The “Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004” (P.L. 108-265: Section 204) requires every school in the United States that participates in the National School Lunch Act to implement a wellness plan. The components of the plan fit nicely with goals emphasized in the subject matter of physical education. Although physical education teachers have traditionally been marginalized (Hendry, 1975; Locke, Telljohann, & Price, 1995; Solmonn, Worthy, & Carter, 1993; Sparkes & Templin 1992; Templin, 1989; Templin, Sparkes, Grant, & Schempp, 1994), the new legislation offers the potential for the physical education teacher to assume a school-wide leadership position. Grounded in the Quality of Work Life Model (Louis & Smith, 1990), which supports that perceptions of the work environment relate to job satisfaction, the purpose of the investigation was to explore in what ways physical education teachers and principals have been impacted by the enactment of the wellness legislation and in what ways the school environment may have changed.
Method
After obtaining IRB approval and informed consent, 100 physical education teachers, 50 principals, and 50 wellness plan writers representing randomly selected urban, rural, and suburban locations within one state in the Midwest each participated in a semi-structured, tape-recorded interview that was later transcribed. Questions were designed to elicit participant perceptions about (a) successes and failures of the legislation, (b) current attitudes toward physical education, (c) change to physical education/activity/ nutrition requirements, (d) available resources, (e) role responsibilities, and (f) job satisfaction.
Analysis/Results
Data were triangulated, a negative case search was conducted, and constant comparative techniques were used to analyze responses (LeCompte & Schensul, 1990). The results indicate that teachers have noticed more district-initiated wellness emails and posters around the school. Many indicated improved fitness testing, including sharing that information with parents a few times per year. In terms of administrative support, it was mentioned that efforts have been made to include physical education within the students' GPA and more physical educators have been added to the staff. Regardless of perceived support, however, physical education teachers still express a sense of disconnection from their colleagues and lack of administrative support continues to be a primary concern.
Conclusions
Although the legislation has had a positive impact on improving the perceived quality of physical education and amount of attention paid to the subject matter, there still exists concern that physical education is marginalized and administrative support could be stronger.