| Universities and Colleges across the country are preparing physical education teachers. However, there is grave concern that teacher preparation programs, more specifically, physical education teacher education (PETE) programs are falling short and students are not receiving an appropriate education. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe PETE faculty and programs within the Central District of the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD).Two separate papers were developed for this dissertation. The first paper surveyed PETE faculty employed by institutions in the Central District and described current demographics of the PETE faculty employed by institutions in the Central District. The second paper explained the PETE program curriculum.The first paper, A Status Report of PETE Faculty in the Central District, investigated PETE faculty (N=118) located within the Central District (AAHPERD) and provided a status report for the discipline. Metzler and Freedman (1985) and Lawson (1991) believed that through knowing PETE faculty and their professional endeavors, we might have a better understanding of the students in the programs, those who graduate, and those who are becoming the next generation of physical education teachers in our K--12 schools.The second paper, A Descriptive Analysis of Undergraduate PETE Programs in the Central District, described the content of undergraduate PETE programs located within the Central District (N=44) based on a general program profile, curricular items, field experiences, and professional involvement/development. Overall, the goal was to provide an overview of many key elements of PETE programs that would allow readers to compare their program offerings with others in a similar geographic area. Another goal was to encourage institutions to assess and therefore, improve the preparation of future physical education professionals. |
