This paper uses a narrative approach in the form of a fictional dialogue between a physical education teacher educator (PETE) and an enquiring physical education teacher (EPET) in order to both contextualise the problem posed by Almond, that Teaching Games for Understanding-Game Sense (TGfU-GS) has been better accepted in academia than in the…

This paper reports on research framed as a strengths-based appreciative inquiry (AI) into the use of a game sense (GS) approach for sport and games teaching in physical education (PE). The aim of this research was to find the elements which sustain teachers in the use of a GS approach. This is particularly pertinent given strong advocacy for GS as…

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers identify a range of supposedly demonstrable capabilities for graduate teachers. Elaborations privilege the realization of Standards through mentoring, and feedback from senior colleagues. As manifestations of the logic of neo-liberalism they operate as audit technologies for pre-service teachers…

Teacher professional development (TPD) programs are increasingly using video recordings of teaching practice to develop teacher capacity and foster student learning. However, consensus has yet to be reached about how to utilize video recordings in TPD for physical education (PE) teachers. We used semi-structured interviews and evaluations of PE…

In the 1990s, New Zealand and Australia rolled out new school physical education curriculums (Ministry of Education, 1999, 2007; Queensland School Curriculum Council, 1999) signaling a significant change in the purpose of physical education in both countries. These uniquely Antipodean curriculum documents were underpinned by a socially critical…

School physical education (PE) aims to develop students' knowledge and skills for lifelong participation in physical activity (PA). Unfortunately, many PE teachers report that motivating students is a significant challenge. The purpose of this study was to explore PE teacher perceptions about the effectiveness and acceptability of three…

Background: Generalist teachers' confidence, competence and preparedness to teach Physical Education (PE) following Primary School Physical Education Teacher Education (PSPETE) has emerged as a research imperative. Yet little is known of teachers' perceptions of such matters. For teacher educators responding to the deficient delivery of primary…

The purpose of this study is to explore what the role of a health and physical education (HPE) specialist teacher in the primary school entails. The new Australian Curriculum: HPE Framework requires schools and teachers to implement the HPE key learning area. Many self-perceived physical education (PE) teachers have voiced concern about not…

Tertiary programmes responsible for preparing people for careers in Health, Exercise, Sport and Physical Education (HESPE) professions have a long association with educating for health in and through the physical body. However, in recent years, led predominantly by the World Health Organisation, there has been a shift from individualistic and…

This research explored teacher perceptions of how they influence academic performance of Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Physical Education students. VCE Physical Education teachers (n = 37) from 31 secondary schools in Victoria, Australia participated in a qualitative study using focus groups with a semi-structured interview schedule.…

Background: Critical inquiry approaches have been presented as one way of enhancing relevance in school-based education, and there have been calls from academia for its systematic use within health and physical education (HPE). Purpose: This research explored how three Secondary HPE teachers coconstructed and enacted a unit of work (Take Action)…

Background: Laws and legislation have prompted movement from special education towards inclusive education, whereby students with disabilities are included in mainstream physical education (PE) classes. It is widely acknowledged that including students with disabilities in PE presents significant challenges in relation to meeting the diverse needs…

Notions of creativity are increasingly central to educational scholarship and policies, but few studies attend to the intersection between "Health and Physical Education" (H/PE) and "creativity." In this paper we explore the literature on creativity in education and identify how creativity is represented across a broad spectrum…

This research investigated what the term Quality Physical Education (QPE) meant to Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers in Australian Capital Territory (ACT) schools. A total of 14 HPE teachers who taught middle school or above, representing government and independent schools, took part in focus group interviews about their understanding…

The aim of this paper is to discuss the negotiation and performance of researcher identities while conducting fieldwork. It draws on a larger study of masculinities, health and physical education, and sport in an elite boys' school to analyse the researcher's role as a female ethnographer in the world of health and physical education in boys'…