Professional Integration and Requirements of the Teaching Profession in Physical Education (Case of Trainee Teachers in the Southern Sector in Tunisia)

Abstract

This research is part of the framework of professional didactics which puts the teacher’s activity at the centre of his analysis. It is an exploratory, descriptive and comparative study that aims to investigate the professional integration (PI) of Tunisian physical education and sports (PE) teachers with the particularity of being recruited after five years of unemployment since obtaining their diplomas. The objective is to measure the effect of experience and level of intervention on the intensity of difficulties to verify the development of novices during the PI period. To meet the objectives of this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 135 PE ES in the southern Tunisian sector. To decant the differences in the experiences of PSE PEs, the study sample is divided into three groups according to the experience to verify the effect of the latter on the intensity of difficulties. Also, a comparison between three groups according to the sub-bodies of PE teachers was made to verify the effect of the level of intervention. The results of the descriptive analysis showed that beginning PE teachers face difficulties with different degrees. The results of this study show that the categories of difficulties most cited are pedagogical/didactic. In second place comes the category of organizational difficulties. The difficulties related to private life and the category of relationship difficulties are of low intensity. The most salient difficulties are classroom management (78%), business travel, learning assessment, learning planning and organizational constraints. The results also showed that Tunisian PE teachers encounter the same difficulties with different degrees during the PI period. Work experience during the PI period does not appear to affect the intensity of hardship. Also, the difficulties are not experienced in the same way by the teaching sub-bodies. In conclusion, in a context in which the recruitment of PE teachers is becoming more and more difficult, following a long period of unemployment and in the absence of PI and training programs for novices, the PI of PE is becoming difficult. To upgrade PE in Tunisia, recruitment must take into consideration several personal and contextual factors. Also, training and support programs for the NP before and during the internship period become a requirement.