In this paper, we critically examine the potential of assessment components in physical education teacher education (PETE) to either reinforce or challenge PETE students' conceptions of what a physical education (PE) teacher needs to know to teach this school subject. To understand the mechanisms that may contribute to the difficulty of…

Research suggests that young people's understanding of how their bodies move in space and time is deteriorating. The aim of this study was to examine how students learn to analyse sensations and feelings while running. In total, 94 students aged 16-19 years and seven physical education (PE) teachers from two different secondary schools…

Research suggests that physical education (PE) in Western countries is not providing equitable experiences for non-white students. Responsibility for shortcomings has often been ascribed to white PE teachers. Scholars have claimed that teachers lack cultural competence and know little about how physical cultures or health are understood by the…

The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss similarities and differences between the curricula for physical education (PE) in secondary schools in Sweden, France and the canton of Geneva (Switzerland) in the light of PE teaching traditions (PETTs). Teaching traditions concern ideas about the goals of school disciplines and therefore about the…

Teachers in the school subject Health and Physical Education (HPE) need to be able both to teach health and to do so in a healthy (equitable) way. The health field has, however, met with difficulties in finding its form within the subject. Research indicates that HPE can be excluding, meaning that it may give more favours to some pupils (bodies)…

Becoming a teacher requires preservice teachers (PSTs) to interpret experiences from different perspectives because of the reversal role from being a student to being a teacher. For teacher education programs to be most effective, they need to understand the knowledge that PSTs hold and develop in order to optimise professional learning. With an…

This paper reports on an investigation examining provision of physical education continuing professional development (CPD) in European countries undertaken to identify the types of practices being employed. We begin by providing a brief overview of what we currently know about CPD internationally in general education and physical education. Data…

As a part of the discussion about how movement knowledge is valued in physical education teacher education (PETE), issues of assessment have been brought to the fore. Studies have shown that how and when movement knowledge is assessed is strongly culturally dependent and based different epistemological orientations. The aim of this paper is to…

Background: How teachers enact policy has been of significant interest to educational scholars. In physical education research, scholars have identified several factors affecting the enactment of policy. These factors include but are not limited to: structural support available for teachers, provision of professional development opportunities, the…

Background: Research on physical education (PE) shows a prevalence of narrow and reductionist views on what counts as ability. These views tend to privilege certain students and marginalize others, and often equate ability with technique-based sport performance. A lot of research is still directed towards the above problem. However, very few have…

Despite an extensive debate and an openness of teachers to a strength-based approach to health and physical education, it is not always clear what a salutogenic strengths-based approach might look like in practice, at least not in the day-to-day work in schools. The purpose of this article is to present a salutogenic strengths-based school…

Educational discourse is becoming increasingly globalized. This trend is particularly pronounced in the area of assessment, where notions of accountability, comparability, and competition have become prevalent in many countries. Scholars have critiqued this trend. They contend that global assessment discourse provides educators with…

Background: A fundamental dimension of school physical education (PE) is arguably movement and movement activities. However, there is a lack of discussion in the context of PE regarding what can be called the capability to move in terms of coordinative abilities, body consciousness and educing bodily senses. Purpose: This article explores and…

The field of physical education (PE), sport, and forced migration studies has grown considerably in recent years. Although we have seen an increase in publications in the field, no reviews of pedagogies regarding people with refugee backgrounds in PE and sport have been published to date. The purpose of this review is to critically examine…

Background: Students with disability show an increasing incidence of school failure. Quality teaching and appropriate support may foster high self-efficacy, a predictive factor for successful school outcomes. Physical Education (PE) can provide students with a context in which self-efficacy and participation are promoted leading to improved…