a key indicator of talent; however, there is some indication that perceptions of talent are widening. The findings reveal inconsistencies in PE teachers' definitions of talent in PE and sport, where some are able to distinguish between the two whilst others are not. This is a concern for stakeholders and raises questions on the conceptual clarity of talent in PE. Conclusion: Defining talent in PE remains a contentious issue. The apparent merging of PE and sport, in policy and practice, reinforces the association of talent with physical performance which has re-catalysed debates on whether this is an appropriate way to conceptualise talent within PE. In working towards educational objectives, the PE profession should reflect on the purpose of current practice and consider who may benefit.

Background: Education policies and curriculum documents in many European countries promote the social and moral development of young people as a cross-curriculum goal and place that goal at the center of the education process. All subjects, including physical education (PE) are required to contribute to the social and moral development of the children. Scholars have argued that PE and especially the PE teacher play a crucial role in the social and moral development of children. There is however little scientific evidence that underpins the positive contribution of PE to this development. Scholars also understand the social and moral domain in diverse ways. Little is known about how teachers themselves think about their responsibilities with respect to the social and moral development of their students through PE and how they understand and operationalize such curriculum goals. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how physical education (PE) teachers make sense of this formal curriculum goal and try to operationalize it. PE teachers tend not to be formally trained in didactics of social and moral development. In addition, the PE curriculum gives few guidelines that define social and moral development or how to accomplish this (if at all) but does require them to integrate this development into their teaching. We therefore used a social constructivist perspective with an emphasis on sense making to situate the study. Participants and setting: Participants teaching in different types of high school were recruited from Dutch urban, suburban and rural locations. In total 158 PE teachers participated in this study. Their teaching experience ranged from one to thirty-eight years. Data collection: Data were collected in three phases. Phase 1 was exploratory consisting of eight in-depth interviews. The results were used to construct an open-ended questionnaire that was answered by 55 participants (Phase 2). In Phase 3 we conducted 95 in-depth interviews with PE teachers to further explore themes that had emerged. Data analysis: The data were analyzed with the use of a qualitative data analysis package. We used a thematic analysis that was driven by both the data and the research questions to examine the combined data sets. Findings: The PE teachers unanimously constructed PE classes as places where social and moral skills should and can be developed. They equated social and moral development with the learning of social interactional skills. They differed however, in what they emphasized and the strategies they used to realize this curriculum objective. Conclusion: The PE teachers involved in this study actively worked to contribute to the social and moral development of their pupils by teaching and monitoring social interactional skills. The commonalities in curricular practices found in this study and the individual differences together possibly reflect a globalized socialization of PE teachers into and through sport accompanied by differences rooted in how they as individuals make sense of their upbringing. We recommend the use of a contextually-based bottom-up approach to explore the dynamics of social and moral development in PE classes.

ABSTRACTThe increased pluralism in today’s United States society, including our public school student population, has called for physical education teacher education (PETE) programs to train teachers who can respond to the educational needs of students from diverse backgrounds. However, concerns have been raised with educator preparation programs’ ability to prepare teachers to address diversity in our schools. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to discuss the movement toward teaching for social justice in PETE with focus on preparing teachers for cultural diversity; this includes special attention to cultural humility as a missing component in physical education teacher preparation. We discuss the current state of diversity in PETE, leading to a discussion of social justice as a theme in teaching and teacher education in physical education. Next, we detail the underpinnings of social justice pedagogies in physical education and the need for infusing cultural humility in PETE.

The importance of information technology guiding the development of physical education is reflected in every field of physical education curriculum and teaching. However, due to China's late start in this field, the relevant literature is relatively confusion, lack of systematic arrangement and summary, which is not conducive to future research. The purpose of this study was to provide reference for further research in this field, and to lay a theoretical foundation for improving the level of physical education curriculum and teaching in our schools and the formation of students' good physical and mental health. In this scoping review study, we used the following keywords: “information technology”, AND “physical education curriculum” AND “physical education teaching” AND/OR “applications” for the literature search via the CNKI. Through the method of literature and content analysis, this paper mainly analyzes the current situation and problems of the application of information technology in physical education curriculum and teaching. At present, especially in rural areas, the construction of extracurricular exercise information platform in schools in China still has great limitations and imperfections. In addition, part of the physical exercise APP is not perfect, people in the physical exercise is easy to be misled, resulting in sports injury. China's physical education teaching management covers a lot of content, the lack of school talents, the implementation is relatively difficult. The integration of information technology and physical education teaching methods has been a hot topic since the 1980s today. However, schools in China have not shown good results in the implementation, and teachers' teaching ideas, teaching creativity and professional knowledge are the main restraining factors. The mainly factors that affect the construction of online physical education curriculum and teaching resources in China include low utilization rate of the platform, weak computer ability of teachers, weak innovation ability, backward thinking, and unclear objectives of the platform construction. The development of information technology accelerates the reform of physical education. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the nature and goal of physical education curriculum, and give full play to the role of information technology in curriculum construction and teaching under the guidance of advanced educational science theory. At the same time, the government, schools and society should coordinate efforts to address these problems.

