Educational reform literature is saturated with calls for inquiry communities or communities of practice. The inquiry approach to educational change is based upon developing the teacher as researcher. As a result of their involvement in the inquiry process, teachers are beginning to be viewed as professionals who are reflective decision makers capable of producing valuable ‘local knowledge' that is adaptable to the changing complexities of schools and pupils. Teacher preparation programs are called upon to prepare teachers who are reflective change agents capable of designing and conducting action research. Given the brief history of action research within teacher preparation in general and physical education in particular, little is known about the knowledge produced by preservice teachers who conduct action research. This study examines the knowledge produced by over sixty preservice physical education teachers. A content analysis was conducted on the physical education preservice teachers' action research projects over a six-year period. Project abstracts and presentations were reviewed and interpreted to determine what problems preservice teachers chose to solve and how they discussed their findings. Measures to ensure the credibility of the data included peer debriefing and the longitudinal nature of the research design. Although the project was an assignment within a professional development capstone course, analysis of data had no relationship to course evaluation. Data were considered for analysis only after the preservice teachers had graduated. Preservice teachers had the freedom to investigate issues of interest to them and present their findings based upon their own interpretations of their work. Findings from the analysis indicated that preservice teachers constructed knowledge about themes relevant in contemporary physical education research including: impact of curricular innovations on student engagement, issues of equity, enhancing positive student interactions, and increasing physical activity levels of students. Predominant methodologies included direct and systematic observation of student performance, survey of students' voices, and reflective journaling. Findings represented the nuances of the context of the schools, values of the individual preservice teachers, influence of the cooperating teacher, and public theory embedded within the teacher preparation program. In conclusion, preservice teachers generated local knowledge about teaching that intersects public theories of research on physical education. This study has implications for the role of action research in educational reform of physical education. If local knowledge is to inform the profession, a space and place for action research is essential.Keyword(s): curriculum development, professional preparation, research