Master's Thesis

An Exploration on Professional Identity of Growing Stage Physical Education Teachers

 

An Exploration on Professional Identity of Growing Stage Physical Education Teachers.pdf.pdf

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Abstract

 

The purpose of this study is to explore the professional identity of physical education teachers in the growing stage. Research questions are as follows: First, what is the life process of PE teachers in growing stage? Second, what are the details of the professional identity of the PE teacher in the stage of growing? Third, what is the professional identity of the PE teachers in the growing stage?

 

In order to carry out research, literature review on teacher development, identity, professional identity was conducted. Through the teacher development theory, I looked at the developmental stage and characteristics of various researchers. In the identity theory, researches of various scholars are compared with the self, and the identity analysis lens to be used in the study is composed of the features. Through the theory of professional identity, the detailed elements of the professional identity of the various professions are presented to be compared with the growing stage physical education teachers.

 

The study was conducted for a total of 11 months from August 2017 to June 2018 based on the interpretivism paradigm as a qualitative study. The participants of the study selected 5 middle school physical education teachers who were recruited through open recruitment and recommendation. Qualitative data were collected through open questionnaires and in-depth personal interviews, and data analysis was done step - by - step, cyclically, and inductively according to transcription, analysis, and interpretation. In addition, triangulation, member checks, and peer debriefing were used to enhance the authenticity of the study.

 

The results and discussions are as follows. First, this research showed the process of life of the participants in the growing phase physical education teacher. The identity analysis lens that synthesized previous studies on the elements and characteristics of identity was used to reveal the lives of research participants. The analytic lens divides the life process into three stages. Each step reveals four elements: Values and beliefs, Institutional·cultural·social expectations, Behaviors, and Future. Annex 3 presents individual analysis results. As a result of this study, the process of life of the participants was ‘a PE teacher who changes and grows around students’, ‘a PE teacher who spread professionality through humanities-Oriented PE’, ‘a PE teacher who wants to remember at least one thing by physical education’, ‘A PE teacher changing from inferiority to being together’, ‘a PE teacher who goes beyond the athlete, and beyond the school to the outside’

 

Second, 14 codes were categorized by comparing and analyzing 7 professional identity details of other professions. In the sense of calling to field, ‘Guide into PE healthily, develop competences of the student, To our happiness’, in social responsibility, ‘Believe in students' change, Expectation to me, Beyond school to society’, in a professional organization as a reference, ‘Learn the life as a member, Practice in relation, Power to be able to continue’, in service mind, ‘for students’, in the moral attitude, ‘Devoted effort, To be better us’, and in autonomy, ‘utilization and challenge of autonomy’ In addition, I categorized the data that is not placed in the above element and added 4 codes such as ‘Understanding the changing age, The best as together, PE as I loved, Work and life balance’

 

Third, the professional identity model of the physical education teachers in the growing stage was constructed. The professional identity of the growing stage PE teacher is based on four I’s which are ‘My mission’ as student-centered, loving physical education, trying to devote, ‘Dreaming-I’ as wants to be a happy teacher, continue to live with, grow the competency of student, ‘Cooperating-I’ as learning, practicing, continuing with community, 'Expecting-I' as understanding the changing age, to become a superman, and to demonstrate high morality as. Therefore, four elements of ‘My mission’, ‘Dreaming-I’, ‘Cooperating-I’, ‘Expecting-I’ are formed professional identity in harmony, conflict, dynamism. There are 12 kinds of detail elements which are ‘Student centeredness, Devotion, Love of PE’, ‘Together, Competence, Happiness’, ‘Learning, Practice, Sustained’, ‘Change, Superman and Morality’. This model is structured so that it should be related to the concept of self in element, that is what my center is, how I can accept, act, and dream. In terms of morphology, it has a triangular pole shape which is harmonized and influenced by the other three elements centered on my mission, which means that there is no directionality and its size and shape change according to the situation, location and time.

 

A comprehensive discussion based on these results is as follows. First, in terms of professional identity and in-service teacher education, professional identity analysis can be classified as ‘reflection as an alternative of teacher education’ from the theoretical field of reflection. Therefore, it emphasizes ‘I as a physical education teacher’ as the main subject of reflection, discusses ‘physical education subject and its own life as a teacher’ as a content of reflection, and discusses measures of in-service teacher education.

 

Second, it is a discussion about the professional identity and qualification standards of physical education teachers. In the growing stage, the professional identity of the physical education teachers and the qualification standards of the physical education teachers are closely related to the whole aspect, centered on the teaching personality and mission. Especially, ‘collaborative relationship building’ of qualification standards with ‘Cooperating-I’ of professional identity occupies a large area and is emphasized. Therefore, teacher's practice should be understood and discussed as practice, learning, and continuing as a together, not as an individual practice.

 

Third, it is a discussion about the identity negotiation of the physical education teachers in the growing stage. Individuals construct I-positions according to their various roles and construct multiple, dynamic, and unstable identities through negotiations between I-positions. The professional identity of a physical education teacher is the identity as a profession I-position. Participants were in the age of building a new family because of a 5 to 10 year career standard. As a professional, they had an important I-position not only as a physical education teacher but also as a ‘family member’. Among the detailed elements of professional identity, ‘happiness’ is an element revealed through negotiation with ‘I as a family member’ and has a competitive negotiation relationship with 'my mission'. In order to balance the competitive negotiations, we should pay attention to ‘Cooperating-I’. The cooperative relationship implies a qualitative change in the work of the PE teacher as a specialist, which may lead to a balance between I-positions.

 

Finally, suggestions for in-service teacher education and follow-up are as follows. First, in-service teacher education is needed to analyze the professional identity of ‘reconstructing his / her life as a physical education teacher’, which is aimed at the inner side of the teacher. Second, it is necessary to educate the in-service teacher considering the development stage of the teacher. For future researches, first, it is necessary to construct a model of professional identity by selecting research participants according to various stages of development as well as growing stages. Second, it is necessary to examine the professional identity of physical education teachers who have a major interest not only in PE class but also in student guidance, sports clubs, class instruction, promotion, etc. Third, it is necessary to systematically identify the factors that influence the professional identity of the physical education teachers in the growing stage. Fourth, it is necessary to study the agency's perspective on how professional identity leads to active practice.

 

Keywords : Professional identity, Physical education teacher, Teacher development