Where are the female role models?  Masculinity within the teacher/coach orientation for prospective PE teachers

Gender reproduction through physical education (PE) is a well-documented phenomenon with PE and school sport as bastions for the social construction of gender difference.  The 'cult of masculinity' is a driving force that rationalizes and perpetuates these differences.  In PE and sport, masculinity currently centres on White European, mesomorphic, middle class, heterosexual, males with dominant and competitive dispositions.

In addition, occupational socialization research indicates that students select PE as a career based on two dominate perspectives, (1) a coaching orientation where recruits want to coach school sports, or (2) a teaching orientation where recruits want to reproduce an experienced quality PE programme.

This presentation will report the findings of a life story approach to research where sixteen pre-practicum physical education students (eight males and eight females) where interviewed using a psychological tool known as a repertory grid.  The results indicated a dominant socialization from a coaching background, and a focus upon male role models.  The presentation problematizes this masculine socialization and speculates on its pervasiveness in the school system.