School experience has been identified as one of the most important parts of initial teacher education courses. Research has also shown that students are concerned about school experience. Some authors have identified stages of development or concern through which students pass in their development as teachers. Other authors have suggested that students' development does not pass through sequential stages. The major purpose of this study was to look at the intensity and causes of concern for secondary PE students in England at two points in their one year initial teacher education course. A second purpose was to identify causes of concern for these students about starting their first teaching post. Results showed that over half of the students in this study were concerned/very concerned about school experience. The highest percentage of students was most concerned about being observed and evaluated and least concerned about the lesson itself. Intensity and causes of concern did not change over the course of the initial teacher education year. In anticipat ing their first teaching post at the end of their school experiences, the highest percentage of students was most concerned about teaching specific content. Results are discussed in relation to students' develop ment as teachers.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bain, L.L. (1990). Physical education teacher education. In: W.R. Houston (ed.). Handbook of research on teacher education. MacMillan.
2.
Behets, D. (1990). Concerns of preservice physical education teachers . Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 10 (1), 66-75.
3.
Boggess, T.E., McBride, R.E. and Griffey, D.C. (1985). The concerns of physical education student teachers: A developmental view. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education , 4, 202-211.
4.
Calderhead, J. (1987). The quality of reflection in student teachers' professional learning. European Journal of Teacher Education , 19 (3), 269-278.
5.
Capel, S. (1996). Changes in physical education students' anxieties and concerns on school experience: A longitudinal study. In M. Mawer (ed.). Mentoring in physical education: Issues and insights. London: Falmer Press, 41-58.
6.
Capel, S. (1997). The anticipation of teaching practice by physical education students. Pedagogy in Practice, 3 (2), 38-55.
7.
Capel, S.A. (1998). A longitudinal study of the stages of development or concern of secondary PE students. Paper accepted for publication in the European Journal of Physical Education, May.
8.
Department for Education (1992). Initial teacher training (Secondary phase) (Circular 9/92London: HMSO.
9.
Fuller, F.F. (1969). Concerns of teachers: A developmental conceptualization . American Educational Research Journal, 6 (2), 207-226.
10.
Fuller, F.F. and Bown, O.H. (1975). Becoming a Teacher. In K.J. Ryan (ed.). Teacher education. NSSE 74th Yearbook, part II. Chicago. University of Chicago Press.
11.
Fung, L. (1993). Concerns among pre- and inservice physical educators . Physical Education Review, 16 (1), 27-30.
12.
Furlong, J. and Maynard, T. (1995). Mentoring student teachers. London: Routledge.
13.
George, A.A. (1978). Measuring self, task, and impact concerns: A manual for use of the teacher concerns questionnaire. Austin, TX: University of Texas, Research and Development Center for Teacher Education.
14.
Guillaume, A.M. and Rudney, G.C. (1993). Student teachers' growth toward independence: An analysis of their changing concerns. Teaching and Teacher Education, 9 (1), 65-80.
15.
Hardy, C. (1994). The concerns of two groups of physical education pre-service teachers during their teacher education year. Bulletin of Physical Education, 30 (1), 55-61.
16.
Hardy, C. (1995). Types of teaching problems experienced by pre-service teachers during their predominantly school-based teaching year. British Journal of Physical Education, 26 (4), Winter, 21-24.
17.
Hardy, C. (1996). Trainees' concerns, experiences and needs: Implications for mentoring in physical education. In M. Mawer (ed.). Mentoring in physical education: Isues and insights. London: Falmer Press, 59-72.
18.
Hart, N.I. (1987). Student teachers' anxieties: Four measured factors and their relationships to pupil disruption in class. Educational Research, 29 (1), 12-18.
19.
Hudson, J. and Latham, A. (1996). Working together: Roles and relationships in the mentoring process. In: M. Mawer (ed.). Mentoring in physical education: Issues and insights. London: Falmer Press, 161-175.
20.
Leask, M. (1995). The student teacher's roles and responsibilities . In S. Capel, M. Leask and T. Turner.Learning to teach in the secondary school: A companion to school experience . London: Routledge, 17-27.
21.
Locke, L.F. (1979). Supervision, schools and student teaching: Why things stay the same. The Academy Papers, 13,65-74.
22.
Lortie, D.C. (1975). School teacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
23.
McBride, R.E. (1984). Perceived teaching and program concerns among preservice teachers, university supervisors, and cooperating teachers. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 3, 36-42.
24.
McBride, R.L., Boggess, T.E. and Griffey, D.C. (1986). Concerns of inservice physical education teachers as compared to Fuller's concern model. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 5, 149-156.
25.
Mancini, V.H., Goss, J. and Frye, P. (1982). Relationships of interaction behavior patterns of student teachers and their cooperating teachers. Abstracts of Research Papers: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Convention - Houston. Reston, VA: AAHPERD, 116.
26.
Mawer, M. (1995). The effective teaching of physical education. London: Longmans.
27.
Maynard, T. and Furlong, J. (1993). Learning to teach and models of mentoring. In D. McIntyre, H. Hagger and M. Wilkin (eds.). Mentoring: perspectives on school-based teacher education. London: Kogan Page, 69-85.
28.
Meek, G. (1996). The teacher concerns questionnaire with preservice physical educators in Great Britain: Being concerned with concerns. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 15, 20-29.
29.
Ofsted (1993). The new teacher in school: A survey by HM Inspectors in England and Wales 1992. London: HMSO.
30.
Ofsted (1995). Physical education: A review of inspection findings 1993/94. London: HMSO.
31.
Paese, P.C. and Zinkgraf, S. (1991). The effect of student teaching on teacher efficacy and teacher stress. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education , 10 (3), 307-315.
32.
Pelletier, J. and Martel, D. (1994). Problems PE student teachers encountered during initial teaching experiences. Paper presented at the AIESEP World Congress, Berlin, June.
33.
Sebren, A. (1995). Preservice teacher's orientations towards teaching: The transformation from teaching as control to teaching for learning. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 66, March Supplement, A-68-A-69.
34.
Siedentop, D. (1991). Developing teaching skills in physical education . Mountain View, CA.: Mayfield Publishing Co.
35.
Tannehill, D. and Zakrajsek, D. (1988). What's happening in supervision of student teachers in secondary physical education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 8 (1), 1-12.
36.
Wendt, J.C. and Bain, L.L. (1989a). Concerns of preservice and inservice physical educators. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 8, 177-180.
37.
Wendt, J.C. and Bain, L.L. (1989b). Physical educators' perceptions of stressful teaching events. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education , 8, 342-346.
38.
Wendt, J.C., Bain, L.L. and Jackson, A.S. (1981). Fuller's concerns theory as tested on prospective physical educators. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education . Introductory Issue, 66-70.
39.
Williams, E.A. (1994). Roles and responsibilities in initial teacher training — student views. Educational Studies, 20 (2), 167-180.
