Understanding the Professional Learning and Development of Physical Education Teachers and Sport Coaches

Dear Colleagues,

Across the globe, the demand for the delivery of high-quality physical education (PE) and sport coaching provision across school, community, and high-performance contexts has never been greater. To provide high-quality sporting experiences for individuals, it has been suggested that formal education and continuing professional development (CPD) are integral to supporting the on-going professional learning of PE teachers and sport coaches, enabling them to keep in touch with contemporary trends, refine pedagogical approaches, and ultimately enhance their content knowledge and practice. Indeed, the obtainment of formal education qualifications alongside regular engagement with CPD are often considered to be the cornerstone of a profession, ensuring that individuals are ‘qualified’ and safe to practice.

Despite this, academic research over the past 25 years within the fields of physical education and sport coaching has consistently demonstrated that formal PE teacher/coach education and CPD remains a relatively low-impact endeavour, primarily due to its decontextualised, compulsory, agenda driven, and one-off nature. Therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that practitioners often disclose a preference for alternative and informal sources of learning, which are more bespoke, valued, and relevant to their current needs and desires. However, as we approach 2025, we are at a stage where we are still striving to decipher what works, why, and for whom, regarding the professional learning and development of PE teachers and sport coaches when considering their evolving roles and responsibilities, diverse working environments, continued technological advancements, and logistical matters (i.e., time, cost, resources).

Consequently, the aim of this Special Issue is to further enhance our understanding of the contemporary innovations and opportunities, alongside the challenges and issues, associated with the professional learning and development of PE teachers and sport coaches across diverse cultures, contexts, and countries. It is hoped that the knowledge and insights generated from this Special Issue will provide practitioners, stakeholders, and relevant organisations with an array of implications and recommendations to ensure that future provision is contextualised, effective, enjoyable, and facilitates meaningful learning and impact for those in attendance.

This Special Issue is interested in conceptual, theoretical, and empirical manuscripts which enhance and build upon our existing understanding of the professional learning and development of PE teachers and sport coaches. These may take the shape of original research articles, theoretical/conceptual essays, or reviews of literature, amongst other formats. Specifically, submissions which draw upon novel methodological approaches and/or theoretical frameworks are most welcomed, in addition to manuscripts which incorporate multiple stakeholders and global perspectives.

Considering the above, potential research areas and topics might include, but are certainly not limited to:

• PE teachers’ and sport coaches’ perceptions, preferences, and experiences pertaining to formal education, CPD, and informal learning mechanisms;
• The everyday realities of teacher educators/coach developers/formal mentors in designing and delivering professional development provision for PE teachers and sport coaches, alongside their reflections on facilitating learning;
• Progressions and innovations in online learning opportunities (i.e., the value, challenges, and impact of e-mentoring, social media, online CPD workshops, etc.) for PE teachers and sport coaches;
• Longitudinal evidence of impact and change to PE teachers’ and sport coaches’ knowledge and practice following engagement with formal teacher/coach education or CPD;
• The experiences and reflections of mentors and mentees when engaging with formal and/or informal mentoring opportunities;
• Bespoke professional learning and development programmes designed to enhance PE teachers’ and/or sport coaches’ content knowledge and understanding of specific topic areas (e.g., pedagogical approaches);
• The professional learning and development of PE teachers and sport coaches in relation to lifestyle, alternative, and action sports, i.e., those often absent within the PE curriculum and that historically operate without qualified coaching practitioners present;
• The impact of policy on the design and delivery of formal education and CPD for PE teachers and sport coaches;
• Diversity and inclusion in PE teacher and sport coach formal education and CPD;
• PE teachers’ and sport coaches’ learning journeys and transitions in and through the lifecourse, i.e., the athlete-to-coach, teacher-to-teacher educator, and coach-to-coach developer transition;
• The application of novel methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks to critically understand and analyse the professional learning and development of PE teachers and sport coaches;
• Multiple stakeholder perspectives towards the challenges and opportunities in facilitating meaningful professional development and learning for PE teachers and sport coaches, from diverse geographical regions. 

Any questions or queries, please feel free to get in contact. I will be happy to chat through any initial ideas or review any tentative abstracts. Thank you for reading and I look forward to your submissions.

Dr. Thomas M. Leeder
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.