THE SOCIO-PROFESSIONAL STATUS OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN PORTUGAL - A QUALITATIVE APPROACH

Abstract

Despite some worth mentioning initiatives, Physical Education teaching in Portugal was only unveiled and recognised at a later stage by others than the ones directly involved in it. In fact, during most of the 20th century, both the subject and the teachers were clearly considered to have a peripheral status, particularly when compared to their professional peers. Considering the changes in the last decades, we found it pertinent to analyse how these teachers perceive the status that is assigned to them by teachers of other subjects, and also by their students. For the purpose of this analysis, we used a qualitative methodology in our study focused on a group of fifteen teachers with varied degrees in Physical Education, and graduated from some of the most distinguished schools in Portugal since the 1940s until the end of the 20th century. We concluded that there could be made a definition to a certain extent, regarding what the other teachers think about the status of Physical Education teachers. Some of the teachers, namely those graduated from institutes, ISEF (College of Physical Education), realise that their fellow teachers do not recognise their true value and treat them as the poor relatives of education. Nevertheless, there are those who perceive and recognise their value and treat them as equals. More consensual, however, seem to be their perceptions about the opinion of students and staff, as our study tends to show that Physical Education teachers feel that they assign them an identical status to that of teachers of other subjects.