The initial training of physical education teachers—In search of the lost meaning of professionalism

Abstract

This article re-examines the initial training of physical education teachers with the purpose of pinning down its professional significance. The author maintains that we have lost, in part, its meaning, and, in an attempt to recover it, offers two initial strategies: to revisit two basic concepts—education in general and physical education in particular—and to reformulate four key questions: Question 1. What being a physically educated person means… Professionals are urged to establish the objectives of physical education based on the deficiencies, necessities and interests of the children and young people, which are rooted in the nature of the developed societies in which they live (e.g. the contextualisation of knowledge, emotional development, the learning of values necessary for a pacific coexistence, the promotion of active lifestyles, information about a balanced diet and the disorders that arise out of this, education for a sustainable consumerism, etc.). This information will be provided via an in-depth analysis of the socio-cultural, economical and political macro context. Question 2. What being a real physical educator actually means. …The emphasis is on three aspects: the complicity that a physical education teacher should feel towards children, which leads him/her to a moral commitment to his/her own training; the capacity of this teacher to respond to the question of what deserves to be taught and learnt within the field of physical education; and the awareness of principles, processes, educational aims and their implications, as well as the contextual aspects that condition their teaching. Question 3. What training a physical educator should receive and how it should be given….The necessity for a personal, as well as professional, preparation of physical educators is highlighted. Insofar as personal training, the author proposes, as a means of getting to know oneself, the writing down of respective personal stories (to reflect on one's principles, beliefs and values, how these ideas have been developed, and who they would like to be one day, etc.). With regard to professional preparation (in terms of curriculum and methodology), it is underlined that educators of teachers should contextualise the knowledge they impart, establish connections between the different fragments of said knowledge and with the daily lives of their students, school, education in general and physical education specifically. Moreover, the author highlights the importance of the use of metaphors, real life cases and school anecdotes to facilitate a learning process with meaning. The use of the pedagogy of dialogue is another strategy that is put forward not only as a technique for acquiring knowledge, but also as a means of improving relationships in the classroom. Keeping a journal in which one reflects on the different topics and how he/she is learning is another suggestion offered. Question 4. What those who are responsible for training physical education teachers should be like and how they should behave….It is argued that an educator of physical education teachers should have a specific knowledge of physical education, but should also be a cultured individual with a wider comprehension of the world and education in general, which allows him/her to contextualise knowledge and establish the aforementioned connections, as well as being emotionally balanced, committed to his/her job, consistent in what he/she says and does and capable of improving his/her teaching through praxis (a process of reflection, action and reflection).