Pre-service teachers’ experiences of an activist approach in a health and physical education teacher education context

In the past four decades, health and physical education teacher education (HPETE) research has grown, emphasising social justice and activist approaches as a way to challenge the status quo of systems of oppression, including capitalism, imperialism, patriarchy, racism, LGBTQI+ phobia, and ableism. Despite a wealth of research on social justice and activist approaches in HPETE, there is a notable gap in understanding the outcomes for pre-service teachers (PSTs), necessitating further exploration into the impact and effectiveness of these approaches. This study aimed to explore PSTs’ experiences of an activist approach in an HPETE context. Participants included a teacher educator/researcher and 65 PSTs who experienced the activist approach within their HPETE program while working with school students. Data were collected from: (a) field notes from the teacher educator; (b) reflective diaries from the PSTs; (c) focus groups with the PSTs; and (d) artefacts from the PSTs. Findings were discussed under three themes highlighting the experiences of PSTs engaging with an activist approach in an HPETE program. First, the study underscored how PSTs understood and valued students’ voices and embraced a student-centred approach. Second, PSTs emphasised the pivotal role of building relationships and creating safe spaces within the health and physical education environment. Third, the findings underscored how PSTs understood the messiness in teaching and the need to understand students’ needs in experiencing the activist approach. By investigating PSTs’ encounters with the activist approach, the study provided insights into its effectiveness in enhancing PSTs’ learnings and informing their pedagogical practices.