Teacher Moonlighting: Interviews with Physical Educators

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the phenomenon of public school physical education teachers holding multiple jobs. Data were collected through interviews of 17 secondary physical education teachers who described their motives and perceptions concerning the combination of teaching and moonlighting. Each teacher was interviewed twice. In the first interview participants were encouraged to identify what they regarded as the realities of moonlighting. Prior to the second interview, participants read through the transcript of the first interview, which documented primary areas of interest and items that required amplification or exploration. Three particular themes appear to be both common and powerful in the professional lives of physical education teachers: (a) a life-cycle squeeze, (b) pushed out of teaching, and (c) pulled out of teaching. It is apparent that a number of factors such as economics, personal history, spouses, administrators, and subject matter contribute to determining whether, when, and how moonlighting will occur.