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Physical education teachers' perceptions of moonlighting: Patterns of multiple employment in the careers of secondary school teachers
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the phenomenon of public school physical education teachers holding multiple jobs. Data were collected through interviews in which 17 secondary physical education teachers described their motives and perceptions concerning the combination of teaching with other forms of employment. Each teacher was interviewed twice. In the first, unstructured interview, participants were encouraged to identify what they regarded as the realities of moonlighting, the purpose being to identify questions, problems, and issues not previously encountered or understood. Prior to the second interview, participants were asked to read through an abbreviated transcript of the first interview which documented primary areas of interest and items which required amplification or exploration. Profiles developed from the participants' own words provide a description of their moonlighting experiences and the impact of multiple employment on personal and professional lives. The profiles make clear that moonlighting is a highly individual phenomenon. Nevertheless, analysis of the transcripts served to yield a number of themes which were common to most of the participants' career patterns. Three particular themes appear to be both common and powerful in the professional lives of physical education teachers: (1) dissatisfactions with teaching and conditions in the school workplace often push teachers out into second jobs, (2) certain kinds of second jobs are regarded as part of professional responsibility, (3) some teachers spend more time in second jobs because limited time commitments in their personal lives leave a surplus of uncommitted time. For some teachers moonlighting simply is an economic necessity. Gender, marital status and age-related life cycle factors all serve to shape the importance of supplementing teaching income through additional employment. Finally, teachers hold mixed views concerning the impact of holding second jobs on their ability to function effectively in the school.
Subject Area
Secondary education|Physical education
Recommended Citation
Williams, Jacqueline Ann, "Physical education teachers' perceptions of moonlighting: Patterns of multiple employment in the careers of secondary school teachers" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9120955.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9120955