Global Challenges and Opportunities for Physical Education Teacher Educators
– Mary O’Sullivan
This McCloy Lecture sheds light on the “hidden profession” of Physical Education Teacher Educators (PETEs) by sharing my perspectives on the challenges and opportunities faced by PETE scholars and teachers globally. I begin with an overview of my biography and how it has influenced my thinking about PETE. I present some scholarly critiques of PETE, a selection of PETE research findings and address key policy issues within teacher education across several national educational systems describing how Physical Education teacher educators manage (or not) the challenges and opportunities in the practice of teacher education in modern-day universities. I draw on data from my international study of experienced Physical Education teacher educators about the nature of their work in academe and the status of physical education teacher education locally, nationally and globally. I also draw on the perspectives of Irish teacher educators about the challenges of being active producers and users of research in a challenging national policy context. I conclude with a set of observations about how best to build capacity among Physical Education teacher educators so they can thrive as research active and innovative teachers in the modern university.