In this study, we explore the extent to which service-learning (SL) can enhance the educational potential of sport education (SE), with a view to contributing to a positive transition for students from primary to secondary school. Seventeen teachers and 435 eleven- to sixteen-year-olds across five SE networks participated in this study, in which…

Drawing on the concept of agency and teacher agency and engaging with figurational sociology, this paper explores the extent to which teacher agency plays a role in one teacher's enactment of a new school subject (Leaving Certificate Physical Education (LCPE), an examinable subject assessed in a high-stakes environment) in a period of curriculum…

It has been noted that individual characteristics and workplace factors have rarely been combined to gain a more holistic understanding of teachers' career trajectories (Rinke, 2008. Understanding teachers' careers: Linking professional life to professional path. "Educational Research Review," 3(1), 1-13.; Schaefer, Long, &…

Background and Purpose: Acknowledging that it is critical that researchers design and implement studies that examine teaching as a complex phenomenon (Strom and Martin [2017]. "Becoming-teacher: A Rhizomatic Look at First-year Teaching. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers), the objective of this study was to examine pre-service teachers' (PSTs')…

A Physical Education Development Group (PEDG) was responsible for constructing a new school subject curriculum, Leaving Certificate Physical Education (LCPE), in Ireland. This paper provides an insight into this development group and explores the process of curriculum development, and the influence of roles and power-ratios within the group, in…

Purpose: This study was situated within a longitudinal study of 5 teachers examining the realities of teaching physical education by determining the impact of individual dispositions and contextual factors on the career trajectories of postprimary physical education teachers in Ireland (Iannucci & MacPhail, 2017). One of these participants,…

This study develops an understanding of the relationships among personal accomplishment, resilience, and teaching multiple school subjects role conflict (TMSS-RC) among Irish post-primary, multi-subject teachers. A theoretically informed conceptual framework was developed to explain the relationships among personal accomplishment, resilience, and…

The international agenda for assessment continues to convey a growing interest in assessment for learning (AfL) as a tool to support learning and enhance teaching. Complementing this, the recent literature on assessment in physical education acknowledges the need for physical educators to integrate AfL into their teaching and assessment practice…

This paper explores the four inter-dependent elements of assessment literacy proposed by Hay and Penney [(2013). "Assessment in Physical Education: A Sociocultural Perspective." New York: Routledge]--assessment comprehension, assessment application, assessment interpretation and critical engagement with assessment. More specific, the…

This paper focuses on the professional journeys of 14 mid- and late-career teacher educators in seven countries in the subject area of physical education. Data was gathered through two rounds of semi-structured interviews and revealed a strong emphasis on the professional relationships impacting upon participants' entry to and development within…

Major curriculum changes have recently occurred in Ireland, including redeveloping the primary curriculum and the enactment of the Junior Cycle Framework (DES, 2015). Positive and negative experiences affect the attitudes which contribute to determining the quality of curricular experiences. Framed in the work of Fullan, M. (1991. "The New…

This paper sets out to outline current discussions in Ireland around teachers being responsible for assessing their own students' work, and the subsequent impact such a perspective is having (or not) on the delivery and assessment of physical education in Ireland. Our intention is to contribute to assessment considerations, while acknowledging the…

There is a need to better understand the reality of enacting dual teaching positions, or roles, within a school. Therefore, role conflict experienced by teachers who are tasked with concurrently teaching multiple subjects warrants further understanding. For example, teachers responsible for teaching physical education (PE) and another school…

How preservice teachers (PSTs) learn and deliver Sport Education ("SE") (Siedentop, 1994) is an area researchers believe warrants further investigation (Stran & Curtner-Smith, 2009a). This study explores one PST's experiences delivering SE during a school teaching placement after undertaking a practical "SE" module in his…

This paper prompts us to consider "representation" with respect to a committee structure "managing" the development of the Irish senior cycle physical education framework. The paper is timely due to the national interest in the senior cycle subject development in Ireland and complements work undertaken on the development of…