Background: There is a strong need for evidence based, effective continuous professional development (CPD) for physical education teachers. This need includes CPD aimed at impacting student motivation. Existing CPD on teachers' motivating style often takes the form of singular events such as a workshop or training session. Research shows that in…

Technology integrated, flipped classroom design offers opportunities to engage students on various levels and through meaningful ways. Introducing this learning environment to students at an early age is likely to change their motivation for learning towards physical literacy and influence their lifelong participation in physical activity. The…

Background: Digital video has been increasingly adopted as a pedagogical tool in physical education. One implementation is in teaching students' tactical understanding in games, in which it can promote students' perceptions and shared understanding in learning tactical situations within a game-based approach.Purpose: The central aim of this study…

In this paper, we focus on the use of digital video technology for instruction in physical education (PE). Physical educators can produce PE instruction videos (PIVs) as educational resources and often use them to enable independent learning situations. Little research has focused on the criteria teachers use to select students for demonstration…

Although assessment practices are commonly part of the physical education (PE) curriculum they may often frustrate rather than support students' basic needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Nevertheless, assessment also provides various promising opportunities to support these basic needs and enhance learning in students. In order to…

Although continuous professional development (CPD) is a key strategy for physical education (PE) teachers to update skills and knowledge in order to provide the best possible education to students, various concerns have been voiced regarding the effectiveness and feasibility of CPD in the context of PE. One approach to CPD that seems promising in…

Background: The importance of clarifying goals and providing process feedback for student learning has been widely acknowledged. From a Self-Determination Theory perspective, it is suggested that motivational and learning gains will be obtained because in well-structured learning environments, when goals and process feedback are provided, students…

Framed within achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences and motivational needs of students within secondary school Physical Education, attempting to identify their preferred motivational instructional strategies. Nine focus group interviews were conducted comprising 61 students (32…

Background: Assessment can have various functions, and is an important impetus for student learning. For assessment to be effective, it should be aligned with curriculum goals and of sufficient quality. Although it has been suggested that assessment quality in physical education (PE) is suboptimal, research into actual assessment practices has…

This study investigated how student autonomy in physical education can be enhanced without producing adverse effects. A sample of 150 students from Dutch preparatory vocational education was divided into four groups subjected to different levels of autonomy during a physical education lesson. The autonomy conditions varied from teacher-led lessons…

Many physical education (PE) teachers have been challenged by the shift from teaching in primarily ethnic homogenous contexts to multi-ethnic (ME) classes. Teachers in secondary schools often experience difficulty in class management in such classes. This difficulty may limit their ability to create a positive student--teacher relationship and may…

Background: Education policies and curriculum documents in many European countries promote the social and moral development of young people as a cross-curriculum goal and place that goal at the center of the education process. All subjects, including physical education (PE) are required to contribute to the social and moral development of the…

Studies investigating sport socialisation often focussed on the barriers for youngsters from lower socio-economic status (SES) families to participate in sport. In the present study, the socialisation into sports of young adolescents from lower SES families that "do" participate in organised sports was investigated. A total of 9 girls…

Energy balance-related behavior on schooldays and beliefs about school-based interventions may differ between students in different educational levels, sexes, and BMI (body mass index) categories. In Zwolle (the Netherlands), 1,084 adolescents (13-15 years) at 9 secondary schools completed a questionnaire. Overweight prevalence (boys 18.1%, girls…

Background: Most research on how children learn when using the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approach has focused on cognitive dimensions in teaching games models. A social constructivist perspective suggests, however, that learning also takes place during social interactions. Since the process of learning game skills tends to have a…