Autoethnography for the acceptance of a P.E. teacher’s admission test

Abstract

Purpose This study tells about my life about the past time when I studied for the teacher certification examination, using autoethnography. Methods It primarily used personal memories and diaries. The collected data was analyzed by applying longitudinal coding method through technical categories. Results The finding of this study is described in a chronological order as follows. The first part is about my unstable ego formed in my puberty period just like riding a roller coaster. It mainly features the process of choosing a career path when I was in school and the important starting point that made me today. The second part describes about my life after entering the department of physical education. I joined the military only to flee from a fruitless college life where I was wearing an unbefitting mask to hide myself from the world that is completely beyond my control. In the military, I was lucky to realize how to apply my major to set up my career path by coincidence. The third part is about the process of finding a genuine meaning of being a physical education teacher through a transitional period experienced after returning to school and form a stable self. Lastly, passing teacher certification examination with undaunted struggles boosted my self-esteem and self-efficacy and solidified my self-identity in the end. In addition, it is possible to get a glimpse of the attitudes that teachers need to have for a teaching career in the last part. Conclusions What I want to say throughout my descriptive story is that preparing for the teacher certification examination itself is a great challenge as well as a courageous decision for the candidates, but it is an attainable goal if they try with all their heart.

Keywords

• teacher certification examination
• autoethnography
• physical education teacher
• department of physical education self-identity