The predicament of primary physical education: a consequence of 'insufficient' ITT and 'ineffective' CPD?

Background: Research on primary physical education (PE) in England and other countries has shown that it is an aspect of the curriculum that has suffered from sparse initial teacher training (ITT). As a consequence of ‘insufficient’ time spent on PE in ITT (PE-ITT), primary teachers often have low levels of confidence and competence with respect to teaching the subject. Evidence also points to inadequacies in traditional forms of professional development in PE (PE-CPD), leading to calls for more effective ways of developing teachers' competence to deliver high quality PE. Purpose: To explore primary school teachers' experiences of PE during ITT and the PE context in their schools prior to them engaging in a national PE-CPD programme, and their perceptions of the immediate and longer-term effects of this programme. Setting and participants: Primary school teachers in five local education authorities in England. Research design and data collection: A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches were adopted, including: pre-course audits, course evaluations, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The pre-course audits captured information about the teachers' experiences of PE-ITT and the PE context in their schools prior to them engaging in the CPD. The course evaluations focused on initial impressions of the PE-CPD, and the focus groups and interviews captured the teachers' perceptions of its longer-term effects. Findings: For up to half of the teachers, their PE-ITT was ‘insufficient’ in terms of the time dedicated to it and the breadth of coverage of the subject. The PE-CPD programme, which was designed in the light of ‘insufficient’ PE-ITT, demonstrated features of ‘effective’ CPD in that it was considered relevant to classroom practice and partially addressed some of their many needs (especially in relation to content ideas and inclusive practice). However, its effectiveness was undoubtedly limited due to: its short time span and minimal engagement with teachers; a heavy reliance on resources; and the absence of follow-up support. In addition, it did not adequately address known areas of development for primary PE (such as medium to long-term planning and assessment) and was challenged in meeting the diverse needs of primary teachers of 5–11 year olds. Furthermore, inadequate PE time and reduced opportunities to teach PE in some schools limited implementation of learning from the PE-CPD. Conclusions: The findings of this study confirmed that PE-ITT continues to be ‘insufficient’ for many primary teachers and that the PE-CPD in question, whilst partially ‘effective’, was not, and could never have been, the panacea for the inherent issues within and predicament of primary PE. In effect, this PE-CPD programme with its limited duration and engagement with teachers, a heavy reliance on resources, and no planned follow-up support was not sufficiently different to forms of CPD described in the literature as ‘ineffective’; consequently, it could not hope to compensate for long-term systemic weaknesses such as inadequate primary PE-ITT. These weaknesses need to be addressed through a dual approach of ‘sufficient’ PE-ITT followed by ‘effective’ PE-CPD which engages teachers and their colleagues in long-term collaborative endeavours that support transformative practice

ATF/CREB sites present in sub-telomeric regions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosomes are part of promoters and act as UAS/URS of highly conserved COS genes

A highly conserved 48 bp DNA element was identified present at 26 chromosome ends of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Each element harbours an ideal or a mutated ATF/CREB site, which is a well- known target sequence for bZip transcription factors. In all cases, the sub-telomeric ATF/CREB site element (SACE) is a direct extension of the respective sub-telomeric coreX element. Eight SACEs are part of very long quasi-identical regions of several kilobases, including a sub-telomeric COS open reading frame. Three of these eight SACEs harbour an ideal ATF/CREB site, four a triple-exchange variant (5'-ATGGTATCAT-3'; GTA variant), and one a single exchange variant with a C to G exchange at the left side of the center of symmetry. We analyzed the function of the SACE of the left arm of chromosome VIII in vivo and found its ATF/CREB site to act as UAS/URS of the COS8 promoter, effected by the yeast bZip proteins Sko1p, Aca1p, and Aca2p. Cos8 protein was found in proximity to the nuclear membrane, where it accumulated, especially during cell division. When the ATF/CREB site of the COS8 promoter was exchanged with the GTA variant, the regulation was changed. COS8 was then regulated by Hac1p, a bZip protein known to be involved in the unfolded protein response of S. cerevisiae, indicating, for the first time, a possible functional category for the Cos proteins of S. cerevisiae. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

ATF/CREB sites present in sub-telomeric regions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosomes are part of promoters and act as UAS/URS of highly conserved COS genes

A highly conserved 48 bp DNA element was identified present at 26 chromosome ends of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Each element harbours an ideal or a mutated ATF/CREB site, which is a well- known target sequence for bZip transcription factors. In all cases, the sub-telomeric ATF/CREB site element (SACE) is a direct extension of the respective sub-telomeric coreX element. Eight SACEs are part of very long quasi-identical regions of several kilobases, including a sub-telomeric COS open reading frame. Three of these eight SACEs harbour an ideal ATF/CREB site, four a triple-exchange variant (5'-ATGGTATCAT-3'; GTA variant), and one a single exchange variant with a C to G exchange at the left side of the center of symmetry. We analyzed the function of the SACE of the left arm of chromosome VIII in vivo and found its ATF/CREB site to act as UAS/URS of the COS8 promoter, effected by the yeast bZip proteins Sko1p, Aca1p, and Aca2p. Cos8 protein was found in proximity to the nuclear membrane, where it accumulated, especially during cell division. When the ATF/CREB site of the COS8 promoter was exchanged with the GTA variant, the regulation was changed. COS8 was then regulated by Hac1p, a bZip protein known to be involved in the unfolded protein response of S. cerevisiae, indicating, for the first time, a possible functional category for the Cos proteins of S. cerevisiae. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved