Adapted Physical Education Teachers' Job Satisfaction.

Grounded in occupational socialization theory, the authors examined adapted physical education (APE) teachers' job satisfaction. Twelve (nine female and three male) APE teachers who had 3-43 years of teaching experience participated in the study. A semistructured interview was employed. The interviews focused on the participants' roles and responsibilities. The following questions guided this study: (a) What social agents positively impact APE teachers' job satisfaction? (b) what APE teachers' roles and responsibilities are related to job satisfaction? and (c) what type of working conditions are linked to APE teachers' job satisfaction? Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. The following four themes emerged from the analysis: (a) support from administrators, physical education teachers, and colleagues; (b) relevant and meaningful professional development; (c) itinerant working conditions; and (d) seeing students' progress and achievement. The results of this study provide several implications to enhance APE teachers' job satisfaction.

The representation of physically active girls in children's picture books.

PURPOSE: Borrowing from Tuchman's (1978) concept of symbolic annihilation, the purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which physically active females were represented in children's picture books. METHOD: Employing a qualitative content analysis methodology (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005), the written and pictorial portrayals of girls' physical activities were analyzed in 10 children's picture books. A directed approach to content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005) was employed in which the researchers began with predetermined categories that were used to code the text and images. RESULTS: The findings indicated that the majority of the primary female characters were illustrated wearing appropriate athletic attire that would allow for physical movement. Although all of the primary female characters were depicted as excited about being physically active, 6 of the books described the movement of the primary female characters using action-oriented descriptors. The parents of the primary female characters were identified as the primary source of encouragement and peers were found to be the primary source of discouragement toward the primary female characters' physical activity or sport involvement. The physical abilities of the primary female characters were compared to male peers in 3 of the books. CONCLUSIONS: Although the 10 books studied provide young girls with imagery and text that encourage female physicality, it is apparent that more books are needed that focus on girls' involvement in sport and physical activity. Meaningful forms of literature that encourage physical activity and sport involvement for girls are needed.