Purpose: To investigate the physical, social, and professional isolation of physical education (PE) teachers identifying causes and solutions. Methods: The participants were 65 PE teachers who had attended a provincial professional association physical and health educator conference. This mixed-methods study collected data through surveys,…

Traditionally in education, particularly in elementary education, curriculum areas such as PE, Art, and Music have been labeled with the commonly known term "specials." In many cases, this term has simply meant that these classes include "extra" content that enhances the school's overall academics when time is allowed. This…

This book emphasizes the role of physical education in shaping individuals and society, extending beyond movement to promote holistic well-being -- physical, mental, and emotional. In an era of sedentary lifestyles and digital distractions, the book emphasizes the urgent need for physical education to cultivate lifelong habits that foster health…

Nation-states have concerns about the health and wellbeing of their citizens and these concerns have directly or indirectly influenced educational reform and curriculum development. In 2000, China issued a directive of 'Health First' which applied to all elements of the education system. In its scale and scope, this represented a significant and…

Background: Physical Literacy (PL) is a concept enduring controversy. Based on Actor-Network Theory and Venturini's definition, PL is considered a controversy because it is a 'situation' in which actors disagree and there is 'shared uncertainty' around what it is and is not. Given the increasing expectation, in some countries, that PL becomes a…

Background: Physical literacy (PL) has generated substantial international interest across sport, health and education sectors. Teachers play a crucial role in supporting children's PL growth. Despite PL featuring in several physical education curricular texts, research into teacher understanding and perception of the concept is scarce. This study…

The staffing and outsourcing of the marginalised curriculum area Health and Physical Education (HPE) has been an area of growing concern, alongside rising concerns for the decline of students' health due to increased sedentary behaviour and mental health problems, yet there has been little research attention to the staffing and delivery of HPE in…

In 2011, the Australian national curriculum called for the inclusion of Indigenous histories, cultures and perspectives/knowledges, prompting Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers in schools and academics within higher education have experimented with and reported upon different purposes and ways of teaching Indigenous Games. However,…

Health and physical education (HPE) is a discursively white, Western learning domain. Despite minor disruptions through radical scholarship in HPE research and teacher education (often referred to as PETE), and the implementation of curricular devices and/or models-based practices promoting inclusion in HPE teaching, more radical work to honour…

This paper reports on the first phase of a longitudinal project investigating the perceived purposes that different stakeholders have for primary physical education (PE). In the study, the views of 19 teacher educators from seven countries across Europe were sought. While teacher educators may have some influence across the layers of an education…

Beginning and experienced teachers were surveyed on the most important things a beginning health and physical education teacher (HPE) needs to know. The results showed a range of broad topics that affect early career teachers as they are inducted in to the teaching field. Some of the responses are more prescient and relate to current events and…

This research note suggests the emergence of Artificial Intelligence-powered chatbots like ChatGPT pose challenges to the future of higher education. We as a field should pay attention to issues and opportunities associated with this technology across learning, teaching, and research spaces. We propose ignoring, or being indifferent to,…

This paper presents a heuristic tool that can be used to analyse and reflect on the inclusion of digital competences in Health and Physical Education Teacher Education (HPETE) programs. The tool is used to identify and compare how HPETE programs in three Southern Hemisphere countries address digital competency as an aspect of learning to teach…

New Zealand and Australia introduced health and physical education curricula espousing a socially-critical perspective more than two decades ago. Yet, despite growth in advocacy and teaching resources, there is little research exploring how HPE teachers are enacting these pedagogies. This article addresses the challenge of understanding what six…

Policy classifies and shapes people/subjects in particular kinds of ways. Focusing on the context of Health and Physical Education (HPE), this paper analyses policy documents from Australia, the United States of America (USA) and Wales. We pay particular attention to how learners are represented within and across the three policy documents, and we…