Analysis of Selected Processes Associated with Physical Education Student Teachers' Experiences.

The purpose of this study was to investigate interrelationships among physical education student teachers' perceived (1) personality characteristics, (2) professional characteristics, (3) cooperating teacher/student teacher dyad compatibility and (4) student teaching outcomes of overall satisfaction, learning, and modeling. A secondary purpose was to determine whether there were stereotyped sex differences in the perceptions of the student teachers based on gender and the CT/ST dyad sex match. A perceptual psychological approach was developed for the study in order to let the student teachers assess themselves and give their own perceptions of personal and professional processes affecting the quality of student teaching experiences. The sample consisted of fifty-one physical education student teachers. Twenty-six were females and twenty-five were males. These student teachers came from four universities and colleges. Data collection occurred during the latter part of the student teaching semester on the various campuses. Data were collected in two phases. (1) Questionnaires and psychological inventories were administered; these were treated as quantitative data. (2) The researcher interviewed thirty-four of the fifty-one physical education student teachers; these interview data were analyzed qualitatively. Personality characteristics were measured with Broverman's Sex Role Self Concept Inventory. This scale had been factored by Broverman et al. (1968, 1970, 1972) into two clusters: (a) competence or masculinity, and (b) warmth-expressiveness or femininity. Professional characteristics were measured with the Student Teacher Instructional Competency Rating Form and Parson's Teaching Anxiety Scale (TCHAS). CT/ST dyad compatibility was measured covertly by Osgood's Semantic Differential Techniques, and overtly by the ST/CT Relationship Rating Scale. Student teaching outcomes were measured by the Outcome: Satisfaction Rating Form. Several hypotheses were generated and tested using Pearson product-moment correlations, t-tests, and analysis of variance. The findings indicated that there were interrelationships between physical education student teachers' perceptions of the following: (1) The personal competence cluster related positively to instructional competence, CT/ST dyad compatibility, and satisfaction outcome. (2) The warmth-expressive cluster related negatively to instructional competence and positively to teaching anxiety. (3) Teaching anxiety related negatively to instructional competence, CT/ST dyad compatibility, and overall satisfaction outcome. (4) Instructional competency related positively to CT/ST compatibility and personal competence. (5) CT/ST compatibility related positively to instructional competence, personal competence, and satisfaction, learning and modeling outcomes. (6) Overall most student teachers had high levels of satisfaction in the student teaching experience. Sex differences based upon gender were found among the warmth-expressive cluster, and one aspect of CT/ST dyad compatibility. Differences were found in satisfaction and combined satisfaction and learning student teaching outcomes based upon the combinations of sex matches within the CT/ST dyad. It was possible to have the following sex match combinations (M-M, M-F, F-F, F-M). Neither a same sex or opposite sex trend was evident. Student teachers paired with male cooperating teachers perceived more satisfying student teaching outcomes. Results suggest implications for the interpersonal compatibility between student teachers and cooperating teachings, assignment of student teachers, awareness of sex role stereotyping, and the necessity for teacher educators to obtain feedback from student teachers on their perceptions of the internship experience.Ph.D.Physical educationUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/158352/1/8116340.pd