Teachers move through stages or phases of their professional lives, holding individual attitudes, knowledge, skills, behaviors, and self-efficacy levels at various points during their careers (Fessler, 1992; Henninger, 2007). This case study, incorporating a narrative design, is nested within a larger research project examining six teachers’ journey across the career cycle (Woods & Earls, 1995; Woods & Lynn, 2001; Lynn & Woods, 2010, Woods & Lynn, in press). Two participants from the initial six continue to teach K-12 physical education, one is examined in the current study. This case study sought to gain an understanding of a veteran physical educator’s movement through his career cycle, and the environmental factors that both enhanced and constrained his career development.
Method:
Phil (a pseudonym) is a 47-year-old Euro-American male who is in his twenty-sixth year as a physical educator. Two years were spent teaching at the middle school level, with the remaining 24 years at the elementary level. Multiple narrative research data sources were used in this study: (a) transcripts of the participant’s responses in ten semi-structured interviews conducted in 1989, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, (two interviews) and 2013 that focused on sustaining and inhibiting career path factors, along with his views of his teaching and teaching context; (b) two formal interviews with former University teacher educators, and formal interviews with the participant’s former principal, the participant’s spouse, a current University student teacher supervisor, and multiple informal interviews, (c) field notes from live classroom observations on the day of each interview; and (d) systematic teaching observations.
Analysis/Results:
Phil entered the profession with great promise, and proved to be a highly professional teacher. Early in his career he experienced preservice, induction and competency building stages before entering the career frustration stage in his fifth year of teaching. Later he moved between the enthusiastic and growing and the career stability stage. Several themes were identified that acutely influenced Phil’s career progression: (a) sense of contentment, (b) shift in views related to the purpose of his program, and (c) continued influence of professional preparation programs.
Conclusions:
Understanding the reasons that teachers leave the profession is important, as is gaining an understanding of veteran teachers who have persisted in the profession and feel successful (Tan, Whipp, & Yeo, 2007). Clearly this longitudinal study provides valuable insights on factors that enhanced and constrained the career progression of a successful physical educator.
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