Date of Award
3-2-2021
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Education
Keywords
Additional Qualification (AQ) Courses, Health and Physical Education (HPE) Teachers, HPE Undergraduate Degree, Ontario College of Teachers (OCT), Quality HPE Programming, Teacher Self-Efficacy
Supervisor
Geri Salinitri
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
A large body of evidence has recognized the integral role of Health and Physical Education (HPE) in schools for improving student health and learning, yet the HPE subject area continues to be marginalized. A range of teacher-related and institutional barriers exist within HPE programming in schools, but there has been a lack of research investigating these barriers at the secondary level. The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) allows post-secondary institutions to offer continuing education courses in only select subject areas, such as HPE, which are recognized with subject area qualifications equivalent to those earned through an undergraduate degree. The purpose of this study was to investigate the self-efficacy of HPE teachers with a Bachelor of Human Kinetics (BHK) degree who have been displaced by teachers who have obtained their HPE qualifications through continuing education courses, such as Schedule A one-session Additional Basic Qualification (ABQ) courses and Schedule D three-part specialist Additional Qualification (AQ) courses, and any implications this may have had on the perceived quality of HPE programming in secondary schools. Four BHK graduate secondary school teachers in a Southwestern Ontario school board participated in semi-structured interviews. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), three superordinate themes emerged: Emotional Influence of an Inequitable Systemic Environment, Frustrations with Continuing Education as an Industry, and Interaction of Displacement Experience with Teaching Efficacy. These themes were further compartmentalized into subthemes. The findings of this study illustrate a detailed understanding of the impact this displacement has had on BHK graduates, including feelings of resentment and being devalued. Several recommendations to the OCT and to post-secondary institutions offering these continuing education courses have been made.
Recommended Citation
Semus, Aerin D., "Reflections of Bachelor of Human Kinetics Graduates Displaced from the Health and Physical Education Classroom Due to an Inequitable Education System" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 8534.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/8534