One Teacher's Experience of Teaching Physical Education and Another School Subject: An Inter-Role Conflict?

• Published in: Research quarterly for exercise and sport Vol. 89; no. 2; pp. 235 - 245
• Main Authors: Iannucci, Cassandra, MacPhail, Ann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 03.04.2018
• Subjects: Foreign Countries; Graphs; Intellectual Disciplines; Longitudinal Studies; Physical Education; Physical Education Teachers; Role Conflict; role theory; Rural Schools; Secondary School Teachers; Semi Structured Interviews; Stress Variables; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Responsibility; Teacher Role; teachers' careers; Teaching Conditions; Theories; Ireland; teachers’ careers; role theory; role conflict; Physical education
• ISSN: 0270-1367; 2168-3824; 2168-3824
• DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2018.1446069

Purpose: This study was situated within a longitudinal study of 5 teachers examining the realities of teaching physical education by determining the impact of individual dispositions and contextual factors on the career trajectories of postprimary physical education teachers in Ireland (Iannucci & MacPhail, 2017). One of these participants, Jane, was examined in this study to gain a greater understanding of the realities and tensions experienced by a postprimary teacher enacting 2 distinct sets of role expectations when teaching physical education and another school subject concurrently. Method: Data reported in this article were collected through a semistructured interview and living graph. An interpretative framework was used for analysis, assessing Jane's perceived meanings of the identified critical incidents in relation to role theory. Results: Teachers timetabled with physical education and another subject concurrently may be expected to navigate and negotiate 2 distinctly different roles within the school community causing difficulty in assuming both roles simultaneously. Short narratives were used to convey 2 themes: (a) role prioritization and (b) role performance. Conclusion: The study results suggest that the already complex and multifaceted role of a school teacher (Richards, Templin, Levesque-Bristol, & Blankenship, 2014) seems to be further complicated when teachers are tasked with simultaneously teaching physical education and another school subject. With the presence of a role conflict management strategy such as role prioritization (Stryker, 1968), one can presume that teachers who are tasked with teaching physical education and another school subject may experience some level of role conflict.