Mission statements represent the ethos and purposes of the numerous organizations that utilize them. In fact, governing boards expect member institutions to have mission and vision statements for each of its entities. Therefore, mission statements should precisely express what is desired to be achieved.
Method:
Two hundred thirty eight (n = 238) NCATE (National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education) accredited Physical Education Teacher Education programs' mission statements were examined to observe the elements in these guiding documents. Institutions were aggregated by the Carnegie classification system (Baccalaureate, Masters, or Doctoral; private or public; small, medium or large). These categories allotted a further examination of the impact of institution size and type (public or private) on mission statement elements.
Analysis/Results:
Atlas.ti 7 was utilized to code the data. The data was coded in accordance to the content of the mission statements, and from it derived twenty-three codes. For example, “We strive to prepare teachers that serve the diverse students of our state,” would be codes as: preparation of teachers, service (local), and diversity. Peer debriefing (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) was used to cross check the data to ensure validity. The most prevalent element of all institution types was the “Preparation of competent teachers”, with it being included in 131 (56%) of the mission statements. Service occurred in 104 (44%) of the mission statements and diversity appeared in 74 (31%). Mission statements should be the driving force behind the actions of kinesiology PETE programs. Service was a common thread among all types of universities, but the differences lie in the focus on outreach to the greater institutional community. Whereas public institutions focused their service to local communities, private institutions spoke of service in general, oftentimes encouraging global civics. Findings are consistent with similar research on institutional missions (Morphew & Hartley, 2006).
Conclusions:
Kinesiology departments must veer away from the neglect of specificity in their missions. As competent teacher candidates are prepared for service in the K-12 setting, their ability to work with all students will be an indicator of their success. The results also found diversity to be a prevalent component of mission statements; however, the generic concept can be misconstrued as a “one-size-fits-all” concept. Clarity in departmental objectives will assist in directing the programmatic actions of the unit. With constant reflection of progress, and a willingness to address shortcomings of their respective mission, PETE departments can produce preeminent educators.