“I hate that education is a business”: Influence of occupational socialization on sport pedagogy doctoral students’ intended PETE programs

Abstract

Research on sport pedagogy doctoral students’ (DSs’) occupational socialization should improve understanding of their beliefs and espoused practices regarding physical education teacher education (PETE), how these beliefs and espoused practices were shaped, and facilitate improvements in graduate education. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to describe the influence of occupational socialization on the PETE programs sport pedagogy DSs intended to deliver once they began life as faculty members in universities and colleges. The specific research questions we sought to answer were as follows: (a) How did DSs intend to conduct PETE? and (b) How had DSs’ views and beliefs regarding PETE been shaped by their occupational socialization? Participants were eight DSs located at four American universities. Data were collected with four interpretive techniques (formal and informal interviews, documents and artifacts, and a written outline of an ideal PETE program) and analyzed using analytic induction and constant comparison. DSs had conservative, liberal, and eclectic beliefs regarding PETE. They favored using elements from the behaviorist, traditional/craft, and critical-inquiry orientations to teacher education. The forces that shaped the DSs’ views and beliefs were mostly similar to those described in previous research, although there were some new and nuanced findings. The study indicates the need for DSs to explore their own views regarding physical education and PETE and the forces that shaped their perspectives.