Peering into the physical education office in Australian schools: the departmental office as a socializing space

Occupational socialization research has a lengthy history that is rooted within broader sociological disciplines (see Gaitens, 2000). Traditionally within the socialization literature generally there are two broad positions said to have the greatest occupational influence. One is the workplace itself, which is thought to determine an individual’s behavior, attitude, and motivation at work (Billet, 2001). Inevitably the other position is that an individual has greater agency to shape their behaviors. Today such a dualist position is considered to be untenable, and researchers therefore take a more interactionist view (McManus, 2008). These arguments have been played out to some extent in the teacher socialization literature broadly, and in physical education (PE) specifically (see Schempp and Graber, 1992).