chapter
Chapter
12
12 Becoming a Physical
Activity Professional
Becoming a
Physical Activity
Professional
Shirl J. Hoffman
What Career Will you Pursue?
• You may or may not have an answer for this
question yet. The purpose of this chapter is
to help you explore your options, help you
make decisions about what profession
might suit you best, and help you to take
steps to prepare you to become a physical
activity professional.
• It is also important to note that your
profession may change several times in
your career and that this is nothing to fear.
Physical Activity Professions
•
•
•
•
•
Health and fitness (chapter 13)
Therapeutic exercise (chapter 14)
Teaching physical education (chapter 15)
Coaching and sport instruction (chapter 16)
Sport management (chapter 17)
Figure 12.1
Figure 12.2
Characteristics of Professionals
• Master complex skills (grounded and guided by
systematic theory and research)
• Perform services for others (clients or patients)
• Are granted a monopoly by the community to
supply certain services
• Are guided by ethical codes (formal and informal;
preserve health and well-being of clients)
• Meet expectations and standards prescribed by
their professional subcultures
Figure 12.3
Physical Activity Professionals
Should Know…
• what a profession is,
• the type of work professionals do,
• how one gains entry to and acceptance in a
profession,
• the obligations of professionals, and
• the most important factors to consider in
preparing for a career in the physical
activity professions.
Professionals Have Mastered
Complex Skills Grounded in Theory
Professionals…
• Draw on a complex body of knowledge and theory that
is developed through systematic research
• Are gifted thinkers and are also gifted doers
(practitioners) able to bring about predetermined
outcomes efficiently and effectively, usually on behalf of
others
• Are skilled experts
– Cognitive skills: analysis, deduction, diagnosis, prescription,
and high-level reasoning
– Perceptual skills: identify and recognize problems that have
occurred or are likely to occur
– Interpersonal skills: listening, communicating, and motivating
Figure 12.4
What Do Professionals Do?
• Perform services for clients in a variety of
subcultures
• Provide services that require complex skills
and knowledge
• Possess and maintain a monopoly on the
delivery of specialized services
• Work to maintain high standards of
professional and ethical conduct
Types of Knowledge That Make
Professionals Experts
•
•
•
•
Kinesiology theory
Professional practice knowledge
Workplace knowledge
As a result of their knowledge, professionals
develop a range of cognitive, perceptual, and
motor skills, anchored in theoretical,
workplace, and practice knowledge, that
enable them to achieve predetermined
outcomes efficiently and effectively.
Characteristics of Professionals
• Professionals perform services for clients or
patients.
– Services are based on a commitment to others (often
sacrificing one’s own needs for those of clients).
– Services rendered are expert (require varying degrees of
autonomy).
– Services are based on clients’ needs and interests (clients may
become dependent).
• Professionals have a monopoly on the delivery of
services.
– Fill a community need
– Have specific knowledge and training
– Have well-developed skills
• Certification
• Licensure
(continued)
Characteristics of Professionals
(continued)
• Professionals collaborate with colleagues to ensure
high standards and ethical practices.
– Role of professional societies and conferences
– Importance of codes of ethical conduct
– Licensure and professionalism
• Professionals adhere to standards of their
professional subculture.
– Socialized to workplace expectations
– High standards
• Very organized
• Not “clock watchers”
• Appropriate attire
• Grooming and hygiene
A Job or a Profession
• Expectations
– Of you
– By you
• “The clock”
• Your salary or hourly pay
How Do Our Values Shape
Our Professional Conduct?
• Mechanical, market-driven professionalism
Practitioners value the profession, profit, personal
prestige, and status over the rights and needs of
clients.
• Social trustee, civic professionalism
Practitioners value clients and the social good more
than themselves or their profession.
• The personal values you bring to your work
will determine your goals and method of
operation as a professional.
How Are Physical Activity Professionals
Educated for the Workplace?
Academic areas:
• Liberal arts and sciences
• Course work in physical activity knowledge
• Course work in theoretical kinesiology
• Course work in professional practice
knowledge and professional skills
• Internships
Figure 12.5
Internships
A culminating educational and evaluative
experience for preprofessionals that
• teaches you how to apply the knowledge and
skills that you have learned in your professional
program to a real-life situation, and
• tests your level of preparedness to enter
professional practice.
Are You Suited for a Career in the Physical
Activity Professions?
• Do my attitudes, values, and goals match
those of professionals?
• Am I interested—really interested—in
physical activity?
• Do my attitudes, interests, and talents lend
themselves to a specific physical activity
profession?
• Will my college or university program
prepare me well?
(continued)
Are You Suited for a Career in the Physical
Activity Professions? (continued)
• How committed am I to preparing to be the
best professional possible?
–
–
–
–
–
Excellence in academic work
Early identification with the professional field
Engagement in college or university life
Participation in volunteer services
Attending graduate school
• Complete the decision-making process
outlined in Activity 12.5 in your online study
guide to determine whether you are on your
way to a successful physical activity career.
Are You Excited and Committed to
Kinesiology and the Physical
Activity Professions?
Just remember, if your answer to this
question ever becomes “No,” don’t be afraid
to consider a career change.