https://insight.piscomed.com/index.php/ISS <table> <tbody> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top;" align="justify"><em>Insight - Sports Science</em> &nbsp;(ISS) dedicated to the advancement of sport/exercise/health sciences. By publishing original research, scholarly reviews, opinion papers, and research highlights/commentaries, it aims to build a communication platform for international researchers to effectively share scholarly achievements.<br>With a distinguished editorial board, it is dedicated to maintaining high academic standards, integrity, and excellence by publishing scholarly work of the highest quality in the sub-disciplines of sport/exercise/health sciences.</td> <td width="150px"><img src="/public/site/images/admin/ISS_cover_11.png"><br> <div id="issn_section"><span class="issn_num"><span class="issn_num">ISSN: 2661-409X(O</span></span><span class="issn_num">)</span><br><br><img src="/public/site/Open_Access.png" alt="" height="20px"></div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> PiscoMed Publishing Pte Ltd en-US Insight - Sports Science 2661-409X https://insight.piscomed.com/index.php/ISS/article/view/710 <p><strong>Purpose:</strong> This study aimed to explore and describe the perceptions held by eleven preservice teachers regarding Health-Related Fitness as they learn to teach within the model to middle school students during an early field experience. It was hypothesised that issues brought up by the PTs at the beginning of the early field experience will be more self-centred (i.e., class management, preparation, curriculum and pedagogical content knowledge) and more student-centred toward the end of the early field experience (i.e., joy of student achievement, developing relationships). <strong>Method:</strong> Each PT was formally observed teaching two times for 40-60 min per session, as well as informally interviewed once for a period of approximately two hours at the conclusion of the semester. Additionally, the researcher also had dozens of conversations with each PT over the course of the semester to mentor and guide the PT through their field experience. Written data were analysed through open coding then selective coding to identify a “core category” and relate it to other categories and themes common to occupational socialization theory literature. Analytic induction was employed while documenting negative cases. <strong>Results:</strong> Most preservice teachers and middle school pupils ultimately “bought in” to Health-Related Fitness by the culmination of the early field experience and, in fact, most PT’s focus did become ore student-centred. <strong>Discussion:</strong> This exploratory study suggests that preservice teachers learn their conceptions of teaching Health-Related Fitness from a variety of different environments, contexts, and leadership figures. These personal experiences teaching Health-Related Fitness manifest themselves in preservice teachers understanding of how Health-Related Fitness content should be practiced in physical education. Physical education teacher education faculty can facilitate preservice teachers’ self-exploration through introspective and reflective practices.</p> Colin G. Pennington Copyright (c) 2025 Colin G. Pennington https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 2025-01-20 2025-01-20 7 1 710 710 10.18282/iss710