Life history has been used effectively to study the marginalization of teachers, however it has not been used to investigate exemplary teachers. This study investigates how one individual, Robin, became an exemplary physical educator and won awards such as state teacher of the year. The purpose of the study was to examine her life history to learn how she persevered and thrived when faced with obstacles, and to determine whether she was marginalized based on gender and/or other factors.
Method:
Using life history methodology, a series of interviews was conducted. The participant was chosen though purposive sampling. Components of the theory of occupational socialization were used to construct an interview framework. A timeline was constructed to highlight the events that took place in parallel with her career trajectory. The transcribed interviews were coded and analyzed qualitatively.
Analysis/Results:
The results of the participant’s life history were organized by the components of occupational socialization: acculturation, professional socialization, and organizational socialization. Because of the timing of Title IX, in her youth Robin had few female mentors and had to learn sports largely on her own. Her acculturation according to Lawson (1983b) predicted that she would have a custodial orientation toward teaching, but she developed a strong teaching orientation. When teaching, rather than reproducing the poor PE she experienced, she devised her own model, radically transforming the existing program. Her socialization into teaching was analyzed in light of the 6 dimensions discussed by Van Maanen and Schein (1979). The theory predicted that she would be high in the area of role innovation, and this was supported by the data. The study found that she experienced marginalization based upon gender and lack of support.
Conclusions:
This study is significant because little is know about how successful teachers navigate difficulties. The study follows the life history of a person who hated PE, who did not go to college to become a PE teacher, but who emerged from being the “ugly duckling” of her college cohort to becoming an exemplary teacher. She took her first position in a challenging teaching situation, but through stubbornness, wherewithal, and a self-imposed planning sequester developed strategies to become a successful teacher, even when dealing with large classes. Though her acculturation prepared her to be a custodial-type teacher, she strategically redefined the role of teacher in her school. Students of PE and teacher educators can learn lessons from her story.