Purpose: A reduction in physical education teacher education (PETE) enrollments has been evident over the past decade. As a result, many institutions have eliminated their PETE programs, and the recruitment and retention of preservice teachers has been a significant area of concern and research. The study’s aim was to investigate how occupational socialization influenced PETE recruitment and retention at one mid-sized public research university in the southeastern United States. Method: Participants were 16 individuals who were undergraduate students or recent graduates. Data were collected through autobiographical essays and interviews. Results: Participants were organized into five categories: (a) PETE precandidacy, (b) currently enrolled in PETE, (c) recent PETE graduate, (d) seriously contemplated PETE but never enrolled, and (e) withdrew from PETE. Participants acted as pursuers, latecomers, and lamenters. The factors influencing PETE recruitment were (a) apprenticeship of observation, (b) the family business, and (c) job satisfaction, with the factors influencing retention being (d) a loss of enthusiasm. Discussion/Conclusion: The data from this study both support and contradict prior research into PETE recruitment and retention. These findings would be of interest to PETE faculty, program coordinators, and other administrators who are responsible for the recruitment and retention of students.
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To PETE, or Not to PETE, That Is the Question: The Influence of Occupational Socialization on Physical Education Teacher Education Recruitment and Retention
Craig Parkes and Shelley L. Holden
Two Confessional Tales of Trainee Sport Psychology Practitioners’ Experiences of Operating in Trinidad and Tobago
Jonathan Brain, Heather Hunter, George H. Franklin, Alessandro Quartiroli, Christopher R.D. Wagstaff, and Daniel J. Brown
We present two confessional tales of our transnational experience as U.K.-based trainee sport psychology practitioners working in a professional sport organization in Trinidad and Tobago. We first provide contextual elements of our placement before sharing the confessional tales regarding the nuances of providing sport psychology services in a cultural context different from the one in which we are currently training. In the confessional tales, we share some challenges and hurdles we experienced relating to our culturally led assumptions. The tales are titled “Boundary Issues” and “Punctuality Is a Privilege.” We then share some reflections in which we explore our lessons learned about cultural humility and describe our underestimation of our cultural arrogance and the challenges experienced during our cultural reflection process. We conclude this professional practice paper by offering several practical implications for trainees and qualified sport psychology practitioners to consider when developing a culturally grounded approach to practice.
Using Group Concept Mapping to Conceptualize Meaningfulness in Physical Education With Secondary Students
Jodi Harding-Kuriger, Douglas Gleddie, Déirdre Ní Chróinín, and Sean Lessard
Purpose: As a contribution to the ongoing Meaningful Physical Education (PE) research, this study seeks to understand secondary students’ conceptualizations of meaningful PE experiences, using Group Concept Mapping. Methods: Participants were secondary students (n = 55) in an urban sports academy. Conceptualizations of meaningful PE experiences were derived through three main activities using Group Concept Mapping: (a) brainstorming, (b) sorting, and (c) rating for importance. Results: The meaningfulness in PE maps depict synthesized statements distributed across four clusters: kindness, physical activity, fun, and quality education. The most important ideas were: “being treated with respect,” “working hard,” “having fun,” “being active,” and “equality.” Conclusions: The most significant Meaningful PE statements demonstrated the importance of blending the Meaningful PE features based on school context while making pedagogical decisions following the principles of autonomy and inclusivity.
What Teachers Always Wanted to Say About Inclusive Physical Education but Were Afraid to Speak Out Loud . . . Microlinguistic Analysis as a Path to the Core of Interviews
Helga Leineweber
Purpose: The aim of the qualitative study was to identify inclusion-related challenges and to specify the need for professional development of physical education (PE) teachers. To achieve this, the integrative basic procedure (IBP) is suggested as a suitable method. Methods: The methodological approach consisted of a combination of grounded theory methodology and IBP. The IBP is designed to reconstruct meaning beyond surface level of statements. The sample was comprised of 17 interviews with German primary and secondary PE teachers. Results: Reconstructions along the IBP revealed challenges in relation to teachers’ professional beliefs and abilities. Five crystallization points suggesting the need for professional development were identified: PE lesson design, teacher’s focus of attention, teaching ambition, performance concept, and attitudes. Conclusions: The methodological procedure places high demands on data and the expertise of researchers. Yet, it allows a deeper understanding of teaching requirements in inclusive PE and highlights areas for professional development.
Warm-Up in Triathlon: Do Triathletes Follow the Scientific Guidelines?
Claudio Quagliarotti, Simone Villanova, Alessio Marciano, Óscar López-Belmonte, Cristiano Caporali, Alessandro Bottoni, Romuald Lepers, and Maria Francesca Piacentini
Purpose: Warming up before competition is universally recognized as an effective way to enhance performance. However, only a few articles have directly investigated different warm-up strategies adopted by triathletes and suggested by coaches. The Olympic-distance triathlon is an endurance competition characterized, at least for the elite, by a fast start with a strong correlation to the final position in the race. Thus, executing a proper warm-up protocol would be beneficial in optimizing performance. The present study aimed to provide an overview of the warm-up protocol adopted/suggested by national-caliber triathletes/coaches before an Olympic-distance triathlon race. Methods: Online surveys were created and shared between national- and international-caliber Italian, French, and Spanish triathletes and coaches. Information about the rationale, structure, and specific exercises adopted/suggested during personal warm-up protocols was collected. Thereafter, triathletes were grouped according to the discipline sequence reported. Results: Seventy-nine triathletes and nineteen coaches completed the survey. The cycle–run–swim was the most reported discipline sequence adopted, with a total time of 90.0 (25.0) minutes, against the 62.5 (25.0) minutes suggested by coaches. Conditioning exercises were performed by only 31.6% of triathletes 20 to 10 minutes before the race start. Conclusions: Triathletes who took part in this survey adopted very long protocols with the specific intention of including all disciplines. These results highlight the need to raise awareness in triathletes and coaches on the correct warm-up procedures and to stimulate researchers to design studies that directly investigate the effects of different warm-up protocols before competitions.
