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This paper reports the findings of a case-study that examined the different beliefs about the nature and purpose of physical education of beginning and graduating physical education teacher education students. Four themes emerged from the findings: 'physical education as sport versus physical education as more than sport'; 'the perceived importance of the biophysical sciences'; 'health and physical education - a field of multiple discourses'; and 'from a position of uncertainty to one of complexity'. The beginning PETE students saw physical education as being synonymous with sport, whereas the graduating PETE students described physical education as being more than sport. While the beginning students' beliefs about the nature and purpose of physical education were naturally limited, the graduates conveyed a much deeper understanding of the complexity involved in both defining the field and describing the nature of the physical education teacher's role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]