Kristen Hetland and Joe Deutsch, both assistant professors of health, nutrition and exercise science, presented a poster at the Physical Education Teacher Education conference in Myrtle Beach, Fla., on Oct. 10. The title of the presentation was "Physical Education Teacher Education Faculty Located in the Central District."

"Universities and colleges across the country are preparing physical education teachers. However, there is grave concern that teacher preparation programs, more specifically, physical education teacher education programs, are falling short and students are not receiving an appropriate education," Hetland said.

The purpose of the study was to describe Physical Education Teacher Education faculty and programs within the Central District of the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. The Central District includes institutions in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming and Colorado.

Hetland and Deutsch's data revealed a fairly balanced representation of male and female faculty, as well as an equal representation of those who consider themselves specialists in elementary and secondary physical education.

"The majority of faculty has earned a doctoral degree. Almost half of the respondents said their institutions require publications as part of the faculty's job responsibilities. From the standpoint of professional involvement, the average faculty member has published twice, presented at a conference eight times in the past five years and more than 70 percent of faculty are members of a professional organization," Hetland said. "Faculty also tended to be mature based on their age and number of years of teaching experience in K-12 and higher education."

The researchers said they were not surprised by the findings of the study. "Gender is much more balanced now and many more faculty currently have or are working toward their Ph.D. or Ed.D.," she said.