ABSTRACTBackground: A critical race theory of education has a been a popular framework for understanding racial inequities teaching and teacher education. Furthermore, it has served as the foundation for critical race research methodologies and critical race pedagogy, which are meant to address racial inequity via research and teaching, respectively. With regard to critical race pedagogy, there has been no specific conceptualization for the preparation of physical educators.Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a critical race pedagogy of physical education teacher education (PETE).Key Concepts: In the paper, critical race theory and critical race pedagogy are highlighted as the conceptual roots of a critical race pedagogy of PETE. In doing so it offers a critique of resource pedagogies and their conceptualization in PETE. Critical race theory has been described as a scholarly movement that seeks to uncover and dismantle systemic racism while rejecting incrementalism. Critical race pedagogy is an approach to teaching that is informed by critical race theory and womanism. A critical race pedagogy of PETE builds upon previous conceptualization of critical race pedagogy by offering the (a) recognition context; (b) the value of Black self-reliance; (c) and the value of the Black body as its foundations.Discussion and Conclusion: A critical race pedagogy of PETE adheres to a post-White orientation. As such, this approach to teaching recognizes that Black physical education involves Black people and Black places without subordinating or comparing them to White people and White places. It is also a challenge for Black scholars and teacher educators within PETE to focus their attentions, intentions, and efforts to the sustaining of Black educational institutions and the training of Black physical educators for Black communities. Thus, I acknowledge context within the post-White orientation allowing for an appropriate reorienting of a critical race pedagogy of PETE to meet the needs racially minoritized communities globally.

Developing teacher education programmes founded upon principles of critical pedagogy and social justice has become increasingly difficult in the current neoliberal climate of higher education. In this article, we adopt a narrative approach to illuminate some of the dilemmas which advocates of education for social justice face and to reflect upon how pedagogy for inclusion in the field of physical education (PE) teacher education (PETE) is defined and practiced. As a professional group, teacher educators seem largely hesitant to expose themselves to the researcher's gaze, which is problematic if we expect preservice teachers to engage in messy, biographical reflexivity with regard to their own teaching practice. By engaging in self- and collective biographical story sharing about ‘our’ teacher educator struggles in England and Norway, we hope that the reader can identify ‘her/his’ struggles in the narratives about power and domination, and the spaces of opportunity in between.

The development of the "PE product" : Physicallly educated and physically active individuals

