Training Physical Education teachers in Tunisia towards mobilizing knowledge in the context of professional action

Abstract

Background: Tunisia gained independence in 1956 after several decades of French protectorate. A significant challenge for the Tunisian state was to provide schooling for its young people and, as a result, to train teachers. Nowadays, Physical Education and Sport (PES) teachers in Tunisia are trained at the Higher Institutes of Sport and Education (ISSEP) at the undergraduate level, as part of the LMD reform, a reform that teachers are finding difficult to adapt to in a complex socio-economic context.

Objectives: This study aimed to propose perspectives for innovation in the training of PE teachers in Tunisia.

Methods: This narrative review examined the existing literature on the renovation in the training of physical education and sports teachers in a first step and on the redefinition of the status of physical education in Tunisia in a second step through the Preparatory Internship for Professional Life (PIPL).

Results: The study’s funding emphasize the ineffectiveness of training to equip future teachers with professional skills related to teaching PE. This is due to a reduction in the number of hours associated with the practical teaching course following the LMD reform.

Conclusion: These results highlight several vulnerabilities in the PE teacher training programs at ISSEPs. To address these issues, potential recommendations include developing the skills repository for PES trainers and optimizing a pedagogy adapted on the aims of physical education.