Developing a Universal Design for Learning Pedagogy: Perspectives of Students With and Without Disabilities
Lauren J. Lieberman, Lauren Bean, and Michelle Grenier
Introduction: Universal design for learning (UDL) is a pedagogical approach utilized to eliminate barriers. Often, UDL has been seen as a strategy implemented solely to benefit students with disabilities. However, recent research on the voices of students with and without disabilities in physical education illuminates a clear need for this educational approach. Purpose: While UDL has been utilized across a variety of subjects, this manuscript identifies the need for UDL implementation in physical education for all students. Method: A document analysis of 69 articles illuminated the voices of children with and without disabilities in physical education related to the components of UDL. Careful analysis of these studies identified voices related to each component of UDL. Results/Conclusions: The results illustrate the need for a call-to-action to promote an inclusive pedagogy that addresses learner variability. The infusion of the UDL approach can alleviate the negative experiences currently impacting children’s experiences in the schools.
Effects of Training With Different Hang-Power-Clean Intensities on the Maximum Dynamic Strength, Vertical Jump, and Sprint Performance of Female Handball Players
Claudio Silva, Ricardo Berton, João Boccato, and Valmor Tricoli
Purpose: To compare the effects of 7 weeks of training with different hang-power-clean (HPC) intensities on the maximum dynamic strength, vertical jump, and sprint performance of female handball players. Methods: Professional handball athletes with at least 1 year of HPC experience volunteered to participate. The athletes were balanced by position and randomly assigned to a group with HPC at 90% (HPC90%) or 50% (HPC50%) of HPC 1-repetition maximum (1RM). The training volume was equalized between groups. Pretraining and posttraining assessments included 1RM HPC, jump height in the squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ), and sprint speeds at 5, 20, and 30 m. Results: From pretraining to posttraining, both groups significantly increased (P ≤ .05) 1RM HPC, although a small effect size was observed in favor of HPC90%. HPC90% and HPC50% did not induce significant changes (P > .05) in the SJ and CMJ height, although for the SJ, a small effect size was observed in favor of HPC90%. Both groups induced a significant improvement (P ≤ .05) in 5-, 20-, and 30-m sprint speeds, although for all speeds, small to moderate effect sizes were observed in favor of HPC90%. Conclusions: Both training groups induced significant improvements in 1RM HPC and sprint speeds, whereas no significant changes were observed in vertical jumps. In addition, based mainly on the effect sizes, the HPC90% group was more effective for increasing 1RM HPC, SJ, and sprint speeds than the HPC50% group.
Preservice Teachers’ Content Knowledge in Physical Education Teacher Education Programs
Emi Tsuda, Phillip Ward, José A. Santiago, Peter Hastie, Insook Kim, Bomna Ko, and Junyoung Kim
Purpose: This study examined changes in common content knowledge (CCK) among preservice teachers in tennis and volleyball over time from entry to completion of physical education teacher education (PETE) programs in a convenient sample in the United States. Method: Six PETE programs for tennis and five for volleyball were the sites of the study. Participants (tennis n = 245; volleyball n = 238) were preservice teachers who had just entered a PETE program and who finished the first, second, and third years in a PETE program (sophomores and juniors). A demographic background survey and valid and reliable tennis and volleyball CCK tests were the instruments used for the study. Results: Descriptive statistics showed that preservice teachers scored well below the expected level of CCK (80%) in both content areas across the years. Discussion/Conclusion: PETE programs need to do a better job of teaching CCK.
Training and Game Loads Across Noncongested and Congested Weekly Microcycles During the Regular Season in a Semiprofessional Women’s Basketball Team
Cody J. Power, Jordan L. Fox, Masaru Teramoto, Vincent J. Dalbo, and Aaron T. Scanlan
Purpose: To quantify and compare loads encountered in individual training sessions and games during noncongested and congested weeks in semiprofessional women basketball players. Methods: Using an observational, longitudinal design, 12 players from the same team had their external (PlayerLoad, relative PlayerLoad, and total and high-intensity inertial movement analysis variables) and internal load (session rating of perceived exertion [sRPE], sRPE-load, percentage of heart rate peak, and modified summated-heart-rate-zones load) monitored across a regular season. Training and game data were categorized into noncongested (0–1 game) and congested weeks (2–3 games). Linear mixed models and Cohen d effect sizes were used for analyses. Results: Comparisons between training sessions revealed higher (P < .05, d = 1.35–5.33) PlayerLoad, total inertial movement analysis, sRPE, and sRPE-load during training session 1 than training session 2 in congested weeks. Comparisons between training sessions and games revealed higher (P ≤ .001, d = 1.10–1.66) sRPE and sRPE-load during games than training sessions 1 and 2 in noncongested weeks, alongside higher (P ≤ .001, d = 1.87–3.55) sRPE during game 1 than training sessions 1 and 2 in congested weeks. Comparisons between games revealed higher (P < .05, d = 0.57–2.82) loads in game 3 during congested weeks compared with all other games. Conclusions: Training appeared to be tapered in congested weeks, likely to account for upcoming increases in game loading, but remained relatively consistent across sessions during noncongested weeks. Individual game loads remained relatively consistent but were noticeably increased when a third game was played in the week.