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ERIC Number: EJ1202623
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jan
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0273-5024
EISSN: N/A
Chapter 1: PETE Recruitment and Retention--Current State of Affairs
Woods, Amelia Mays; Ayers, Suzan F.
Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, v38 n1 p1-3 Jan 2019
There are several factors that contribute to the shrinking supply of teachers. Fewer individuals are pursuing teaching as a career; in the United States, for example, teacher education enrollments plunged 35% between 2009 and 2014 (Berry & Shields, 2017). In direct relation to the decrease in students entering preservice teaching, fewer teacher education programs exist to prepare future teachers (Sawchuk, 2014). Additionally, many of those who enter the teaching profession leave prematurely, with more than 41% of teachers exiting the profession within their first 5 years (Perda, 2013). This trend has gradually increased over the last 25 years, as the retention of first-year teachers continues to decrease (Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2014). Both recruitment and retention of Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) students are critical to graduating teachers for the work force. Woods, Richards, and Ayers (2016) endorse active recruitment strategies that PETE faculty members, in collaboration with K-12 teachers and community college contacts, can incorporate to improve PETE enrollments. Retaining students who enter teacher education programs is also a means to support the completion of teaching degrees. Higher education leaders recognize the importance of student retention and implement strategies to increase students' sense of affiliation and belonging within the university environment (Pokorny, Holley, & Kane, 2017). Specific to teacher education students, professional commitment during the preservice phase is essential; this can be promoted by making teacher education students responsible for their own learning and focusing on their teaching abilities and the intrinsic value of a teaching career (Fokkens-Bruinsma & Canrinus, 2015). In line with other content areas, PETE programs have experienced recent enrollment declines. Once-robust programs are experiencing drastically lowered enrollments, contributing to the closure of several prominent PETE programs across the United States (Bulger, Braga, DiGiacinto, & Jones, 2016; Templin, Blankenship, & Richards, 2014). The state of Illinois serves as a reference point, as the number of K-12 physical education teaching licenses conferred in Illinois shrank from 477 in 2011 to 226 in 2016 (Illinois Board of Higher Education, 2018). In Chapter 2 (see EJ1202568), Ward (2019) offers initial data about physical education teacher shortages across the United States to substantiate this conundrum. Decreased enrollments of this nature could contribute to a shortage of qualified teachers that may threaten the physical education profession. In response to lowered enrollments in PETE programs, this monograph presents the results of an initial, exploratory study to better understand perspectives on and practices for recruiting and retaining preservice physical education teachers to degree completion within the U.S. context. This examination was initiated through the development of an online survey administered to PETE program coordinators across the United States to ascertain current views and practices. Follow-up interviews were conducted to more fully understand PETE coordinators' perspectives with regard to recruiting and retaining preservice teachers.
Human Kinetics, Inc. 1607 North Market Street, Champaign, IL 61820. Tel: 800-474-4457; Fax: 217-351-1549; e-mail: info@hkusa.com; Web site: http://journals.humankinetics.com/journal/jtpe
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Secondary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Illinois
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A