Administrator Experiences with Physical Education Teachers and Programs
Faculty Advisor Name
Dr. Cathy McKay
Department
Department of Kinesiology
Description
Administrator Experiences with Physical Education Teachers and Programs
Eric Bowers, Graduate Student
Dr. Cathy McKay, Faculty Mentor
The purpose of this study was to seek to understand and describe the experiences and perspectives of school administrators in relation to physical education teachers and physical education programs. Research conducted by Rizzo (2019) related to principals’ intentions to promote physical education found that principals can directly impact the success of the physical educator, as well as the quality of the program. Research also indicates that the school culture for physical educators may be improved if principals support and promote quality physical education (Bechtel & O’Sullivan, 2007).
To explore how administrators made sense of their experiences with physical education teachers and physical education programs, this qualitative study utilized a phenomenological approach. Participants were nine school administrators (33% female; 67% male; 5-23 years administration experience) serving in leadership roles in public schools in Virginia. Data for this study were collected in the form of reflective writing responses and individual follow-up interviews. Writing responses included three demographic questions and five short answer questions, taking an average of fifteen minutes to complete. Writing responses were completed by all nine participants. Follow-up interviews were approximately twenty minutes long and were conducted over zoom. Once complete, the zoom interviews were transcribed into a word document. Follow-up interviews were completed by four of the nine participants. After data were collected, thematic development was undertaken inductively using a three-step analytic process: immersion in the data, bracketing the data, and determining emergent themes.
Analysis revealed four themes related to the participants’ experiences with physical education teachers and physical education programs. In the first theme, “Our PE teachers are a very important part of our overall team”: Physical education teachers as team members, participants described the way physical education teachers acted as overall team players on the school faculty team, and the manner in which their visibility was important. The second theme, “Our PE teachers are vital to the health and wellness of the school”: Physical education teachers add value, concerned participants’ feelings of value and necessity in relation to physical education teachers and programming. The third theme, “Sometimes HPE teachers are in it to be a coach and teaching is secondary”: Negative experiences with physical education teachers and programs, dealt with the participants’ frustration with ineffective physical education teachers. Finally, the fourth theme, “You need to be visible”: Physical education teachers need to be visible to build relationships concerned the importance of being visible to build relationships throughout the school and community.
Based on these findings, administrators' views and perceptions of physical education teachers and physical education programs are positive, and indicate experiences of teamwork, leadership, value to the overall school program, and joy. Negative experiences were minimal, however important to note in the overall data, as depicted in theme three. Future data should explore a larger cross-section of administrators from multiple states, seeking to understand and describe experiences across all educational levels, including elementary and secondary participants.
Administrator Experiences with Physical Education Teachers and Programs
Administrator Experiences with Physical Education Teachers and Programs
Eric Bowers, Graduate Student
Dr. Cathy McKay, Faculty Mentor
The purpose of this study was to seek to understand and describe the experiences and perspectives of school administrators in relation to physical education teachers and physical education programs. Research conducted by Rizzo (2019) related to principals’ intentions to promote physical education found that principals can directly impact the success of the physical educator, as well as the quality of the program. Research also indicates that the school culture for physical educators may be improved if principals support and promote quality physical education (Bechtel & O’Sullivan, 2007).
To explore how administrators made sense of their experiences with physical education teachers and physical education programs, this qualitative study utilized a phenomenological approach. Participants were nine school administrators (33% female; 67% male; 5-23 years administration experience) serving in leadership roles in public schools in Virginia. Data for this study were collected in the form of reflective writing responses and individual follow-up interviews. Writing responses included three demographic questions and five short answer questions, taking an average of fifteen minutes to complete. Writing responses were completed by all nine participants. Follow-up interviews were approximately twenty minutes long and were conducted over zoom. Once complete, the zoom interviews were transcribed into a word document. Follow-up interviews were completed by four of the nine participants. After data were collected, thematic development was undertaken inductively using a three-step analytic process: immersion in the data, bracketing the data, and determining emergent themes.
Analysis revealed four themes related to the participants’ experiences with physical education teachers and physical education programs. In the first theme, “Our PE teachers are a very important part of our overall team”: Physical education teachers as team members, participants described the way physical education teachers acted as overall team players on the school faculty team, and the manner in which their visibility was important. The second theme, “Our PE teachers are vital to the health and wellness of the school”: Physical education teachers add value, concerned participants’ feelings of value and necessity in relation to physical education teachers and programming. The third theme, “Sometimes HPE teachers are in it to be a coach and teaching is secondary”: Negative experiences with physical education teachers and programs, dealt with the participants’ frustration with ineffective physical education teachers. Finally, the fourth theme, “You need to be visible”: Physical education teachers need to be visible to build relationships concerned the importance of being visible to build relationships throughout the school and community.
Based on these findings, administrators' views and perceptions of physical education teachers and physical education programs are positive, and indicate experiences of teamwork, leadership, value to the overall school program, and joy. Negative experiences were minimal, however important to note in the overall data, as depicted in theme three. Future data should explore a larger cross-section of administrators from multiple states, seeking to understand and describe experiences across all educational levels, including elementary and secondary participants.
