Progression in physical education teachers’ career-long professional learning

Abstract

This paper considers the issue of learning ‘progression’ in pedagogy for physical education (PE) teachers in their career-long professional development (CPD). This issue arose from an analysis of findings from three research projects in which the authors were involved. The projects were undertaken in different national contexts (Ireland, Greece, England), but all used similar methods to investigate questions about effective/ineffective PE-CPD. The findings identified numerous barriers that teachers and pre-service teachers encountered in accessing effective professional development. Of particular interest, however, was the realization that taken together, the findings raised concerns about teachers’ learning progression, including progression over time, across learning contexts and in specific areas of interest. This issue has rarely been discussed in the existing literature and is poorly theorized. Indeed, there would appear to be little agreement in the profession about how to conceptualize ‘good’ or ‘adequate’ learning progression in pedagogy across a career. This paper, therefore, seeks to open a new line of enquiry.