Career Changes Among Physical Educators

Physical educators experience several occupational constraints and a high risk of physical injury associated with a high attrition rate. Our investigation aimed at identifying the principal career reorientation factors among physical educators and reasons for their career changes. This research used semistructured interviews (n = 53) that were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. While younger teachers frequently invoked job precariousness, the more experienced teachers and those who made a transition toward other teaching functions put more emphasis on teaching problems, work conditions, and physical context. Those who transferred toward administrative duties insisted on their desire for a new challenge. Our study indicates that career reorientation is most often associated with job precariousness and the pursuit of new challenges, respectively, for younger and older physical educators.