Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) Majors' Perceptions of Participating in a Semester-Long High School PE Practicum

Many courses Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) majors take are all considered valuable and important to the PETE majors before entering the profession of teaching physical education (PE). The practicum course is probably the most important for PETE majors. The practicum course typically consists of an elementary, middle school, and high school teaching experience. This study aimed to investigate PETE majors’ perceptions of teaching before (pre) and after (post) they participated in a high school PE practicum. For this study, 14 senior PETE majors were interviewed before and after participating in their high school PE practicum. It was generally found that before participating in the practicum, the PETE majors were concerned about classroom management issues and dealing with the unknown before teaching. After the practicum, the students felt that being prepared with the lessons was important for their success, and the PETE students weren’t anxious regarding the student teaching experience. These findings affirm the practicum’s importance in the PETE majors’ preparation to teach PE.