Physical Education Public Examination as an Obstacle For Long-term Contract Teachers

Abstract

Teaching is a profession in which past professional experiences are particularly relevant, as they are based on the resolution of concrete pedagogical and social situations. The main aim of the study is to analyse how physical education teachers construct their perspectives and ideals about the profession, the conflicts they experience, as well as the belief that their teaching job has an expiry date. Twelve Spanish PE teachers (seven men and five women), with at least 14 years of teaching experience, participated. A qualitative narrative study using semi-structured interviews was used. The results reflected a decrease in commitment and passion for the profession due to the pressure exerted on these educators by the filters and strategies of the Spanish education system’s public examinations.