The Occupational Socialization of a First-Year Physical Education Teacher with a Teaching Orientation

Abstract

The research reported in this paper examined how one American university's physical education teacher education (PETE) program influenced the perspectives and practices of a first-year high school teacher named Ed (a pseudonym). In addition, it explored how this influence was mediated by Ed's biography and entry into the workforce. Lawson's [(1983) Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 2, pp. 3-16; (1983) Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 3, pp. 3-15] hypotheses on physical education teacher socialization guided data collection and analysis. Data were collected though journal writing, formal and informal interviews, and document analysis. They were analyzed using constant comparison and analytic induction. Key findings were that features of Ed's biography led to the formation of a teaching orientation which, in turn, facilitated his full induction by his PETE program. Consequently, on entering the workforce, Ed was determined to teach as he had been trained even in the face of some serious situational constraints.