tion.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards website
- 9. Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
After the release of the revised CAEP standards in 2013, these are now the standards that programs seeking accreditation should be using.
CAEP is a result of consolidating the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC), and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
Although this transition is currently an ongoing process, CAEP standards are expected to become the norm by spring 2016. Unlike the assessments of how children are improving their activity levels and knowledge of physical activity, CAEP has a mission of developing principled education leaders who meet high academic standards – essentially an assessment and accreditation process for teachers of grades P-12.
- 10. Physical Education Requirements
Our final recommended resource for prospective teachers is the PE Teacher website, which provides detailed information about all aspects of licensing and qualifications on a state-by-state basis.
This includes advice on the course load you can expect when studying for your Bachelor’s degree, any tests you need to pass before being admitted into a teaching program, and the various different types of licenses that can be applied for.
There’s also information on the careers and salaries on offer, as well as the differences between Bachelor level degrees and Master’s Level programs in Physical Education.
Much of the information is fairly similar to the Certification Map site (maintained by the University of Southern California), so it might be useful to take a look at both and see which one you find easier to navigate.
What is the Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) program?
We already mentioned the importance of having a bachelor’s degree in a teaching related discipline, but we realise this probably isn’t very specific, and leaves a lot of room for misinterpretation.
So what degrees do we mean? Would graduation of an Exercise Science program leave you with all the skills you need to teach PE at a K-12 level, or perhaps a course that specializes in human performance and movement?
The fact is that if you are passionate about pursuing the role of teaching physical education, there are few degrees that are better suited than PETE.
Over the past few years we’ve seen an increase in the number of universities offering this as its own degree, although it’s often managed by a broader department, such as the department of kinesiology.
Unlike the exercise science and human movement programs, PETE specializes in preparing students for being successful teachers of physical education, usually in the K-12 grade range.
The curriculum for this course will usually involve many of the same subject areas, but will often integrate courses in teaching methodology and helps you to build on the skills needed to teach the subject effectively.
However, it’s important to mention that it won’t always be possible to enroll straight onto a PETE course. In many cases, such as for the Indiana University Bloomington, there will be several possible paths to entry.
This can include maintaining a certain GPA, passing a test, and even being assessed using an application process created by the admissions committee. The cap on new applicants to the PETE program will also differ by university, so it can be useful to find out about any application deadlines and spaces available before you apply.
Some Universities are even taking this a step further. The University of West Florida currently offers a PETE degree, but is also looking to create a Fitness and Conditioning program that includes elements of PETE – such as training students to work with people and a wealth of interpersonal training:
The PETE degree is where one needs to be if there is any future potential of teaching. That is where the cert is achieved and that is where you learn and are trained to be a teacher.
I also think that PE degrees are grossly undervalued. A degree in PETE allows the graduate to teach and do most of the things e