US-Based PETE Faculty Members’ Socialization into and Through Research Roles

Occupational socialization theory has been applied to study the recruitment, training, and organizational socialization of inservice physical educators. Although developing in recent years, comparatively less is known about the socialization of physical education teacher education faculty members. This qualitative panel study followed a cohort (n = 23) of doctoral students who have moved into tenure-track appointments aimed at understanding their perspectives on preparation for and experiences navigating the researcher role as US physical education teacher education faculty members. Research team members analyzed the data using both deductive and inductive analysis strategies following a collaborative approach to qualitative data analysis. Results highlight the reoccurring “juggling act” that physical education teacher education faculty members must perform with regard to teaching, research, and service, as well as the intra- and interrole conflicts they experienced. The faculty members noted that multi-faceted role strain impacted their professional performance and intrudes into their personal life domains, thus raising concerns about sustainability and well-being.