Physical education teacher educators' personal perspectives regarding their practice of critical pedagogy

Many researchers and theoretical scholars have questioned the social-transformative claims of critical pedagogy (CP) in physical education. Most of these criticisms center on its application in physical education teacher education (PETE). Our knowledge of the perspectives and practices of physical education teacher educators (PETEs) who claim to practice CP, however, is still tentative at best; consequently, the reasons for its limited success are still largely unknown. To shed some light on this issue, 17 PETEs who claimed to practice critical pedagogy were interviewed at length regarding their definition of CP, including its principles and purposes, and their pedagogical practices. The results show that more than half of the PETEs did not fully understand the main principles and purposes of CP as presented in the literature, and that many of their methods were incongruent with these principles and purposes. This lack of understanding of CP might be an important factor contributing to its limited success in PETE. In view of this, caution and critical reflection are recommended when engaging in this type of pedagogy. Some implications for PETE are provided as well.