Examining the relationships among preservice physical education teachers’ beliefs, emotions, and professional identity

Teacher identities, shaped within teacher education programs, are linked to professional commitment, career longevity, teaching effectiveness, and student learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among teacher beliefs, emotions during student teaching, and professional identity in physical education (PE) preservice teachers (PSTs). The PE PSTs (N = 268), who were in the final weeks of completing their semester-long student teaching in the USA, completed a survey that measured teacher beliefs, emotions, and professional identity. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to evaluate the data and hypothesized relationships. The results confirmed that PE PST beliefs were related to positive and negative emotions during student teaching and that both beliefs and emotions were related to teacher identity. The emotions experienced in student teaching support indirect relations between beliefs and identities. The study highlights the importance of teacher education that fosters strong and professional teacher beliefs and provides a meaningful student teaching environment that can generate positive emotions. To ensure the success of PE PSTs, rather than simply their survival, this study advocates for the establishment of supportive and close-knit partnerships between university-based teacher educators, cooperating teachers, and school staff. PE PSTs’ professional identity formation and its influences require more research to establish connections with teacher effectiveness, motivation, and well-being, which are tethered to student learning.