Background This article focuses on the assessment of health education (HE) in physical education (PE). PE is one of the school disciplines that can contribute substantially to educational actions in HE (Kirk, D. 2018. “Physical Education-as-Health Promotion: Recent Developments and Futures Issues.” Education and Health 36 (3): 70–75). However, studies conducted on PE teachers’ practices indicate that assessment in HE is challenging, even though it is mandatory in Quebec schools (Bezeau, D., S. Turcotte, S. Beaudoin, and J. Grenier. 2020. “Health Education Assessment Practices Used by Physical Education and Health Teachers in a Collaborative Action Research.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 25 (4): 379–393). Few studies have focused on the assessment practices of PE teachers in HE, resulting in a limited amount of empirical data being currently available (Georgakis, S., and R. Wilson. 2012. “Australian Physical Education and School Sport: An Exploration Into Contemporary Assessment.” Asian Journal of Exercise & Sports Science 9 (1): 37–52). A well-planned assessment in which pupils are involved promotes their learning and makes them accountable for their own health (Leirhaug, P. E., and C. Annerstedt. 2016. “Assessing with new Eyes? Assessment for Learning in Norwegian Physical Education.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 21 (6): 616–631). It is necessary to investigate PE teachers’ assessment practices in HE to improve the current scientific knowledge on the subject and to better understand the main challenges they face. Objectives This article addresses three research objectives that aim to determine: 1) assessment practices as reported by PE teachers who assess in HE, 2) the reasons given by PE teachers who do not assess in HE for not doing so, and 3) the perceived contribution of PE teachers to the development of pupils’ autonomy in health and well-being. Method 223 elementary school (pupils: 5–11 years old) PE teachers from Quebec (Canada) answered a questionnaire including five closed-ended and two open-ended questions specific to assessment practices in HE. A quantitative analysis of the data from the five open-ended questions was carried out using descriptive statistics in addition to a Kruskall-Wallis rank analysis (Howell, D. C. 2008. Méthodes statistiques en sciences humaines. De Boeck) with a Mann–Whitney post-hoc test (α < .05; Siegel, S., and N. J. Castellan Jr. 1988. Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Mcgrawhill). These analyses were conducted using five independent variables: 1) gender, 2) teaching experience, 3) number of schools where they teach, 4) contract status, and 5) socioeconomic background of the school. Also, the Goodman-Kruskall's G coefficient was used to analyze statistical associations between items. A qualitative analysis of the data from the two open-ended questions was carried out following (L’Écuyer, R. 1990. Méthodologie de l’analyse développementale de contenu : méthode GPS et concept de soi. Presses de l’Université du Québec) steps of inductive content analysis. Findings A large majority of the participants claimed to assess in HE (84.9%). They also mentioned respecting the official programs (87.7%), building tools to assess in HE (87.4%), assessing pupils’ progress (84.4%) and having an impact on their pupils’ autonomy in matters of health (74.9%). Those participants who worked in multiple schools assessed more in the short term (U = 2426, p = .028). Finally, those who did not assess HE (15.1%) mentioned a lack of feasibility and a lack of resources. Conclusion This study contributes to the scientific literature by focusing on an area for which there are few empirical studies and which represents a challenge for practical settings. The results show that a large majority of PE teachers assess in HE, while some face challenges that lead them to not assess this competency at all, even though it is mandatory. Based on these findings, we believe it is important to work with PE teachers to lessen the impact of these challenges on their assessment practices to help pupils’ learning.

Background: The motivation of physical education (PE) teachers has received precious little attention over the years. Self-determination theory (SDT) is a salient theoretical model for understanding motivation, and posits that self-determined motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation) stems from the perceived fulfillment of three psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Scholars of SDT also contend that individual characteristics and contextual features can facilitate the fulfillment of these three needs. Therefore, SDT provides a useful theoretical platform for studying the relevant psychological needs and personal, professional and environmental features of PE teacher motivation. Aims: The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether physical educators' perceived fulfillment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness were related to their self-determined motivation. The second purpose of this study was to explore the potential impact of various personal, professional, and environmental factors on physical educators' fulfillment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Method: Participants were 247 PE teachers (117 females and 130 males) from the state of Ohio in the USA, ranging in age from 23 to 65 years, and representing a near equal distribution of school levels: 5–11-year-old students (n = 82); 12–15-year-old students (n = 82); and 16–18-year-old students (n = 83). A cross-sectional, survey-based study design was employed. Participants were randomly selected from the State Teacher Directory, and mailed questionnaires that reliably and accurately assessed the variables of the study. Psychometric and descriptive statistics were computed. canonical correlation analysis was employed to determine the simultaneous relationships between physical educators' perceived need fulfillment and perceived motivation. Three separate multiple regression analyses using the stepwise strategy were conducted to explore the impact of ten personal, professional, and environmental variables on PE teachers' perceived need fulfillment. Lastly, three multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests with a univariate follow-up and Scheffe's post hoc comparison technique were used to determine if teachers' perceived needs significantly differed by the personal and professional categorical variables. Results: Results indicated that physical educators' perceptions of teacher autonomy, competence, and relatedness were positively and strongly associated with self-determined motivation. Furthermore, attending conferences, reading professional journals, giving professional presentations, teaching in elementary schools, using quality equipment, and having a supportive administration positively influenced teachers' perceptions of autonomy, competence, or relatedness. Conclusion: Findings support the tenets of SDT, and also suggest that professional and environmental variables contribute to the motivation of PE teachers. These findings substantiate the motivational importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness perceptions for PE teachers, while concurrently providing useful ways to increase PE teachers' perceptions of these important psychological needs.