Preservice teacher’s perceptions of personal physical education experiences: pre-service teachers’ beliefs and dispositions

Background: As a result of increased interest in school physical education (PE), research focused on preservice PE teachers has become a frequent occurrence. This research often conveys concern over the lack of confidence within preservice teachers to deliver PE. Morgan & Bourke (2008) offer that personal school PE experiences may play an influential role in the development of teachers’ confidence in PE. Understanding the experiences of preservice teachers may instigate revised teacher preparation content. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of physical education preservice teachers (PST) from Scotland and the United States concerning their own elementary and secondary physical education program outcomes. Specifically, the study focused on the PST perceptions of numerous outcomes that define a quality phys- ical education program (NASPE, 2009). Participants were asked to reflect on their personal PE experiences and rate the impact of these experiences against a series of statements. Research Questions The purpose of this study was to analyse the backgrounds of PST’s and their perceptions and beliefs related to the subject and profession. The specific questions that the study intends to answer are: 1. Do pre-service education teachers (PST) believe their own experiences in elementary and secondary education classes were a positive experience? 2. Do PST from Scotland and the United States have similar beliefs in their elementary and secondary physical education classes being a positive experience? 3. Do pre-service education teachers believe that their own experiences in elementary and secondary physical educationclasses: increasedtheirsportandmovementskills? Methods: Survey data was collected at two sites (one in Scotland and one in America) from preservice teachers within teacher education programs. The survey asked a series of open ended and closed questions where participants were asked to reflect on their personal PE experiences and rate the impact of these experiences against a series of statements. Data was organized by the participant’s answers and checked for any anomalies in the data. Answers to open questions were then analyzed thematically and closed questions were analyzed for descriptive and comparative statistics. In total 154 surveys of PE pre-service teachers from Scotland and the United States were gathered. All of the partici- pants were registered students in compulsory classes in a teacher preparation program. Across the sample eighty- nine students from the USA were enrolled in an Introduction to Teaching Physical Education class were invited to participate in the study across six semesters. Sixty-four students from Scotland were in their 3rd year of under- graduatedegreeinPrimaryTeaching. Acrossthestudytheparticipantsweresplit53%femaleand47%male.The breakdown of survey respondents from the United States was 64 males and 25 females. The 64 students from Scot- land included 55 females and 9 males. This is reflective of the teaching population in Scotland which at the primary level is female dominated. Results: The findings overall, suggest that preservice students believe their elementary PE program was generally enjoyable and instructional in nature. At the secondary level, a significant number of the preservice PE students indicated a dissatisfaction of the quality or instruction. The findings indicate that in order to build confidence in 395 preservice teachers, teacher preparation programs would be well served by taking account of the personal experi- ences of the teachers themselves. Conclusions: Study findings suggest that for more than a quarter of the participants two of the major outcomes of physical education may not be being addressed in elementary or secondary physical education. The outcome from the study indicated that the survey participants are aware of outcomes of PE but are saying it is not always happening. This made the researchers ponder if this is a trend across the US and Scotland or is it representative of this population only, and if so why? Also, is the cycle of lower quality physical education for future teachers being perpetuated with the lack of outcomes of lifelong physical activity enjoyment and the development of motor skills for future generations? Harvey et al (2018) highlight that the values and beliefs that form the foundation for student teachers are often prior to engaging in formal teacher education and have a ‘major influence’ on the effectiveness of a Physical Education Teacher Education program. Significantly, these results have implications for teacher education programs being able to ‘break the cycle’ within physical education