Faculty members are important agents in the socialization of doctoral students into academia, but little training is available in preparation for the role of doctoral supervisor. In this self-study, we consider the personal and sociopolitical challenges that Kevin faced as an early career teacher education faculty member who had just begun…

Background/Purpose: Teacher educators must help students overcome faulty beliefs they developed through acculturation while also retaining highly qualified candidates through to graduation. This aspect of this study sought to understand physical education teacher education program coordinators' perspectives about their role in the process of…

Background/Purpose: Physical education teacher education (PETE) programs have experienced enrollment decline, leading some PETE faculty to consider increasing efforts to recruit new students to their programs. This aspect of the current study sought to investigate PETE program coordinators' perceptions of possible causes for decreased PETE…

Physical education teacher education is most successful when it includes several field experiences that are closely supervised and focus on reflective practice. Drawing upon attachment theory, the purpose of this study was to understand a mentoring program in which doctoral students served as mentors for preservice teachers during a methods course…

Charles H. McCloy was an icon in our profession. He was not only a leading researcher in the area of anthropometrics and tests and measurements, but he was a leading advocate for physical education (PE) in our country. McCloy's advocacy ties nicely into the authors' belief that the socialization process has a profound impact on the state…

Self-study presents one approach to research that can be used to understand how current teacher educators and teacher education doctoral students (re)develop their practice and are socialized into academic norms. In some of these instances, faculty advisors may serve in a critical friendship capacity. This introduces an important power dynamic…

Research suggests that progress in the physical education profession is slowed by a cycle of nonteaching and dominance of traditional methodologies. Socialization factors operate to preserve and perpetuate the status quo of the profession, which is rooted primarily in team sport content. Teacher education programs are challenged to persuade…

Understanding physical education graduate students' perceptions of their educational experiences has implications for the design and conduct of training program experiences. Occupational socialization theory presents one perspective through which these experiences can be understood and interpreted. Due to differences in disciplinary norms,…

Qualitative research conducted through occupational socialization theory has documented that physical educators feel marginalized and isolated in schools. We sought to propose and provide initial evidence of validity and reliability for the Physical Education Marginalization and Isolation Survey (PE-MAIS). Physical educators (n = 420) completed an…

Job dissatisfaction has been linked to decreased performance and increased workplace turnover. It is, therefore, important to understand the experiences that are associated with physical education teacher job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. This study examined relationships among perceived mattering, role stress, emotional exhaustion, and job…

Teacher education programs across the country are being asked to systematically and deliberately recruit teacher candidates who are not only highly qualified, but represent diverse backgrounds. Coupled with dwindling enrollments, these programs may want to reevaluate the types of students recruited into a career in physical education. This article…

Researchers have begun using occupational socialization theory to understand the experiences of physical education teacher education doctoral students and faculty members. Comparatively little work has been done with graduate students pursuing research-focused masters' degrees. These programs can serve as pipelines into PhD programs and have…

In a previous "Advocacy in Action" article, Richards and Wilson (2012) discussed quality physical education (PE) as a precursor to advocacy. It was argued that, before PE teachers can be effective advocates, they must first develop a high-quality PE program for which to advocate. This article extends the points made by Richards and…

Background: As schools become more diverse, preservice physical educators remain predominantly White from middle class backgrounds. There is a need to provide future teachers with cultural awareness and social justice training. The culturally relevant physical education framework provides three steps to follow, the tenets of which align with the…

Previous research has illustrated that physical educators feel their subject is valued less than others in the context of schools. However, to date, no instruments have been developed to measure physical education teachers' perceptions of mattering. This study sought to propose and validate the Perceived Mattering Questionnaire--Physical Education…