The Importance of Role Perceptions

The Importance of Role Perceptions in the Student Teaching Triad


Johnson, Ingrid L.; Napper-Owen, Gloria

Physical Educator, v68 n1 p44-56 2011



The purpose of this study was to examine the roles and role perceptions held by members of physical education student teaching triads while engaged in a seven-week elementary student teaching experience. It is believed that knowledge is created through group interactions (i.e., triad) in the environment, and therefore a social constructivist paradigm was used as the lens from which the data were examined. Data were collected by interviews, observations, video analysis, field notes, and a focus group meeting. Unique case narratives were compiled according to the emergent themes of each participant and triad. A cross-case analysis compared similarities and differences among the triads. The results indicated that role perceptions were varied among triad members and that these perceptions affected the student teaching triads both positively and negatively. Dysfunction within the triads was attributed to unclear role definitions and a lack of communication among triad members.