Keywords
Health Advocacy
Lifestyle Contradictions
Professional Credibility
Wellness Promotion
Abstract
Physical education instructors are commonly expected to serve as visible advocates of health, fitness, and wellness within educational settings. However, little is known about how these educators navigate situations where their personal lifestyle realities conflict with the health ideals they are expected to promote. This study explored the lived experiences of physical education instructors in promoting health and wellness amid personal lifestyle incongruence and examined how these contradictions influenced their perceptions of professional credibility, wellness advocacy, and teaching practice. Guided by Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Role Theory, and Embodiment Theory, the study employed a descriptive qualitative research design. Twenty physical education instructors from selected universities across Mindanao participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that participants experienced questioned professional credibility, emotional pressure and self-doubt, institutional workload strain, and concerns regarding student and colleague judgment. These experiences often affected instructional confidence and created challenges in maintaining authentic wellness advocacy. Despite these difficulties, participants demonstrated resilience by redefining health advocacy beyond physical appearance and embracing more holistic, realistic, and compassionate understandings of wellness. The findings further revealed that professional credibility was increasingly grounded in authenticity, empathy, and meaningful teacher-student relationships rather than strict conformity to idealized fitness standards.References
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Copyright (c) 2026 Abnir T. Arilin, Alprince King A. Biri, Nicole Christianne Vidal, Fhadzmar S. Dammang, Alkathani S. Tackong, Jillamae S. Verano (Author)