Exploring the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of value orientations in Physical Education teacher education

This paper focuses on the significance of curriculum value orientations for curriculum implementation and, therefore, for teacher education. The paper draws on data arising from research undertaken with six Health and Physical Education teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand to explore issues pertinent to Physical Education teacher education (PETE). Selected findings from the study are presented and critically engaged with from a teacher education viewpoint to specifically address (i) considerations relating to students’ value orientations that teacher educators need to be cognisant of, and (ii) issues arising for teacher educators seeking to engage with value orientations in undergraduate and/or post-graduate PETE programmes. The paper foregrounds the highly personal nature of value orientations in considering their significance in teacher education programmes and is written from the position of the author as a teacher educator committed to raising student teachers’ awareness of value orientations and their influence on curriculum and pedagogy. Attention is drawn to the significance of course content, practicum, critically reflective practice, and programme structures in relation to efforts to embed value orientations into teacher education programmes