Frustrating, Time Consuming Work With Potential—Teachers’ Lived Experiences Using Pedagogical Models in Physical Education

Abstract

Purpose : This study explores how physical education teachers work with pedagogical models (PMs) in practice. Five secondary school teachers applied four different PMs to examine how they are enacted and experienced in diverse teaching contexts. Method : Using action research, data were gathered through observations, interviews, teacher-written narratives, and reflexive conversations. Early data informed the selection of PMs, while the main data were collected during a 6- to 8-week implementation phase, followed by interviews. Data were analyzed thematically through iterative coding, focusing on teachers’ enactment of PMs over time. Results : Three themes were identified: enacting PMs through contextual adaptation, re-negotiating teaching practices through PMs , and divergent enactments of PMs in practice . Teachers shifted toward more student-centered practices, adapting PMs to local contexts under structural constraints. Conclusion : The study highlights tension between pedagogical ideas and practical realities, showing how physical education teachers recompose PMs through situated judgment. Meaningful, student-centered change depends on supportive conditions and sustained cycles of experimentation.