Examining Attitudes of Physical Education Teacher Education Program Students Toward the Teaching Profession

The purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes of pre-service teachers toward the teaching profession with respect to their gender, grade level, whether participants regularly participate in physical activities, and whether pre-service students have a teacher-parent in their family. Research was conducted on 469 pre-service physical education teachers (Mage=21.35, SDage= 2.49), 188 female (Mage=20.89, SDage= 2.30) and 281 male (Mage=21.66, SDage= 2.57) students from five different universities in Turkey. In this study the “Attitude Scale for the Profession of Physical Education Teaching” was used. It has two factors: “concern for profession” (CP) and “affection for profession” (AP). Independent sample t-test results indicated that there were no significant differences with respect to gender or having a teacher-parent in both factors and total attitude points (p> 0.05). Pre-service physical education teachers who participate in physical activity had significantly higher points in AP and the total scale in comparison to those who do not participate in physical activity (p< 0.05). ANOVA results indicated that based on grade level there were significant differences in CP and total attitude (p< 0.05). Students’ concern about employment may be associated with differences in attitude scores between grade levels. The positive effect of physical activity participation and their professional teaching education on stress resilience might also be an important factor for increasing positive attitudes toward the teaching profession.