THE SOCIAL CONTEXT AS 14
whereas, PE has been doing that for a long time. So there is pressure from
other parts on how you are supposed to teach.
Interviewer: So what are your thoughts on this pressure?
Gary: I think it's a good thing. I mean they're just trying to get everyone to be
more consistent, which is a must.
Gary’s positive perception of the pressure to conform is in contrast to previous
research and underscores the importance of exploring individuals’ unique embodied
experiences. For example, Burk and Fry (1997) highlighted the conflict between a female,
first year teacher’s beliefs concerning the degree of autonomy she should give to students and
the pressure to conform to teacher-oriented, controlling teaching styles. SDT posits that if an
individual perceives the functional significance of an event as informational (i.e. non-
controlling and competence enhancing), as in Gary’s case, then the event will be adaptive to
the individual’s self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1987). According to Deci and Ryan’s
theorizing, another teacher could plausibly perceive the pressure to conform as controlling,
and thus maladaptive. This implies that school-level interventions that encourage teachers to
conform to recommended teaching methods remain dependent on the teachers’ individual
perceptions. Thus, when attempting to change PE teachers’ motivational strategies, it may be
fruitful to target the individual teacher in combination with school- or curriculum-level
intervention.
Cultural Norms of the Teacher-Student Relationship
Reeve (2002) indicated that Western educational cultures are based on teacher-
centered, controlling approaches. This is consonant with many of the teachers’ opinions in
the present study that there is a need for a pronounced difference in power and authority in
the teacher-student relationship. Carl exemplified this when asked about his opinions on
supporting students’ autonomy: