Criticality in Physical Education Teacher Education: Do Graduating Standards Constrain and or Inhibit Curriculum Implementation

Abstract

PurposeThis article highlights that the implementation of the socio-cultural-critical pedagogical orientations of the New Zealand (NZ) and Australian physical education (PE) curricula maybe constrained and inhibited by the omission of critical inquiry in each country's corresponding graduating teacher standards. Problematics with graduating teacher standards are identified and suggestions are made that a pedagogical constructivist framework in PE teacher education may provide a way forward for the PE curricula to move toward maximising their critical inquiry potential. The article also highlights dilemmas and conundrums with present graduating teacher standards in order to identify areas worthy of future discussion, interrogation and debate.