Falling towards academia: a memoir about the changing nature of PETE

ABSTRACT Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) has changed considerably over the past 40 years. This paper uses a personal memoir to trace the influences on PETE over the years. In particular, the memoir describes the early criticisms of PE as a university study and how such criticism spawned the development of what we now know as human movement studies or exercise and sport science degrees. The subject matter of these degree programs has become the de facto subject matter content knowledge for most PETE programs, and the author questions whether it is the most appropriate knowledge for HPE teachers working in contemporary school contexts. The paper also provides an ‘insider’ perspective on the major contextual influences that have led to changes in PETE and the staff who work in universities as HPE teacher educators.