The personal visions of physical education student teachers: putting the education at the heart of physical education

With neo-liberal policies dominating across the world, the marketisation and outsourcing of physical education is now common. Within this context, we argue the need for a 'shifting perspectives' agenda that will firmly establish the educational credentials of physical education in the future. Accordingly, we present the view that the 'curriculum voice' of physical education teachers will be central in mounting a challenge to this neo-liberal agenda. In this first study within a longitudinal project, the focus is on final year student teachers studying an undergraduate degree in physical education. Using ecological concepts, we analysed 20 student essays as they seek to describe their personal visions for physical education. Acknowledging the aspirational nature of these visions, findings reveal that each student vision was influenced by different ecological factors and was subsequently personalised. The findings also reveal that while there may be overarching similarities across the visions, the educational subcomponents and theoretical constructs that make up these visions differ across all students. In conclusion, we argue that the findings suggest that, if supported and developed in the future, that these student visions may indeed turn into the 'curriculum voice' of a 'shifting perspectives' agenda.