A SURVEY OF PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION IN THE AREA OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL ELEMENTARY TEACHERS AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION SPECIALISTS IN GEOGRAPHIC AREAS SERVED BY THE AMERICAN ALLIANCE FOR HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, RECREATION, AND DANCE

The pros and cons of physical education instruction by the classroom teacher versus that by the physical education specialist have been debated at length during the past 50 years. The purposes of this study were: (a) to determine if the state requirements for certification of elementary classroom teachers prepare them to teach physical education with an equal number of professional preparation courses or course hours as other elementary subject areas; (b) to determine if state requirements for certification of physical education specialists prepare them comprehensively enough to teach elementary students; (c) to determine the percentage of classroom teachers who have physical education specialists to teach elementary physical education or assist in teaching elementary physical education; and (d) to determine the percentage of classroom teachers who teach physical education without assistance from physical education specialists.;General conclusions from this study were: (1) Classroom teachers with some assistance are usually responsible for physical education instruction. (2) The majority of classroom teachers perceived they were inadequately prepared to teach elementary physical education. (3) Approximately 38.3% of the physical education specialists perceived they were adequately prepared to teach elementary students, while 33.9% perceived they were inadequately prepared to teach elementary students. (4) According to the survey, more method course hours were required in language arts than in any other elementary subject area. (5) The majority of states required teachers to take method courses or be competent in physical education for elementary certification.;The subjects for this study were second- and fifth-grade teachers, and physical education specialists from seven randomly selected school districts in three randomly selected states from each of the six districts of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. Three elementary schools from each of the seven systems were randomly selected to participate in the survey study. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used to collect data on the professional preparation programs of these subjects. A total of 1,157 surveys were initially mailed and 558 were returned accounting for a return rate of 48.2%.