The study is an investigation of unplanned change initiated by teachers in the physical education department of Forest School, an Upper School and Community College in England. The events at Forest are conceptualised as a case of teacher-initiated innovation. The study draws on interviews with teachers, observations of lessons and analysis of curriculum documents in the collection of data. Three issuesýprovide foci for the study. First, the study investigates the temporal dimensions of innovating, and reveals that the innovative idea of health related fitness based physical education became formalised and objectified over time. This process of formalisation had important implications for the second area of focus, the teachers' involvements in the innovative process. While each of the physical education teachers played important roles in the implementation of the innovative idea, each participated in the innovation with varying degrees of involvement, and held disparate conceptions of the innovative idea and of its implication for practice. Third, the study locates and attempts to understand the process of innovating in the work context of teaching. The teachers at Forest saw innovating and teaching as synonymous activities, and the study documents the extent to which the innovative situation exacerbated teachers' everyday preoccupations with success, reward and students. The study provides information on the dynamics of unplanned educational change and the findings lend qualified support to the trend towards school-centred innovation.

An ecological perspective has been utilized to understand the teaching-learning context in physical education and sport settings, yet few studies have systematically studied the teacher/coach in their dual role context teaching and coaching (Hastie & Siedentop, 1999). The purpose of this study was twofold. First, to examine the work of an exemplary physical education teacher/coach teaching soccer in physical education and coaching soccer in sport from Doyle's (1977) ecological perspective. Specifically, to understand the similarities and difference of the program of action (PoA), during lesson and practice sessions. Second to examine, from Callero's (1994) resource perspective of role, how dual role responsibilities influenced the work of a physical education teacher/coach. Participants included Tom, a 34-year veteran physical education teacher/coach and his physical education class (N = 14), and varsity boy's soccer team (N = 23). Data were collected at 15 physical education classes and 31 soccer practices using qualitative techniques (e.g., narrative field notes, in-depth participant interviews). Three formal semi-structured 90 minute interviews were conducted with the teacher/coach to explore his background, perceptions and beliefs about teaching and coaching, and his work as a dual role professional. Semi-structured 30-minute student/athlete interviews were conducted with seven students and 21 athletes and focused on their experiences in sport and physical education with Tom. Data were analyzed inductively using a constant comparison method. Findings indicate that for Tom there was a similarity and compatibility of teaching physical education and coaching sport based on how Tom claimed the teaching and coaching role. Second, reverence among student/athletes and Tom was a powerful resource Tom accessed through the teaching and coaching role, which facilitated relationship building and contributed to a positive learning environment. Finally, Tom structured the learning environments in physical education and sport with robust PoAs, which included a strong primary learning vector. Tom used many appropriate pedagogical practices in both physical education and sport, such as effective rules, routines, expectations, and strong content development through the four games stages (Rink, 1998) which contributed to the robustness of the PoA. This study was an important step in the systematic examination of the practices of exemplary physical education teacher/coaches.

The purpose of this action research study was to investigate pre-service physical education teachers' and their teacher educator's perceptions regarding the implementation of a tactical approach in an 8-week tennis class. Participants were 13 pre-service teachers and the teacher educator, as researcher, in a tennis activity course. Data collection techniques included teacher educator's self-reflective journal, participants' reflections, videotaped class observations, structured interviews, pre- and post knowledge test and a demographic questionnaire. Game play was videotaped for analysis before and after instruction and the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was used to code the data. Reflections and field notes from videotaped class observations, and interviews were analyzed through constant comparison. Demographic questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics while pre- and post knowledge and game performance were analyzed using ANOVAs. Based on results from the questionnaire (years and type of playing experience, self-rating) pre-service teachers were grouped as either inexperienced or experienced. Results from the ANOVA, with the exception of Base Index, yielded a non-significant interaction effect. The inexperienced group's Base Index was significantly higher at post-test (M = 4.32) than at pre-test (M = 1.13), p < .05. Knowledge test results indicated that at the pretest the experienced group scored significantly higher (M = 13.33) than the inexperienced group (M = 10.57), p < .05. Both groups significantly improved from pre to posttest. Teaching using a tactical approach resulted in an increased content knowledge for the teacher educator as well as a shift in overall beliefs about games teaching. For example, learning to use the question/answer (Q&A) segment of lessons occurred in a three-step learning continuum: imitation, rephrase, and dual-directional conversation that shifted the role of teacher from information giver to facilitator. Pre-service teachers indicated that the Q&A segments made them adjust their tactical thinking and as such provided an important source of feedback during game play. Pre-service teachers indicated that learning via a tactical approach was a meaningful experience for the following reasons: (a) the combined learning of tactical and skill execution elements, (b) the skills were immediately applied in game situations, (c) the class was enjoyable (interesting, challenging), and (d) students learned a new assessment instrument.

This thesis aimed to determine how and why physical education made its apperance and has developed in in the senior colleges of Texas.