Physical Education Teacher Education

The Ph.D. program in Kinesiology, with a concentration in physical education teacher education, prepares students with the research skills and teaching experiences required to excel as a faculty member in higher education. The foundation of our strong pedagogical curriculum is instructional models.

Research Opportunities. Course work is paired with leadership opportunities to help students develop an independent line of expertise and research in areas related to the use of digital technology in physical education, school health and wellness, or adapted physical education and disability sport. Each experience is carefully designed to ensure graduates are well prepared to be highly competitive in the job market.

Community Partnerships. We pride ourselves on the diversity of opportunities available to our students through our many connections with local schools and non-profit disability sport organizations in Atlanta. The city and surrounding metro region are ripe with enriching field experiences and research opportunities.

Graduate Assistantship Opportunities. Our program is full-time and funding is available to offset tuition and cover living expenses for four years. Qualified students may receive a research assistantship through direct involvement with HPE faculty research initiatives, and teaching assistantship opportunities are available to support those who teach undergraduate and graduate health and physical education courses. Additional funding is available for students interested in adapted physical education focusing on the PETE Ph.D. degree. For more information, download the Graduate Assistantship Opportunities in the PETE document.

Time to Degree Completion. Our program is designed to take four years. Students are engaged in research and/or teaching starting their first semester in the program. While research expectations are ongoing, the first two years are primarily spent completing coursework within HPE, statistics and measurement, and a cognate area of the student’s interest. Upon completion of the coursework, students will present and submit two original student-initiated research papers for their qualifying exams for peer review. The dissertation concludes the program.

Graduate Student Success. Our graduates work as faculty in Universities across the country and as researchers with non-profit health promotion organizations.

Dr. Shapiro is a Professor and undergraduate program coordinator of the health and physical education program. Her primary research focus has been on the area of psychosocial factors of sport participation among youth athletes with disabilities. Dr. Shapiro has also written on issues related to professional preparation. She has published in leading peer-review journals in adapted physical education, recreation, and sport management. Dr. Shapiro has received several awards for her scholarship and leadership in the field of adapted physical activity, including the Hollis Fait Scholarly Contribution award, the William A. Hillman Distinguished Service award, and the ASPIRE award for advocacy. Dr. Shapiro serves on the board of directors of disability sport organizations and on advisory and academic councils related to disability sport.

Dr. Liu is an assistant professor of Health and Physical Education in the Department of Kinesiology and Health. Her research focuses on physical education teacher preparation for assessment through computational thinking (CT) and technology integration and fitness education in K-12 physical education. She has published in leading peer-review journals such as Journal of Teaching in Physical Education and Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. Among Dr. Liu’s recent research projects are physical education teacher preparation for assessment, health-related fitness self-testing, incorporating CT in teacher preparation, and examinations of pre-service physical education teachers’ CT learning and intentions of using CT in their teaching practices. She is also seeking funding to support physical education teachers to incorporate CT and technology in instruction through collaboration with scholars across disciplines including learning technology and computer science.

Dr. Gurvitch is an associate professor and a graduate program coordinator of the Health and Physical Education program. Her research focuses on teaching effectiveness across different instructional modalities. Among her recent research projects are examinations of instructors’ intentions and students’ perceptions towards learning within online instructional settings, examination of LMS design and implementation data, and implication of Cognitive Load Theory on the instructional and learning process. In addition, Dr. Gurvitch examines the impact of teachers’ wellness programs on their instructional effectiveness in school.