Longitudinal Insights: The Evolution of Beginning Physical Educators' Practices Over Five Years

Area of Science:

• Physical Education
• Teacher Training
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Teacher attrition is a significant issue in Physical Education.
• Understanding the relationship between teaching tasks and performance is vital for teacher support.
• Self-efficacy theory and career progression models provide frameworks for analyzing teacher development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To longitudinally analyze the teaching performance and efficacy of early-career physical educators.
• To examine changes in teacher performance and efficacy over the first five years of teaching.
• To identify factors influencing teacher retention and career progression in Physical Education.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study design with data collected 2-3 times annually over 5 years.
• Teaching performance measured by Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) and Qualitative Measures of Teaching Performance Scale (QMTPS).
• Teacher efficacy assessed using Physical Education Teaching Efficacy Scale (PETES) and Self-Evaluation of Teacher Effectiveness Questionnaire in PE (SETEQ-PE).

Main Results:

• Statistically significant growth in teacher efficacy (PETES) and motor-appropriate student engagement (ALT-PE) observed over time.
• Teacher effectiveness questionnaire (SETEQ-PE) scores improved non-significantly.
• Qualitative Measures of Teaching Performance Scale (QMTPS) scores showed a downward trend without statistical significance.

Conclusions:

• Early-career physical education teachers demonstrate modest improvements in efficacy and student engagement over five years.
• Teacher empowerment is linked to higher teaching efficacy.
• Effective mentoring and professional development are essential for positive career progression and reducing teacher attrition.