The professional lives and careers of physical education teachers in Irish post-primary schools

Little is known about the professional lives and careers of physical education teachers in Irish post-primary schools. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore and understand the nuanced professional lives and careers of physical education teachers in Irish post-primary schools. This research includes two distinct phases which follow a sequential exploratory mixed methods research design strategy whereby the results of each enquiry informs the next. The first phase uses qualitative methods of data collection and data analysis to gain a holistic understanding of physical education teachers’ career trajectories. Results indicate that teachers’ career trajectories are influenced by a prevalent relationship experienced by teachers between their role as a teacher of physical education and a teacher of another school subject(s). To explore this further, the subsequent study aims to understand the realities and tensions of teachers enacting dual-role positions of teaching physical education and another school subject(s) concurrently. Results suggest that when enacting a dual-role position of this nature, the relationship between roles may result in teachers experiencing role conflict. Following the results from phase one, phase two uses quantitative methods of data collection and analysis to develop and validate the Teaching Multiple School Subject(s) Role Conflict Scale, an original instrument to measure interrole conflict between the roles of teaching physical education and another school subject(s) concurrently. This research contributes new knowledge on the professional lives and careers of Irish post-primary physical education teachers by identifying a reality physical education teachers can expect as a potential challenge throughout their careers. Further, the development and validation of an original tool to measure teachers’ experience of this identified phenomenon provides an original contribution to the literature.